Sensitivity Evaluation For Efficient Aerodynamic Shape Optimization With Aeroelastic Constraints

Abstract

Multidisciplinary analysis is necessary to reach physically meaningful optimum designs. For aerostructural shape optimization this means coupling two disciplines - aerodynamics and structural mechanics. In this paper the sensitivity evaluation for aerodynamic shape optimization is considered, while taking into account the aeroelastic effects introduced by the variations in the aerodynamic forces, which are again generated by changes in the aerodynamic shape parameters. Due to the high computational cost of a finite difference evaluation step for such a coupled problem, an extension of the adjoint formalism to aeroelasticity is necessary for an efficient calculation of the sensitivities. Our task is to implement and validate this method using the software developed in-house at the DLR Braunschweig.