Development of an open-source parametric aerodynamic shape optimization framework for aerospace applications

In this study, a parametric ASO framework based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is designed using open-source tools to optimize the shapes of aerodynamic surfaces in the transonic regime. After validating the CFD mathematicalmodel in the first stage, aerodynamic shape optimization (ASO) is performed for the generic ONERA M6 wing, which iscommon test case in the literature. The results obtained using the presented ASO framework showed that a maximumrelative improvement of 17.92% in the lift-to-drag ratio of the ONERA M6 wing was achieved. The pressure distribution over the optimized aerodynamic surfaces and the comparison of the supersonic regions with the baseline geometry revealsthe reasons for the relative improvement. The ASO result showed that a maximum relative improvement of 10% wasachieved in the lift-to-drag ratio of the N2A-EXTE aircraft. The new optimized designs were compared with the N2A-EXTE aircraft geometry in terms of volume, surface area and longitudinal static stability characteristics. The optimizationstudies performed on a real aircraft revealed that the ASO framework proposed in the present study is sufficiently stableand works well. The proposed optimization framework is designed with a general black box logic and the design toolswithin it can be replaced with different options. The open-source software in the ASO framework designed in this studyis interchangeable with other design tools and can be easily used in different aerospace applications and preliminary designstages of aircraft. The ASO framework presented in the present study can be considered as the first step towards futuremultidisciplinary ASO framework.