Knowledge-based Integrated Wing Automation and Optimization for Conceptual Design

Contemporary aircraft design and development incurs high costs and consumes a lot of time for research and implementation. To minimize the development cost, an improvement of the conceptual design phase is desirable. A framework to support the initial design space exploration and conceptual design phase is presently being developed at Linkoping University. In the aircraft design, the geometry carries a critical, discriminating role since it stores a significant part of the information and the data needed for most investigations. Methodology for design automation of a wing with a detailed description such that the geometry is effectively propagated for further analysis is presented in this paper. Initial weight estimation of the wing is performed by combining the weight penalty method with a sophisticated CAD model. This wing model is used for airfoil shape optimization and later for structural optimization. A methodology for automatic meshing of the geometry for CFD and FEM when the surfaces increase or decrease during the design automation is proposed. The framework combining automation capability with shape and structural optimization will enhance the early design phases of aircraft conceptual design.