(November 12, 2019) – CFD Research announced today a recent award from NASA to develop an intelligent framework to build adaptive parametric reduced order models (PROMs) for aeroservoelastic (ASE) analysis and aerostructural control applications. The flight performance response of aerospace systems is characterized by the complex interactions between aerodynamics, structural dynamics and flight control dynamics. The ability to accurately predict aeroelastic (AE) behavior in conjunction with flight control is essential for developing aerospace vehicles with high-performance, endurance, and efficiency.
“Existing modeling techniques applicable to aeroelastic analysis are not particularly useful for flight control design,” said Dr. Kapil Pant, CFD Research executive vice-president. “Although high-fidelity simulations coupling nonlinear aerodynamics with structural models enable a direct insight into these phenomena, its prohibitive computational costs and speed render it impractical for integration in a concurrent design and control environment.”
In this context, a variety of reduced order models that capture dominant flight dynamics in a compact form have been developed. Since 2008, CFD Research has led research efforts sponsored by NASA, MDA, US Air Force, US Army and other government agencies towards the development of equation-based and data-driven AE/ASE PROMs to enable real-time simulation and aerostructural control synthesis within a broad flight envelope.
In this project, CFD Research in collaboration with Dr. Yi Wang at the University of South Carolina, is further refining the techniques for enhanced performance and functionality. Genetic Algorithm (GA)-guided ROMs will be improved in terms of design exploration, meta-optimization, and state consistence. Adaptive sampling will be used to span multi-dimensional flight parameter space. Methods to integrate PROMs from separate domains, and sensors and controllers will be optimized. The team will integrate a modular intelligent environment into NASA workflow for automated ROM development, certification, and control design using flexible vehicles of NASA interest.
This technology provides a powerful tool to generate fast ROMs, which will aid in (1) fault diagnostics and optimized design; (3) design and planning of simulations and experiments, and (2) development of advanced control strategies. The applications of these capabilities are vast, focusing on aerospace, aircraft, and watercraft engineering for fluid-structural interaction and fatigue analysis, real-time flow control and optimization, hardware-in-loop simulation, and others. It will markedly reduce development costs and cycles of these systems.
About CFD Research: Since its inception in 1987, CFD Research has worked with government agencies, businesses and academia to provide innovative solutions within the Aerospace & Defense, Biomedical & Life Sciences, and Energy & Materials industries. Over the years CFD Research has earned multiple national awards for successful application and commercialization of innovative component/system technology prototypes, multi-physics simulation software, multi-disciplinary analyses, and expert support services. CFD Research is an ISO9001 and AS9100 registered company and is appraised at CMMI Level II for services. Learn more at www.cfdrc.com.
