Development and implementation of an advanced, design-sensitive method for wing weight estimation

Elham, Ali; Rocca, Gianfranco La; Tooren, M.J.L. Van

doi:10.1016/j.ast.2013.01.012

Cited by 58 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…EMWET, a class II & 1/2 weight estimation tool developed by Elham et al [56] was deemed the most appropriate for this purpose, combining strength and stiffness analyses of wing box structures with empirical relations. In its underlying procedure the weight of the most relevant elements of the wing primary structure, such as spar webs and equivalent panels, is performed analytically according to optimum structure sizing.…”

Section: Wing Weight Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

A Surrogate-Based Multi-Disciplinary Design Optimization Framework Exploiting Wing-Propeller Interaction

Alba

Elham

German

et al. 2017

18th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference

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The adoption of propellers is the oldest propulsive solution in aviation, and remains nowadays the preferred one in several segments of the market, being the greenest and most fuel-efficient choice for low-to-mid subsonic speeds. New paradigms of mobility envision the use of propeller powered aircrafts to provide an answer to the issue of future mass transportation in and between major cities.Common aircraft design procedures determine optimal wing design parameters pursuing low drag and weight solutions, but neglecting the influence that propellers' slipstreams have on lift and drag distributions, especially when mounted in tractor configurations.Considering such strong interest in propeller propulsion, and the apparent lack of insightful research in the multi-disciplinary design optimization (MDO) opportunities that propeller-wing integration brings along, the present Thesis was designed with the objective of building a surrogate-based MDO framework for a general aviation aircraft featuring wing mounted tractor propellers. Such objective was achieved by developing appropriate analysis tools to model the most relevant effects of wing-propellers interaction, and by integrating them in suitable optimization architectures enhanced by the adoption of surrogate models. Two research hypotheses underlay such approach, the first claiming that accounting for wing-propeller interaction effects could lead to better designs, and the second claiming that the adoption of surrogate modeling techniques could greatly improve overall optimization performances. The successful accomplishment of the described objective was demonstrated by applying the optimization on an existing aircraft and achieving sensitive fuel savings. The mentioned hypotheses were instead proven under several aspects through the multiple surrogate-based optimization frameworks adopted and the obtained optimal designs. The work proposed as well innovative solutions to perform a full interaction wing-propellers analysis, such as routines to assess and model the propeller streamtube deflection and the wing swirl recovery effects. It also provided guidance for the implementation of surrogate-based optimizations in problems featuring high numbers of design variables and multiple complex non-linear constraints, testing different surrogate models, as well as different frameworks, to achieve local and global optimal designs.iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe path leading to the achievement of my Master in Aerospace Engineering has been a challenging and rewarding one, along which all my professors and colleagues at TU Delft have been a huge source of motivation and improvement.This Thesis is the culmination of such journey, and would not have been possible without the support of the people I have been working with over the past year. I would first like to thank my supervisor Dr. Elham of TU Delft for his availability and precious contribution in several aspects of the work. A great thanks is due as well to Professor Brian German who hosted me at the Georgia Institute o...

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Section: Wing Weight Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

A Surrogate-Based Multi-Disciplinary Design Optimization Framework Exploiting Wing-Propeller Interaction

Alba

Elham

German

et al. 2017

18th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis and Optimization Conference

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This method was studied by many scholars, such as Droegkamp [12], Bindolino [13], Laban [14], Hurlimann [15], and Sensmeier [16]. Such methods are generally based on finite element analysis to size the various components of the primary structure and compute their weight with material density and volume information [10]. These methods are obviously more exact.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Traditional methods of weight estimation during conceptual design have been based mostly on the use of statistical data and basic performance equations [8,10]. Such methods are quick and simple, but not sufficiently precise, especially in current circumstances where more new materials and new types of structures are applied in aircraft.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Allowing for the aircraft conceptual design process including a large number of variable changes and trade studies [5][6][7], aircraft mass properties needs to be recalculated frequently with changes in design. Research on more accurate, rapid, practical, and design-sensitive weight estimation method remains a focus in the field of aircraft conceptual design [7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Wing weight estimation considering constraints of structural strength and stiffness in aircraft conceptual design

Chen¹,

Mingqiang²,

Zhong³

et al. 2014

International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences

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According to the requirement of wing weight estimation and frequent adjustments during aircraft conceptual design, a wing weight estimation method considering the constraints of structural strength and stiffness is proposed to help designers make wing weight estimations rapidly and accurately. This method implements weight predictions on the basis of structure weight optimization with stiffness constraints and strength constraints, which include achievement of wing shape parametric modeling, rapid structure layout, finite element (FE) model automated generation, load calculation, structure analysis, weight optimization, and weight computed based on modeling. A software tool is developed with this wing weight estimation method. This software can realize the whole process of wing weight estimation with the method and the workload of wing weight estimation is reduced because much of the work can be completed by the software. Finally, an example is given to illustrate that this weight estimation method is effective.

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“…[11][12][13][14][15] Therefore, one of the primary roles of design framework is to improve the level of accuracy in weight estimations as much as possible. So far, various methods of weight estimation have been proposed for aircraft design, which can be categorized into a few classes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Physics-Based Design Framework for Aircraft Design using Parametric Modeling

Hong¹,

Park²,

Kim³

2015

International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences

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Handling constantly evolving configurations of aircraft can be inefficient and frustrating to design engineers, especially true in the early design phase when many design parameters are changeable throughout trade-off studies. In this paper, a physics-based design framework using parametric modeling is introduced, which is designated as DIAMOND/AIRCRAFT and developed for structural design of transport aircraft in the conceptual and preliminary design phase. DIAMOND/AIRCRAFT can relieve the burden of labor-intensive and time-consuming configuration changes with powerful parametric modeling techniques that can manipulate ever-changing geometric parameters for external layout of design alternatives. Furthermore, the design framework is capable of generating FE model in an automated fashion based on the internal structural layout, basically a set of design parameters describing the structural members in terms of their physical properties such as location, spacing and quantities. The design framework performs structural sizing using the FE model including both primary and secondary structural levels. This physics-based approach improves the accuracy of weight estimation significantly as compared with empirical methods. In this study, combining a physics-based model with parameter modeling techniques delivers a high-fidelity design framework, remarkably expediting otherwise slow and tedious design process of the early design phase.

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Development and implementation of an advanced, design-sensitive method for wing weight estimation

Cited by 58 publications

References 11 publications

A Surrogate-Based Multi-Disciplinary Design Optimization Framework Exploiting Wing-Propeller Interaction

A Surrogate-Based Multi-Disciplinary Design Optimization Framework Exploiting Wing-Propeller Interaction

Wing weight estimation considering constraints of structural strength and stiffness in aircraft conceptual design

Development of a Physics-Based Design Framework for Aircraft Design using Parametric Modeling

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