AN APPROACH TO MULTI-FIDELITY IN CONCEPTUAL AIRCRAFT DESIGN IN DISTRIBUTED DESIGN ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

In the present study we introduce a design environ- ment consisting of a framework, a central model and a newly developed conceptual design module. The Common Para- metric Aircraft Configuration Scheme (CPACS) is the stan- dard syntax definition for the exchange of information within preliminary airplane design at DLR. Several higher fidelity analysis modules are already connected to CPACS, includ- ing aerodynamics, primary structures, mission analysis and climate impact. The analysis modules can be interfaced via a distributed framework. To initialize the design processes, capabilities are needed to close the gap between top-level re- quirements and preliminary design. Additionally, results of a design loop need to be merged to generate inputs for fur- ther iterations and convergence control. For this purpose we developed a conceptual design module based on handbook methods where the focus is set on multi-fidelity. For the up- ward change in level of detail a knowledge-based approach is used for the generation of CPACS models. This includes the geometry generation, as well as additional data such as the mass breakdown and the tool-specific inputs for further anal- yses in higher fidelity modules. The feedback loop is closed downwards by reducing the granularity from the CPACS data set back to the level of conceptual design methods. The con- ceptual design module is object-oriented and concepts, both for parameter and method replacement, are introduced. First results for multi-fidelity calculations are shown.