Application of Surrogate-based Global Optimization to Aerodynamic Design


Book Description

Aerodynamic design, like many other engineering applications, is increasingly relying on computational power. The growing need for multi-disciplinarity and high fidelity in design optimization for industrial applications requires a huge number of repeated simulations in order to find an optimal design candidate. The main drawback is that each simulation can be computationally expensive – this becomes an even bigger issue when used within parametric studies, automated search or optimization loops, which typically may require thousands of analysis evaluations. The core issue of a design-optimization problem is the search process involved. However, when facing complex problems, the high-dimensionality of the design space and the high-multi-modality of the target functions cannot be tackled with standard techniques. In recent years, global optimization using meta-models has been widely applied to design exploration in order to rapidly investigate the design space and find sub-optimal solutions. Indeed, surrogate and reduced-order models can provide a valuable alternative at a much lower computational cost. In this context, this volume offers advanced surrogate modeling applications and optimization techniques featuring reasonable computational resources. It also discusses basic theory concepts and their application to aerodynamic design cases. It is aimed at researchers and engineers who deal with complex aerodynamic design problems on a daily basis and employ expensive simulations to solve them.




Aerodynamic Shape Optimization Using Control Theory


Book Description

Abstract: "Aerodynamic shape design has long persisted as a difficult scientific challenge due [sic] its highly nonlinear flow physics and daunting geometric complexity. However, with the emergence of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) it has become possible to make accurate predictions of flows which are not dominated by viscous effects. It is thus worthwhile to explore the extension of CFD methods for flow analysis to the treatment of aerodynamic shape design. Two new aerodynamic shape design methods are developed which combine existing CFD technology, optimal control theory, and numerical optimization techniques. Flow analysis methods for the potential flow equation and the Euler equations form the basis of the two respective design methods. In each case, optimal control theory is used to derive the adjoint differential equations, the solution of which provides the necessary gradient information to a numerical optimization method much more efficiently then [sic] by conventional finite differencing. Each technique uses a quasi-Newton numerical optimization algorithm to drive an aerodynamic objective function toward a minimum. An analytic grid perturbation method is developed to modify body fitted meshes to accommodate shape changes during the design process. Both Hicks-Henne perturbation functions and B-spline control points are explored as suitable design variables. The new methods prove to be computationally efficient and robust, and can be used for practical airfoil design including geometric and aerodynamic constraints. Objective functions are chosen to allow both inverse design to a target pressure distribution and wave drag minimization. Several design cases are presented for each method illustrating its practicality and efficiency. These include non-lifting and lifting airfoils operating at both subsonic and transonic conditions."




Aerodynamic Shape Optimization of Wing and Wing-Body Configurations Using Control Theory


Book Description

This paper describes the implementation of optimization techniques based on control theory for wing and wing-body design. In previous studies it was shown that control theory could be used to devise an effective optimization procedure for airfoils and wings in which the shape and the surrounding body-fitted mesh are both generated analytically, and the control is the mapping function. Recently, the method has been implemented for both potential flows and flows governed by the Euler equations using an alternative formulation which employs numerically generated grids, so that it can more easily be extended to treat general configurations. Here results are presented both for the optimization of a swept wing using an analytic mapping, and for the optimization of wing and wing-body configurations using a general mesh. Reuther, James and Jameson, Antony Ames Research Center NAS2-13721...




Advances in Aerodynamic Shape Optimization Using Control Theory


Book Description

The main objective of this has been the development awl maturation of a adjoint-based, viscous design techniques for Aerodynamic Shape Optimization (ASO) of complete aircraft configurations. We have followed a systematic approach in the development, validation and testing of our methods. In addition, we have carried out some preliminary work in the development of a mathematical environment for high-fidelity aero-structural optimization as a first step towards the realization of a high-fidelity multidisciplinary optimization disability. A number of significant milestones achieved in this process are detailed in the final report.










