Joshua D. Deaton, Raymond M. Kolonay, Robert Reuter, Marcelo H. Kobayashi
DOI Number: N/A
Conference number: IFASD-2017-108
The development of a biologically-inspired methodology for topology and sizing optimization of aircraft lifting surfaces is explored and validated. The methodology is based on the map-L systems of modeling cellular division to generate wing substructure topology. The topology design is combined with traditional structural sizing and evaluated against static displacement and frequency constraints with the objective to minimize weight. The demonstration problem in this work is a generic fighter-inspired aircraft wing box. To provide a comparison point, sizing optimization is also performed on a wing structure with fixed topology that is characteristic of conventional rectilinear ribs and spars. Selected designs are manufactured by polymer 3D printing and subject to static load and modal testing to verify performance. Modal/vibration data is collected using laser velocimetry and static displacement data is taken using a combination of digital image correlation and a laser displacement sensor.