Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of a Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Using Physics-Based Models

Shifting economic forces have placed pressure on the aviation industry to produce future aircraft designs with substantial performance improvements over those flying today. To meet these ambitious goals, new concepts are being considered that diverge from the traditional tube-and-wing design, such as the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW). While this concept offers potential performance benefits over its traditional counterpart, it will also feature more coupling between various physics disciplines. These couplings must be considered during the design of the concept to have an accurate understanding of its performance and feasibility. This unique challenge provides a ripe opportunity for the application of physics-based multidisciplinary design optimization tool sets. The work presented here couples the mission analysis capability of Aviary with OpenAeroStruct for aerodynamic analysis and TACS for structural analysis. Using these tools, a system level design optimization on a TTBW concept minimizing design fuel burn is performed. This optimization includes design variables for mission trajectory, wing geometry and structural sizing variables, allowing for a more holistic design consideration.