MS Thesis Proposal

Silvia Caggese

(Faculty advisor: Professor Dimitri Mavris)

"Adjoint-Based Aeroelastic Optimization of the Athena Wing with Parametric Engine Coordinates"

Thursday, July 30

9:00 a.m.

Weber, CoVE

Abstract: 

The following work expands upon the Athena aircraft concept, representing the vision for sustainable aviation proposed by the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL) for the 2050 timeframe, as part of the NASA AACES 2050 initiative. Athena's design is a hybrid between a conventional tube-and-wing and a blended-wing-body configuration, with an airframe optimized to carry cryogenic fuels, such as liquefied natural gas, without significantly compromising aerodynamic performance.

An initial assessment was carried out by Ahuja et al. to evaluate its system-level performance characteristics. While this preliminary study provided a comprehensive assessment, integrating detailed CFD sensitivity studies, FEM-based weight estimation, acoustic modeling, engine cycle modeling, and thermal-structural modeling of cryogenic fuel tanks, the authors identified many research areas remaining for future development. Among these, the structural sensitivity to engine placement still remains uninvestigated. A broader literature review reveals a persistent imbalance in engine placement studies, which are often limited to aerodynamic evaluations of installment drag rather than addressing structural trade-offs.

Because unconventional configurations lack historical empirical knowledge, physics-based tools are required for their conceptual design studies. Therefore, this thesis focuses on building a high-fidelity aeroelastic optimization framework to evaluate the implications of engine positioning on the structural sizing, and consequently on the overall performance, of the Athena. The chosen approach involves coupled static aeroelastic analyses and adjoint-based sensitivity evaluation using open-source FEM and CFD codes. The engine coordinates along the chordwise, spanwise, and vertical directions are used as design variables in addition to structural sizing parameters. Finally, the damage-arresting properties of PRSEUS composite concepts are accounted for within the chosen FEM tool to evaluate the weight reduction enabled by this technology.

Committee:
Dr. Dimitri Mavris (advisor), School of Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Graeme J. Kennedy, School of Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Christian Perron , School of Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Heriberto David Solano Sarmiento, School of Aerospace Engineering
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