Rear Fuselage Structural Optimization Using Genetic Algorithm

Abstract

Structural optimization is one of the most important tasks during the airplane structural design and yet there is a lack of well established procedures to determine the optimum design of aerospace structures. This paper represents development of structural optimization code based on genetic algorithm, and results for light aircraft aft fuselage optimal design using the optimization code. We have developed a MATLAB code according to the genetic algorithm and FE model for the composite light aircraft aft fuselage using MSC PATRAN to generate NASTRAN input file; the MATLAB code was coupled with MSC NASTRAN which used to perform linear static and buckling analysis. we obtained the minimum weight of the aft fuselage with a linear static and buckling constraints; the minimum weight is 21.6 kg; it has been obtained after 43 iterations; the margin of safety is of the optimum design is 1.22 and the buckling factor is 1.24 and hence the structure is free of static failure and buckling. The code is efficient in the conceptual and preliminary structural design phases to obtain the optimal aft fuselage weight.