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A Coupled-Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis Method for High-Fidelity Aero-Structural Design

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Abstract

This paper presents an adjoint method for sensitivity analysis that is used in an aero-structural aircraft design framework. The aero-structural analysis uses high-fidelity models of both the aerodynamics and the structures. Aero-structural sensitivities are computed using a coupled-adjoint approach that is based on previously developed single discipline sensitivity analysis. Alternative strategies for coupled sensitivity analysis are also discussed. The aircraft geometry and a structure of fixed topology are parameterized using a large number of design variables. The aero-structural sensitivities of aerodynamic and structural functions with respect to these design variables are computed and compared with results given by the complex-step derivative approximation. The coupled-adjoint procedure is shown to yield very accurate sensitivities and to be computationally efficient, making high-fidelity aero-structural design feasible for problems with thousands of design variables.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, Toronto, ON, M3H 5T6, Canada

    Joaquim R.R.A. Martins

  2. Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Juan J. Alonso

  3. NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, 95035, USA

    James J. Reuther

Authors
  1. Joaquim R.R.A. Martins
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  2. Juan J. Alonso
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  3. James J. Reuther
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Martins, J.R., Alonso, J.J. & Reuther, J.J. A Coupled-Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis Method for High-Fidelity Aero-Structural Design. Optimization and Engineering 6, 33–62 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:OPTE.0000048536.47956.62

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:OPTE.0000048536.47956.62

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