Advances in Aerodynamic Shape Optimisation

A special issue of Aerospace (ISSN 2226-4310). This special issue belongs to the section "Aeronautics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 915

Special Issue Editor


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Zienkiewicz Institute for Data, AI & Modelling, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Fabian Way, Crymlyn Burrows, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK
Interests: high speed aerodynamics; computational fluid dynamics; molecular gas dynamics; design optimisation; engineering education and public engagement

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will focus on the broad range of research topics encompassing the theme of Aerodynamic Shape Optimisation (ASO). Aerodynamic Shape Optimisation is one of the underpinning contributors to design within the aerospace industry, and, as such, we welcome contributions from academics of all backgrounds working in fundamental areas of research focusing on algorithm development and optimisation methods through to application-based research in any context that involves the design or optimisation of aerodynamic flows. We welcome contributions from researchers who use either gradient-based or gradient-free methods, and we are especially interested in contributions whose potential impact will aid the aerospace industry in its transition to towards (carbon) net zero aviation.

Prof. Dr. Ben Evans
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Aerospace is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • gradient-based optimisation
  • gradient-free optimisation
  • adjoint methods
  • evolutionary computing
  • aerodynamic design
  • shape optimisation
  • AI
  • machine learning
  • computational modelling
  • high performance computing
  • novel aircraft configurations
  • drag reduction devices
  • laminar flow control

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 7956 KiB  
Article
A Mesh-Based Approach for Computational Fluid Dynamics-Free Aerodynamic Optimisation of Complex Geometries Using Area Ruling
by Ben James Evans, Ben Smith, Sean Peter Walton, Neil Taylor, Martin Dodds and Vladeta Zmijanovic
Aerospace 2024, 11(4), 298; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11040298 - 11 Apr 2024
Viewed by 605
Abstract
In this paper, an optimisation procedure is introduced that uses a significantly cheaper, and CFD-free, objective function for aerodynamic optimisation than conventional CFD-driven approaches. Despite the reduced computational cost, we show that this approach can still drive the optimisation scheme towards a design [...] Read more.
In this paper, an optimisation procedure is introduced that uses a significantly cheaper, and CFD-free, objective function for aerodynamic optimisation than conventional CFD-driven approaches. Despite the reduced computational cost, we show that this approach can still drive the optimisation scheme towards a design with a similar reduction in drag coefficient for wave drag-dominated problems. The approach used is ‘CFD-free’, i.e., it does not require any computational aerodynamic analysis. It can be applied to geometries discretised using meshes more conventionally used for ‘standard’ CFD-based optimisation approaches. The approach outlined in this paper makes use of the transonic area rule and its supersonic extension, exploiting a mesh-based parameterisation and mesh morphing methodology. The paper addresses the following question: ‘To what extent can an optimiser perform (wave) drag minimisation if using ‘area ruling’ alone as the objective (fitness) function measurement?’. A summary of the wave drag approximation in transonic and supersonic regimes is outlined along with the methodology for exploiting this theory on a typical CFD surface mesh to construct an objective function evaluation for a given geometry. The implementation is presented including notes on the considerations required to ensure stability, and error minimisation, of the numerical scheme. The paper concludes with the results from a number of (simple and complex geometry) examples of a drag-minimisation optimisation study and the results are compared with an approach using full-fidelity CFD simulation. The overall conclusions from this study suggest that the approach presented is capable of driving a geometry towards a similar shape to when using full-fidelity CFD at a significantly lower computational cost. However, it cannot account for any constraints, driven by other aerodynamic factors, that might be present within the problem. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Aerodynamic Shape Optimisation)
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