A novel algorithm for conceptual design and optimisation of an affordable gliding airdrop platform using TCOMOGA

Abstract

ABSTRACTUnlike conventional ballistic parachutes, gliding parachutes have been extensively used as guided precision aerial delivery system (GPADS) platforms in recent years. The reasoning may be found in gliding and manoeuvering capabilities, which make this kind of ram-air parachutes superior for precision aerial delivery application. In contrast, wing-shaped configuration along with more design variables create a cumbersome design procedure for this type of parachute. Especially, when an affordable configuration is demanded, the design procedure will be a more important problem. In this respect, an innovative integrated design framework is proposed in which significant design aspects are considered so that the gliding parachute configuration can be optimiseoptimised through a bi-objective optimisation problem to find optimum cost for achievable gliding ranges. To do so, the configuration is defined with minimum required parameters and design space is constrained by performance and stability as significant design requirements to guarantee the feasibility of the solutions in practice. The objective functions are defined in terms of gliding characteristics and amount of materials for fabrication which are representative for maximum reachable stand-off distance and unit cost, respectively. As an effective numerical optimisation method, a niched multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) is used to generate a pareto-optimal set for a specific payload mass whereas constraints are handled through a tournament selection process. Based on results, the provided pareto front can aid the designers in decision-making and trade-off between demanded objectives for a payload weight. The underlying design problem is solved using an all-at-once (AAO) approach and the design loop converges to favourable results in a reasonable time. Finally, as a comparative study, an optimiseoptimised affordable cargo parachute is proposed for the GPADS application in which the material cost is reduced by at least 25% with respect to an available low-cost gliding parachute with the same glide ratio.