ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF PRIMARY AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES BASED ON STRENGTH, MANUFACTURABILITY, AND COST REQUIREMENTS

A methodology for design of aircraft structures based on strength, stiffness, manufacturability, and cost requirements is presented. Simple mathematical models for manufacturability factors and cost elements are developed and combined with existing structural analysis techniques for evaluation of aircraft structures at the preliminary design phase. This methodology is used for the development of a computational design tool for analysis and optimization of primary structural components such as wing spars. A spar design case study is used as an application to demonstrate the effects of manufacturability and cost requirements on the optimal design configuration.