scholarly journals Multidisciplinary multi-objective design optimization of an active morphing wing section

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 2423-2440
Author(s):  
Florian Dexl ◽  
Andreas Hauffe ◽  
Klaus Wolf

Abstract Design and optimization of morphing wings are of current research interest as they promise increasing efficiency and flexibility of future aircraft. A challenging task is to find structural layouts of morphing wings that enable aerodynamically optimized shape changes without defining the target shape a priori. The current paper addresses this task and presents a method that combines the optimization of the active structure of a wing section, parameterized by Lindenmayer cellular systems, with an aerodynamic evaluation. Neither the structural layout nor the target shape has to be defined a priori. This aim is achieved by a multidisciplinary optimization using evolutionary algorithms with aerodynamic and structural objectives. The developed method allows to optimize the topology of the internal structure, the placement of linear contraction, and expansion actuators as well as the setting of their actuation degree concurrently. It is shown that the present approach allows to find optimized internal layouts containing active structural elements for morphing wing sections.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
B. Nugroho ◽  
J. Brett ◽  
B.T. Bleckly ◽  
R.C. Chin

ABSTRACT Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) are believed by many to be the future of aerial strike/reconnaissance capability. This belief led to the design of the UCAV 1303 by Boeing Phantom Works and the US Airforce Lab in the late 1990s. Because UCAV 1303 is expected to take on a wide range of mission roles that are risky for human pilots, it needs to be highly adaptable. Geometric morphing can provide such adaptability and allow the UCAV 1303 to optimise its physical feature mid-flight to increase the lift-to-drag ratio, manoeuvrability, cruise distance, flight control, etc. This capability is extremely beneficial since it will enable the UCAV to reconcile conflicting mission requirements (e.g. loiter and dash within the same mission). In this study, we conduct several modifications to the wing geometry of UCAV 1303 via Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to analyse its aerodynamic characteristics produced by a range of different wing geometric morphs. Here we look into two specific geometric morphing wings: linear twists on one of the wings and linear twists at both wings (wash-in and washout). A baseline CFD of the UCAV 1303 without any wing morphing is validated against published wind tunnel data, before proceeding to simulate morphing wing configurations. The results show that geometric morphing wing influences the UCAV-1303 aerodynamic characteristics significantly, improving the coefficient of lift and drag, pitching moment and rolling moment.


Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yueqi Gu ◽  
Orhun Aydin ◽  
Jacqueline Sosa

Post-earthquake relief zone planning is a multidisciplinary optimization problem, which required delineating zones that seek to minimize the loss of life and property. In this study, we offer an end-to-end workflow to define relief zone suitability and equitable relief service zones for Los Angeles (LA) County. In particular, we address the impact of a tsunami in the study due to LA’s high spatial complexities in terms of clustering of population along the coastline, and a complicated inland fault system. We design data-driven earthquake relief zones with a wide variety of inputs, including geological features, population, and public safety. Data-driven zones were generated by solving the p-median problem with the Teitz–Bart algorithm without any a priori knowledge of optimal relief zones. We define the metrics to determine the optimal number of relief zones as a part of the proposed workflow. Finally, we measure the impacts of a tsunami in LA County by comparing data-driven relief zone maps for a case with a tsunami and a case without a tsunami. Our results show that the impact of the tsunami on the relief zones can extend up to 160 km inland from the study area.


Author(s):  
David A. Romero ◽  
Cristina H. Amon ◽  
Susan Finger

In order to reduce the time and resources devoted to design-space exploration during simulation-based design and optimization, the use of surrogate models, or metamodels, has been proposed in the literature. Key to the success of metamodeling efforts are the experimental design techniques used to generate the combinations of input variables at which the computer experiments are conducted. Several adaptive sampling techniques have been proposed to tailor the experimental designs to the specific application at hand, using the already-acquired data to guide further exploration of the input space, instead of using a fixed sampling scheme defined a priori. Though mixed results have been reported, it has been argued that adaptive sampling techniques can be more efficient, yielding better surrogate models with less sampling points. In this paper, we address the problem of adaptive sampling for single and multi-response metamodels, with a focus on Multi-stage Multi-response Bayesian Surrogate Models (MMBSM). We compare distance-optimal latin hypercube sampling, an entropy-based criterion and the maximum cross-validation variance criterion, originally proposed for one-dimensional output spaces and implemented in this paper for multi-dimensional output spaces. Our results indicate that, both for single and multi-response surrogate models, the entropy-based adaptive sampling approach leads to models that are more robust to the initial experimental design and at least as accurate (or better) when compared with other sampling techniques using the same number of sampling points.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad T. Kalaji

This thesis presents a flexible trailing edge mechanism capable of undergoing a change in camber for a wing section. The mechanism takes advantage of a rigid constraint between the ends of two flexible carbon fiber panels, which produces a deflection when there is a difference in length between the two panels. A prototype was designed and built and experimental data was collected for the deformation of the panels for different values of lengths and analyzed to find a function to describe the coefficients which form the polynomials describing the shape for each of the panels, based on the difference in length value. Deflection and deflection angle results were used to develop a controller which will calculate the required change in length based on a deflection or angle and a bottom panel length input.


Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 367 (6475) ◽  
pp. 293-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Y. Matloff ◽  
Eric Chang ◽  
Teresa J. Feo ◽  
Lindsie Jeffries ◽  
Amanda K. Stowers ◽  
...  

Variable feather overlap enables birds to morph their wings, unlike aircraft. They accomplish this feat by means of elastic compliance of connective tissue, which passively redistributes the overlapping flight feathers when the skeleton moves to morph the wing planform. Distinctive microstructures form “directional Velcro,” such that when adjacent feathers slide apart during extension, thousands of lobate cilia on the underlapping feathers lock probabilistically with hooked rami of overlapping feathers to prevent gaps. These structures unlock automatically during flexion. Using a feathered biohybrid aerial robot, we demonstrate how both passive mechanisms make morphing wings robust to turbulence. We found that the hooked microstructures fasten feathers across bird species except silent fliers, whose feathers also lack the associated Velcro-like noise. These findings could inspire innovative directional fasteners and morphing aircraft.


1997 ◽  
Vol 08 (05) ◽  
pp. 1013-1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moshe Sipper ◽  
Marco Tomassini

Cellular programming is a coevolutionary algorithm by which parallel cellular systems evolve to solve computational tasks. The evolving system is a massively parallel, locally interconnected grid of cells, where each cell operates according to a local interaction rule. If this rule is identical for all cells, the system is referred to as uniform, otherwise, it is non-uniform. This paper describes an experiment that addresses the following question: Employing a local coevolutionary process to solve a hard problem, known as density classification, can an optimal uniform solution be found? Since our approach involves the evolution of non-uniform CAs, where cellular rules are initially assigned at random, such convergence to uniformity cannot be a priori expected to easily emerge. The question is of both theoretical and practical interest. As for the latter, one major advantage of local evolutionary processes is their amenability to parallel implementation, using commercially available parallel machines or specialized hardware. Our experiment shows that when such local evolution is applied to the density problem, the optimal solution can be found.


2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tohru Suwa ◽  
Hamid Hadim

A multidisciplinary optimization methodology for placement of heat generating semiconductor logic blocks on integrated circuit chips is presented. The methodology includes thermal and wiring length criteria, which are optimized simultaneously using the genetic algorithm. An effective thermal performance prediction methodology based on a superposition method is used to determine the temperature distribution on a silicon chip due to multiple heat generating logic blocks. Using the superposition method, the predicted temperature distribution in the silicon chip is obtained in much shorter time than with a detailed finite element model and with comparable accuracy. The main advantage of the present multidisciplinary design and optimization methodology is its ability to handle multiple design objectives simultaneously for optimized placement of heat generating logic blocks. Capabilities of the present methodology are demonstrated by applying it to several standard benchmarks. The multidisciplinary logic block placement optimization results indicate that the maximum temperature on a silicon chip can be reduced by up to 7.5°C, compared with the case in which only the wiring length is minimized.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 172988141988674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaqing Zhang ◽  
Wenjie Ge ◽  
Ziang Zhang ◽  
Xiaojuan Mo ◽  
Yonghong Zhang

The morphing wing with large deformation can benefit its flight performance a lot in different conditions. In this study, a variable camber morphing wing with compliant leading and trailing edges is designed by large-displacement compliant mechanisms. The compliant mechanisms are carried out by a hyperelastic structure topology optimization, based on a nonlinear meshless method. A laminated leading-edge skin is designed to fit the curvature changing phenomenon of the leading edge during deformation. A morphing wing demonstrator was manufactured to testify its deformation capability. Comparing to other variable camber morphing wings, the proposal can realize larger deflection of leading and trailing edges. The designed morphing wing shows great improvement in aerodynamic performance and enough strength to resist aerodynamic and structural loadings.


Author(s):  
Xiongqi Peng ◽  
Purit Thanakijkasem ◽  
Xiaomin Zeng ◽  
Hongsheng Lu

Head impact with bonnet is one of the major causes for pedestrian severe injury or fatality in car accidents. This paper proposes a multidisciplinary design optimization method for bonnet inner based on pedestrian head protection along with bonnet stiffness requirement. A finite element (FE) model of a child headform impactor is developed and verified via simulation according to Global Technical Regulation No. 9 (GTR No. 9). Static stiffness analysis and headform collision simulation against one impact point for a particular bonnet are implemented. Parametric design and optimization analysis are carried out. Optimization solution significantly achieves a better head protection effect, which clearly affirms the feasibility of the proposed multidisciplinary optimization method and provides a reference approach to optimal design of engine bonnet inner.


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