High-fidelity aerodynamic and aerostructural optimization with application to variable camber wings

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This project addresses two important needs in the current aircraft industry. The first is the need to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, driven by the rising cost of fuel and increased environmental concerns. This in turn drives consideration of innovative strategies for improving fuel efficiency, including active flow control, unconventional aircraft configurations, and variable geometry wings, to name a few. This project will investigate variable-geometry wings with a view to optimizing them and thereby determining quantitatively the benefits that can be realized through this concept. In addition, the aircraft industry has a need for advanced methodologies for design, including aerodynamic design, structural design, and multidisciplinary design. This need is particularly acute as a result of the aforementioned interest in novel advanced technologies, including unconventional aircraft configurations, where the existing design experience and empirical correlations are limited or nonexistent. This project will advance the state of the art in aerodynamic shape optimization and aerostructural optimization, thereby providing the industry partner with the methodologies needed to design the next generation of fuel efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft. Moreover, these newly developed methodologies will be applied to an investigation of variable-camber wings, which have the potential to reduce drag and hence emissions.