Sensitivity of aerodynamic optimization to parameterized target functions

Aerodynamic design of high speed airfoils and wings is carried out by a new Genetic Algorithm software and applied to novel configurations like the Oblique Flying Wing. The goal is achieved by establishing a flexible input data generator for both direct and inverse design: geometry and flow quality (pressure distribution) is modelled by a set of analytical functions with parameterized input. The role of these functions and choice of parameters strongly influence the results which is shown here for the Pareto fronts of airfoils and wings with optimum aerodynamic performance. An existing manual design case serves as test case for the new optimization software.