Gust and Maneuver Load Alleviation in Conceptual Aircraft Design

Abstract

Load alleviation technologies are a promising approach to increase the fuel burn efficiency. Ideally, they should be taken into account already in the early design phase, where the geometry shape is defined. Implementing the capability for a correlated evaluation requires a multi-disciplinary simulation approach. The overall aircraft design framework within the final paper includes coupled and physics based models of the disciplines aerodynamics, structures and flight dynamics. The software ASWING from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is included and provides an unsteady lifting-line calculation combined with non-linear Euler beam theory. A nine dimensional design space of wing parameters is optimized via a surrogate model approach. The target parameter for the optimization is a multi-point mission block fuel.