A Framework for Aerodynamic Optimization Based On Genetic Algorithms
Alexandre Pequeno Antunes, João Luiz F. Azevedo, Ricardo da Silva · 47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including The New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition · 2009
The present paper describes the efforts on the construction of a computational frame-work for 2-D and 3-D aerodynamic optimizations. The creation of the framework is an attempt to generate a design environment capable of coupling various tools from different levels of complexity and with diverse functionalities. The conceptual framework is devel-oped to be inserted into daily activities of an aerodynamic CFD group. The framework is implemented for both Windows and Linux-running platforms, and it is augmented by a user-friendly graphical interface. Usage of the framework is illustrated in the paper by 2-D and 3-D aerodynamic optimization of a cruise configuration for different flight conditions. The aspects investigated include the influence of the number of individuals on the aerody-namic coefficients, the effect of boundary layer transition location on the final optimized shape, and the benefits of the solver fidelity level as compared to the computational cost. Moreover, the use of a neural network is evaluated in order to analyze the benefits that this methodolgy can bring to the implemented framework in terms of computational cost. I.