Completed Projects

• First-of-its-kind demonstration of large-scale MDO 

  • 7 disciplines contributing design variables to system-level optimization

  • 102 design variables; 19 constraints

• Low-fidelity physics-based analysis methods

• Turnaround time of ~30 minutes on a standard design computer

• 11.4% lower mass from a baseline sized vehicle

• No other work has shown the effect of high-level OML, engine, and structural layout variables on the structural weight 

• PEGASUS concept

  • Obtained a structural layout that is least sensitivities to gust loads specified by 14-CFR regulations.

• Truss-braced wing (TBW) concept

  • Obtained the location of strut-wing attachment that results in the least overall primary structure weight.

• Capture trade-off between performance and certification constraints

  • 14-CFR Part 25 SubPart B Flight Characteristics

  • 14-CFR Part 25 SubPart C Structures

• Retrofit design of a Boeing 777-type aircraft horizontal tail

• Redesign of NASA's PEGASUS concept vertical tail

• Safety assessment framework to evaluate off-nominal performance and reliability

• Bayesian decision framework to make a compliance assessment

• Case study on the distributed electric propulsion (DEP) aircraft, X-57. Identified

  • Battery failure as a catastrophic scenario.

  • Loss of cruise motor or the traction power buses as the next most critical (Hazardous).

• Representation of the fan blade as a higher-order beam model through the Variational Asymptotic Method (VAM)

  • First reported work of using the VAM for the transient structural analysis of fan rotor blades.

• Rotor structural analysis comprises computing dynamic stresses, the excitation frequencies, and resonance margins at various modes of vibration

• Capture trade-off between aerodynamic performance and structural constraints

  • Obtained a design that considers structural constraints with a decrease of aerodynamic stage efficiency of only 0.22%.

Rapid geometry manipulation of conventional and unconventional aircraft.

• Modification of the outer mold line (OML)

• Automated wingbox structural layout

API to interface with physics-based solvers

• AVL for low-fidelity aerodynamics

• Nastran for structural and aeroelastic analysis

• Hypersizer for structural sizing

6 degrees of freedom flight dynamics simulation tool

• API allows for any aerodynamic, propulsion, and mass properties model to be provided 

• Define aircraft with an arbitrary number of propulsion devices and control surfaces

• Closed-loop control system

• Emphasis on prediction of regulation specified dynamic maneuvers and handling qualities

The research involves exploring physics-based model reduction to create a simplified beam model representation of the aircraft wing primary structure. 

• Developed using the modular OpenMDAO platform and CasADi to automate derivative computations.

• Consider arbitrary cross-sections, dynamic loads, both strength and buckling structural constraints, and can model multiple beam members connected by joints, as well as the addition of multiple masses and point loads.

• The scientific contribution of the research lies in the development of a one-time correction using the higher-order Variational Asymtotic Method (VAM).

• Weight predicted by the beam model compared to higher-fidelity shell models was reduced to < 5% difference with a 12x speed-up, even for complex aircraft configurations like the truss-braced wing.