Variable-complexity interlacing of weight equation and structural optimization for the design of the High Speed Civil Transport

Abstract

A variable-complexity design strategy with combined aerodynamic and structural optimization procedures is presented for the high-speed civil transport (HSCT) design. Variable-complexity analysis methods are used to reduce the computational expense. An interlacing procedure is developed to combine both the simple weight equations and structural optimization in the HSCT design optimization, at modest computational cost. The structural optimization procedure and the interlacing procedure are described. Detailed comparisons between the structural weights calculated from the structural optimization procedure and weights calculated from two algebraic weight approximations are performed for several planforms. HSCT designs based on the interlacing procedure are presented and the bounds of validity are inferred.