Adjoint-based Aerodynamic and Aerostructural Optimization of Transport Aircraft
Speaker: Gaetan Kenway, University of Michigan
Presentation
Abstract
Aeroelastic systems achieve the best performance when the aerodynamic shape and structural sizing are optimized concurrently. However, such an optimization is challenging when high-fidelity aerodynamic and structural models are required to capture sufficient detail of the underlying physics to produce the correct trade-offs. This talk will address the dual challenge of performing high-fidelity aerostructural optimization with a large number of design variables. The key enabling component is the coupled adjoint method allowing the use of efficient gradient-based optimization techniques. The main components of an aero-structural optimization framework will be discussed, including CFD solver, load and displacement transfer, structural solver, mesh deformation and geometric manipulation method. The methods used differentiate and verify sensitivities of the entire aerostructural analysis chain will also be discussed. Several optimizations, both aerodynamic and aerostructral, on the NASA Common Research Model (CRM) configuration will demonstrate the potential of aerostructural optimization to conventional and unconventional aircraft configurations.
Biography
Gaetan Kenway received his Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics from Queen's University in 2007 and his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies in 2013. Since then, he has worked as a postdoctoral research fellow and research investigator at the Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Laboratory at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on developing efficient numerical techniques that enable high-fidelity aerodynamic and coupled aero-structural optimizations of complex aerospace vehicles.