Free-form Airfoil Shape Optimization Under Uncertainty Using Maximum Expected Value and Second-order Second-moment Strategies


Book Description

Free-form shape optimization of airfoils poses unexpected difficulties. Practical experience has indicated that a deterministic optimization for discrete operating conditions can result in dramatically inferior performance when the actual operating conditions are different from the - somewhat arbitrary - design values used for the optimization. Extensions to multi-point optimization have proven unable to adequately remedy this problem of "localized optimization" near the sampled operating conditions. This paper presents an intrinsically statistical approach and demonstrates how the shortcomings of multi-point optimization with respect to "localized optimization" can be overcome. The practical examples also reveal how the relative likelihood of each of the operating conditions is automatically taken into consideration during the optimization process. This is a key advantage over the use of multipoint methods.




Shape Optimization under Uncertainty from a Stochastic Programming Point of View


Book Description

Optimization problems are relevant in many areas of technical, industrial, and economic applications. At the same time, they pose challenging mathematical research problems in numerical analysis and optimization. Harald Held considers an elastic body subjected to uncertain internal and external forces. Since simply averaging the possible loadings will result in a structure that might not be robust for the individual loadings, he uses techniques from level set based shape optimization and two-stage stochastic programming. Taking advantage of the PDE’s linearity, he is able to compute solutions for an arbitrary number of scenarios without significantly increasing the computational effort. The author applies a gradient method using the shape derivative and the topological gradient to minimize, e.g., the compliance and shows that the obtained solutions strongly depend on the initial guess, in particular its topology. The stochastic programming perspective also allows incorporating risk measures into the model which might be a more appropriate objective in many practical applications.




Constrained Optimization and Optimal Control for Partial Differential Equations


Book Description

This special volume focuses on optimization and control of processes governed by partial differential equations. The contributors are mostly participants of the DFG-priority program 1253: Optimization with PDE-constraints which is active since 2006. The book is organized in sections which cover almost the entire spectrum of modern research in this emerging field. Indeed, even though the field of optimal control and optimization for PDE-constrained problems has undergone a dramatic increase of interest during the last four decades, a full theory for nonlinear problems is still lacking. The contributions of this volume, some of which have the character of survey articles, therefore, aim at creating and developing further new ideas for optimization, control and corresponding numerical simulations of systems of possibly coupled nonlinear partial differential equations. The research conducted within this unique network of groups in more than fifteen German universities focuses on novel methods of optimization, control and identification for problems in infinite-dimensional spaces, shape and topology problems, model reduction and adaptivity, discretization concepts and important applications. Besides the theoretical interest, the most prominent question is about the effectiveness of model-based numerical optimization methods for PDEs versus a black-box approach that uses existing codes, often heuristic-based, for optimization.




ECCOMAS Multidisciplinary Jubilee Symposium


Book Description

This book contains 23 papers presented at the ECCOMAS Multidisciplinary Jubilee Symposium - New Computational Challenges in Materials, Structures, and Fluids (EMJS08), in Vienna, February 18–20, 2008. The main intention of EMJS08 was to react adequately to the increasing need for interdisciplinary research activities allowing ef?cient solution of complex problems in engineering and in the applied sciences. The 15th anniversary of ECCOMAS (European Community on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences) provided a suitable frame for taking the afo- mentioned situation into account by inviting distinguished colleagues from d- ferent areas of engineering and the applied sciences, encouraging them to choose multidisciplinary topics for their lectures. The main themes of EMJS08 have a long tradition in engineering and in the applied sciences: materials, structures, and ?uids. The solution of scienti?c pr- lems involving ?uids together with solids and structures, not to forget the materials the structures are made of, is of paramount importance in a technical world of rapidly increasing sophistication, referred to as the Leonardo World by the eminent German philosopher Ju ̈rgen Mittelstraß. More recently, the main themes of EMJS08 have gained considerable mom- tum, owing to signi?cant progress in nanotechnology. It enables resolution of a multitude of materials into their micro- and nanostructures. Covering aspects such as • Physical and chemical characterization • Multiscale modeling concepts, continuum micromechanics, and computational homogenization, as well as • Applications in various engineering ?elds the individual contributions to this book ?ow along different tracks of ?uids, materials, and structures.




