Design optimization of unsteady airfoils with continuous adjoint method

In this paper, a new unsteady aerodynamic design method is presented based on the Navier-Stokes equations and a continuous adjoint approach. A basic framework of time-accurate unsteady airfoil optimization which adopts time-averaged aerodynamic coefficients as objective functions is presented. The time-accurate continuous adjoint equation and its boundary conditions are derived. The flow field and the adjoint equation are simulated numerically by the finite volume method （FVM）. Feasibility and accuracy of the approach are perfectly validated by the design optimization results of the plunging NACA0012 airfoil.

TWO-DIMENSIONAL STOCHASTIC AIRFOIL OPTIMIZATION DESIGN METHOD BASED ON NEURAL NETWORKS

To avoid the aerodynamic performance loss of airfoil at non-design state which often appears in single point design optimization, and to improve the adaptability to the uncertain factors in actual flight environment, a two-dimensional stochastic airfoil optimization design method based on neural networks is presented. To provide highly efficient and credible analysis, four BP neural networks are built as surrogate models to predict the airfoil aerodynamic coefficients and geometry parameter. These networks are combined with the probability density function obeying normal distribution and the genetic algorithm, thus forming an optimization design method. Using the method, for GA（W）-2 airfoil, a stochastic optimization is implemented in a two-dimensional flight area about Mach number and angle of attack. Compared with original airfoil and single point optimization design airfoil, results show that the two-dimensional stochastic method can improve the performance in a specific flight area, and increase the airfoil adaptability to the stochastic changes of multiple flight parameters.

Optimized Design of H-Type Vertical Axis Wind Airfoil at Multiple Angles of Attack

Numerical simulations are conducted to improve the energy acquisition efficiency of H-type vertical axis wind turbines through the optimization of the related blade airfoil aerodynamic performance.The Bézier curve is initi-ally used tofit the curve profile of a NACA2412 airfoil,and the moving asymptote algorithm is then exploited to optimize the design of the considered H-type vertical-axis wind-turbine blade airfoil for a certain attack angle.The results show that the maximum lift coefficient of the optimized airfoil is 8.33%higher than that of the original airfoil.The maximum lift-to-drag ratio of the optimized airfoil exceeds the maximum lift-to-drag ratio of the ori-ginal airfoil by 11.22%.Moreover,the power coefficient is increased by 12.19%and the torque coefficient of the wind turbine is significantly improved.

Optimization and design of an aircraft's morphing wing-tip demonstrator for drag reduction at low speed, Part Ⅰ–Aerodynamic optimization using genetic, bee colony and gradient descent algorithms

In this paper, an ‘in-house＇ genetic algorithm is described and applied to an optimization problem for improving the aerodynamic performances of an aircraft wing tip through upper surface morphing. The algorithm＇s performances were studied from the convergence point of view, in accordance with design conditions. The algorithm was compared to two other optimization methods,namely the artificial bee colony and a gradient method, for two optimization objectives, and the results of the optimizations with each of the three methods were plotted on response surfaces obtained with the Monte Carlo method, to show that they were situated in the global optimum region. The optimization results for 16 wind tunnel test cases and 2 objective functions were presented. The 16 cases used for the optimizations were included in the experimental test plan for the morphing wing-tip demonstrator, and the results obtained using the displacements given by the optimizations were evaluated.

Topology optimization of compliant adaptive wing leading edge with composite materials

An approach for designing the compliant adaptive wing leading edge with composite material is proposed based on the topology optimization. Firstly, an equivalent constitutive relationship of laminated glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite plates has been built based on the symmetric laminated plate theory. Then, an optimization objective function of compliant adaptive wing leading edge was used to minimize the least square error（LSE） between deformed curve and desired aerodynamics shape. After that, the topology structures of wing leading edge of different glass fiber ply-orientations were obtained by using the solid isotropic material with penalization（SIMP） model and sensitivity filtering technique. The desired aerodynamics shape of compliant adaptive wing leading edge was obtained based on the proposed approach. The topology structures of wing leading edge depend on the glass fiber ply-orientation. Finally, the corresponding morphing experiment of compliant wing leading edge with composite materials was implemented, which verified the morphing capability of topology structure and illustrated the feasibility for designing compliant wing leading edge. The present paper lays the basis of ply-orientation optimization for compliant adaptive wing leading edge in unmanned aerial vehicle（UAV） field.

Variable-fidelity optimization with design space reduction

Advanced engineering systems, like aircraft, are defined by tens or even hundreds of design variables. Building an accurate surrogate model for use in such high-dimensional optimization problems is a difficult task owing to the curse of dimensionality. This paper presents a new algorithm to reduce the size of a design space to a smaller region of interest allowing a more accurate surrogate model to be generated. The framework requires a set of models of different physical or numerical fidelities. The low-fidelity （LF） model provides physics-based approximation of the high-fidelity （HF） model at a fraction of the computational cost. It is also instrumental in identifying the small region of interest in the design space that encloses the high-fidelity optimum. A surrogate model is then constructed to match the low-fidelity model to the high-fidelity model in the identified region of interest. The optimization process is managed by an update strategy to prevent convergence to false optima. The algorithm is applied on mathematical problems and a two-dimen-sional aerodynamic shape optimization problem in a variable-fidelity context. Results obtained are in excellent agreement with high-fidelity results, even with lower-fidelity flow solvers, while showing up to 39% time savings.

Aerodynamic optimization and mechanism design of flexible variable camber trailing-edge flap

Trailing-edge flap is traditionally used to improve the takeoff and landing aerodynamic performance of aircraft.In order to improve flight efficiency during takeoff,cruise and landing states,the flexible variable camber trailing-edge flap is introduced,capable of changing its shape smoothly from 50% flap chord to the rear of the flap.Using a numerical simulation method for the case of the GA（W）-2 airfoil,the multi-objective optimization of the overlap,gap,deflection angle,and bending angle of the flap under takeoff and landing configurations is studied.The optimization results show that under takeoff configuration,the variable camber trailing-edge flap can increase lift coefficient by about 8% and lift-to-drag ratio by about 7% compared with the traditional flap at a takeoff angle of 8°.Under landing configuration,the flap can improve the lift coefficient at a stall angle of attack about 1.3%.Under cruise state,the flap helps to improve the lift-todrag ratio over a wide range of lift coefficients,and the maximum increment is about 30%.Finally,a corrugated structure–eccentric beam combination bending mechanism is introduced in this paper to bend the flap by rotating the eccentric beam.

Aerodynamic Characteristics and Noise Collaborative Optimization of an Airfoil

Aerodynamic noise is the main problem restricting its development nowadays in green energy,ocean engineering and aerospace engineering.In order to limit the aerodynamic noise of an airfoil structure,a method is proposed in this paper by designing low noise airfoils.This method optimized the aerodynamic noise of two-dimensional airfoil,and considered the aerodynamic performance of the airfoil at the same time.Based on Joukowski conformal transformation,airfoil geometry is parameterized firstly.Then,the optimization model taking the lift-to-drag ratio and airfoil self-noise as the design objective,is established to modify the airfoil by active set algorithm until the airfoil can satisfy the design condition.Finally,the noise of the optimized airfoil is verified according to the prediction theory of airfoil noise.Moreover,the relationship between airfoil geometry and noise is analyzed.The results show that the lift-to-drag ratio of the optimized airfoil increased,and the noise also decreased.Thus,the optimization method can be used to address special design of low-noise airfoil.Besides,the optimization method in this paper can provide reference for improving lift-to-drag ratio and reducing noise of the airfoil in aircraft and submarine rudder system.