Aero-Structural Optimization of the AIAA MDO Benchmark Model with TAU and Lagrange

Abstract

In this paper, an MDO suite of industrially used high-fidelity methods for aircraft aerodynamics and structural dynamics is applied to a research optimization scenario of the High-Fidelity Aeroelastic Optimization Benchmark Working Group. The MDO suite couples DLR’s CFD solver TAU to the structural optimization framework Lagrange, developed by Airbus Defence & Space, to optimize the benchmark wing’s structural integrity and flight performance, using the adjoint method. The chosen approach for geometry parametrization emonstrated the capability of modeling both the outer and inner geometry to retain an accurate representation of the numerical models for aerodynamic and structural analysis. After describing the involved models, the design task, and the optimization approach pursued, the benchmark test case is optimized with structural sizing and shape design variables for the objective function of mission fuel burn.