Enhancements in the Aircraft Preliminary Design Methodologies: Adoption of Sustainable High-Fidelity Simulations

Abstract

Abstract. Aircraft preliminary design requires the capability of rapidly exploring several different configurations without compromising the accuracy of the different physics involved, such as aerodynamics, structural analysis and low observability. In this work we propose a multi-fidelity methodology combining analysis with different levels of fidelity, where the high-fidelity is meant to be supported by Reduced Order Models (ROM). The purpose is to significantly accelerate the decision process, increasing the quality of the design already in the preliminary phases. Inspired by a previous ESTECO’s experience [1], the methodology is applied by Leonardo Aeronautics in a study-case based on an example configuration of a fighter jet. The ultimate goal is to include this methodology among the tools available for preliminary aircraft design [2]. The design workflow begins with a conceptual phase that involves the rapid generation of several configurations through low-fidelity simulations. The purpose is not only to get a preliminary evaluation of the performances and requirements compliance, but also to find a region of interest in the input domain where to concentrate the analysis effort. In this region, we developed a Design of Experiments (DOE) Table containing different possible aircraft configurations to perform the high-fidelity simulations for the two selected physics: CFD for the aerodynamics and electromagnetic fields for the estimation of the radar cross-section (RCS). The resulting set is used as a training set for the development of the non-intrusive ROM models. This approach enables a detailed exploration of the solution space with limited computational costs, making it possible to converge on engineering-feasible configurations within the timeframes of the preliminary design phase.