Research
Center for High-Efficiency Electrical Technologies for Aircraft (CHEETA)
Aeropropulsive Shape Optimization
To leverage the full aerodynamic benefit of propulsion integration, a coupled aerodynamics-propulsion system optimization can be performed. In this study, both the aerodynamic drag and the mechanical flow power were used as performance characteristics to be minimized. See [2] for the original approach to this problem. A Journal of Aircraft article is in progress!
Aerodynamic Tool Design
To facilitate fast changes to geometric parametrizations of multi-element airfoil systems, pymead was created. This tool allows for direct interaction with Bézier control points that define the airfoil systems. Equations can be added to create inter- and intra-airfoil constraints, and these equations are linked dynamically in the GUI to the airfoil visualizer. This tool also has built-in support for both XFOIL and MSES, with aerodynamic analyses able to be run with just a couple clicks or a keyboard shortcut. A genetic-algorithm-based optimization scheme is another feature in pymead that allows for design improvements with no intermediate user action required.
