Multi-Fidelity and Multi-Disciplinary Design Optimization of A Low-Boom Supersonic Transport Aircraft

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the conceptual design of a low-boom super sonic transport aircraft by utilizing multi-fidelity and multi-disciplinary design optimization techniques. The research group aims to set forth a commercial supersonic aircraft model for future benchmarking studies. The presented multi-disciplinary design framework coherently incorporates aerodynamic, aero elasticity and sonic boom prediction solvers into the design process. In the multi-fidelity modelling approach, the rigid flow solution is chosen to be the low-fidelity model while the aero elastic flow solution is used as the high-fidelity model. For aero dynamic and fluid-structure interaction (FSI) solutions, the SU2 open-source suite is employed. For sonic boom prediction, NASA’s sBOOM code is coupled with the SU2 code’s output pressure data using in-house Python scripts. The parametric geometric modelling is achieved by using the ESP (Engineering Sketch Pad) program. In the multi-fidelity optimization study, the in-house coKriging and genetic algorithm codes of ITU AeroMDO Lab are used for multi fidelity surrogate modelling and optimization studies, respectively. A 8.48%reduction in PLdB(perceived loudness in decibels) is achieved by the current shape optimization process for a commercial supersonic aircraft model with a complex geometry.