Handbook of Wind Energy Aerodynamics


Book Description

This handbook provides both a comprehensive overview and deep insights on the state-of-the-art methods used in wind turbine aerodynamics, as well as their advantages and limits. The focus of this work is specifically on wind turbines, where the aerodynamics are different from that of other fields due to the turbulent wind fields they face and the resultant differences in structural requirements. It gives a complete picture of research in the field, taking into account the different approaches which are applied. This book would be useful to professionals, academics, researchers and students working in the field.




Opportunities for Breakthroughs in Large-Scale Computational Simulation and Design


Book Description

Opportunities for breakthroughs in the large-scale computational simulation and design of aerospace vehicles are presented. Computational fluid dynamics tools to be used within multidisciplinary analysis and design methods are emphasized. The opportunities stem from speedups and robustness improvements in the underlying unit operations associated with simulation (geometry modeling, grid generation, physical modeling, analysis, etc.). Further, an improved programming environment can synergistically integrate these unit operations to leverage the gains. The speedups result from reducing the problem setup time through geometry modeling and grid generation operations, and reducing the solution time through the operation counts associated with solving the discretized equations to a sufficient accuracy. The opportunities are addressed only at a general level here, but an extensive list of references containing further details is included.




Robust Airfoil Optimization to Achieve Consistent Drag Reduction Over a Mach Range


Book Description

We prove mathematically that in order to avoid point-optimization at the sampled design points for multipoint airfoil optimization, the number of design points must be greater than the number of free-design variables. To overcome point-optimization at the sampled design points, a robust airfoil optimization method (called the profile optimization method) is developed and analyzed. This optimization method aims at a consistent drag reduction over a given Mach range and has three advantages: (a) it prevents severe degradation in the off -design performance by using a smart descent direction in each optimization iteration, (b) there is no random airfoil shape distortion for any iterate it generates, and (c) it allows a designer to make a trade-off between a truly optimized airfoil and the amount of computing time consumed. For illustration purposes, we use the profile optimization method to solve a lift-constrained drag minimization problem for 2-D airfoil in Euler ow with 20 free-design variables. A comparison with other airfoil optimization methods is also included.







Computational Approaches for Aerospace Design


Book Description

Over the last fifty years, the ability to carry out analysis as a precursor to decision making in engineering design has increased dramatically. In particular, the advent of modern computing systems and the development of advanced numerical methods have made computational modelling a vital tool for producing optimized designs. This text explores how computer-aided analysis has revolutionized aerospace engineering, providing a comprehensive coverage of the latest technologies underpinning advanced computational design. Worked case studies and over 500 references to the primary research literature allow the reader to gain a full understanding of the technology, giving a valuable insight into the world’s most complex engineering systems. Key Features: Includes background information on the history of aerospace design and established optimization, geometrical and mathematical modelling techniques, setting recent engineering developments in a relevant context. Examines the latest methods such as evolutionary and response surface based optimization, adjoint and numerically differentiated sensitivity codes, uncertainty analysis, and concurrent systems integration schemes using grid-based computing. Methods are illustrated with real-world applications of structural statics, dynamics and fluid mechanics to satellite, aircraft and aero-engine design problems. Senior undergraduate and postgraduate engineering students taking courses in aerospace, vehicle and engine design will find this a valuable resource. It will also be useful for practising engineers and researchers working on computational approaches to design.




Uncertainty Analysis for Fluid Mechanics with Applications


Book Description

This paper reviews uncertainty analysis methods and their application to fundamental problems in fluid dynamics. Probabilistic (Monte-Carlo, Moment methods, Polynomial Chaos) and non-probabilistic methods (Interval Analysis Propagation of error using sensitivity derivatives) are described and implemented. Results are presented for a model convection equation with a source term, a model non-linear convection-diffusion equation; supersonic flow over wedges, expansion corners, and an airfoil; and two-dimensional laminar boundary layer flow.