Aerodynamic Shape Optimization Techniques Based on Control Theory


Book Description

This document serves as a final technical report for the AFOSR award F49620-95-1-0259. It reviews the formulation and application of optimization techniques based on control theory for aerodynamic shape design in viscous compressible flow. The theory is applied to a system defined by the partial differential equations of the flow, with the boundary shape acting as the control. The Frechet derivative of the cost function is determined via the solution of an adjoint partial differential equation, and the boundary shape is then modified in a direction of descent. This process is repeated until an optimum solution is approached. Each design cycle requires the numerical solution of both the flow and the adjoint equations, leading to a computational cost roughly equal to the cost of two flow solutions. Representative results are presented for viscous optimization of transonic wing-body combinations.




The Variational Method for Aerodynamic Optimization Using the Navier-Stokes Equations


Book Description

This report describes the formulation of an aerodynamic shape design methodology using a compressible viscous flow model based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes equations. The aerodynamic shape is described by a set of geometrical design variables. The design problem is formulated as an optimization problem stated in terms of an aerodynamic objective functional which has to be minimized. The design scheme employs a gradient based optimization algorithm in order to obtain the optimum values of the design variables. The gradient of the aerodynamic functional with respect to the design variables is computed by means of the variational method, which requires the solution of an adjoint problem. The formulation of the adjoint problem is described which leads to a set of adjoint equations and boundary conditions. Using the flow variables and the adjoint variables, an expression for the gradient has been constructed. Computational results are presented for an inverse problem of an airfoil. It will be shown that, starting from an initial geometry of the NACA 0012 airfoil, the target pressure distribution and geometry of a best fit of the RAE 2822 airfoil in a transonic flow condition has been reconstructed successfully.




Simulation-driven Aerodynamic Design Using Variable-fidelity Models


Book Description

Computer simulations is a fundamental tool of the design process in many engineering disciplines including aerospace engineering. However, although high-fidelity numerical models are accurate, they can be computationally expensive with evaluation time for a single design as long as hours, days or even weeks. Simulation-driven design using conventional optimization techniques may be therefore prohibitive.This book explores the alternative: performing computationally efficient design using surrogate-based optimization, where the high-fidelity model is replaced by its computationally cheap but still reasonably accurate representation: a surrogate. The emphasis is on physics-based surrogates. Application-wise, the focus is on aerodynamics and the methods and techniques described in the book are demonstrated using aerodynamic shape optimization cases. Applications in other engineering fields are also demonstrated.State-of-the-art techniques and a depth of coverage never published before make this a unique and essential book for all researchers working in aerospace and other engineering areas and dealing with optimization, computationally expensive design problems, and simulation-driven design.




Aerodynamic Shape Optimization of Supersonic Aircraft Configurations Via an Adjoint Formulation on Parallel Computers


Book Description

Abstract: "This work describes the application of a control theory-based aerodynamic shape optimization method to the problem of supersonic aircraft design. The design process is greatly accelerated through the use of both control theory and a parallel implementation on distributed memory computers. Control theory is employed to derive the adjoint differential equations whose solution allows for the evaluation of design gradient information at a fraction of the computational cost required by previous design methods [13, 12, 44, 38]. The resulting problem is then implemented on parallel distributed memory architectures using a domain decomposition approach, an optimized communication schedule, and the MPI (Message Passing Interface) Standard for portability and efficiency. The final result achieves very rapid aerodynamic design based on higher order computational fluid dynamics methods (CFD). In our earlier studies, the serial implementation of this design method [19, 20, 21, 23, 39, 25, 40, 41, 42, 43, 9] was shown to be effective for the optimization of airfoils, wings, wing-bodies, and complex aircraft configurations using both the potential equation and the Euler equations [39, 25]. In our most recent paper, the Euler method was extended to treat complete aircraft configurations via a new multiblock implementation. Furthermore, during the same conference, we also presented preliminary results demonstrating that this basic methodology could be ported to distributed memory parallel computing architectures [24]. In this paper, our concern will be to demonstrate that the combined power of these new technologies can be used routinely in an industrial design environment by applying it to the case study of the design of typical supersonic transport configurations. A particular difficulty of this test case is posed by the propulsion/airframe integration."