Research Highlight: Improving aircraft aeropropulsive performance with multidisciplinary design optimization

MICDE fellow Anil Yildirim, a Ph.D. candidate in the department of Aerospace Engineering, is working towards improving the overall efficiency of commercial tube-and-wing aircraft. The current commercial aircraft design with underwing engines have been the norm since the introduction of the Boeing 707 in the late 50’s [1]. With technological progress in composite materials and electric propulsion, as well as advancement of computational methods and computer power, researchers are developing more energy efficient systems to replace this legacy design. Working with the MDO Lab, lead by Prof. Joaquim R.R.A. Martins, and a team from NASA, Anil is studying the boundary layer ingestion (BLI) system on the STARC–ABL concept, introduced by NASA in 2016 [2] . BLI is an aeropropulsive concept, where a propulsion system is used to ingest the boundary layer generated by the aircraft. This increases propulsive efficiency and reduces the energy dissipated in the wake, effectively improving the overall aeropropulsive performance of the aircraft. Anil and his colleagues in the MDO Lab are using multidisciplinary analysis and optimization tools to study similar technologies, where design intuition is limited and interdisciplinary trades are important. Watch this video to learn more about his work (Authors: Anil Yildirim, Justin S. Gray, Charles A. Mader, Joaquim R. R. A. Martins, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2019-3455)