Improvement of a Preliminary Design and Optimization Program for the Evaluation of Future Aircraft Projects

Kurzfassung

The improvement of an integrated aircraft predesign code and its application to future aircraft concepts is reported. For the simulation of a Megaliner canard configuration as well as a supersonic commercial transport aircraft (SCT) the predesign code PrADO was extended by the higher-order panel method HISSS. The improvement of the aerodynamic model allows the simulation of interference effects between wing, tailplane and canard as well as the extension of the simulated flight regime to supersonic speeds. The application of the calibrated predesign code to a Megaliner configuration leads to differences between published and predicted design weights below 6%. Preliminary results of the simulation of a canard configuration show that a canard may not automatically increase the aerodynamic efficiency L/D. A reduction of the induced drag is overcompensated by an increase of the minimum drag due to additional friction drag of the canard. The SCT design studies also provide converged solutions, however, a redesign of the Concorde shows significant discrepancies with respect to the operational empty weight, fields for future investigations.