Optimization Methods in Computational Fluid Dynamics Chapter uri icon

abstract

  • Abstract This chapter discusses the role that computational fluid dynamics (CFD) plays in the design of aircraft. An overview of the design process is provided, covering some of the typical decisions that a design team addresses within a multidisciplinary environment. On a very regular basis, tradeoffs between disciplines have to be made where a set of conflicting requirements exist. Within an aircraft development project, we focus on the aerodynamic design problem and review how this process has been advanced, first with the improving capabilities of traditional computational fluid dynamics analyses and then with aerodynamic optimizations based on these increasingly accurate methods. We then review the formulation and application of optimization techniques based on control theory for aerodynamic shape design in both potential flow and inviscid compressible flow. The theory is applied to a system defined by the partial differential equations of the flow, with the boundary shape acting as the control. The Frechet derivative of the cost function is determined via the solution of an adjoint partial differential equation, and the boundary shape is then modified in a direction of descent. This process is repeated until an optimum solution is approached. Each design cycle requires the numerical solution of both the flow and the adjoint equations, leading to a computational cost roughly equal to the cost of two flow solutions. Several case studies are provided, which highlight the benefits of utilizing automatic aerodynamic shape optimization.

author list (cited authors)

  • Jameson, A., & Ou, K.

citation count

  • 9

complete list of authors

  • Jameson, Antony||Ou, Kui

Book Title

  • Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering

publication date

  • 2010

publisher