The development of an efficient and practical three-dimensional design procedure (AeSOP) that is based on discrete sensitivity analysis and is capable of handling a large number of design variables is reported. The function of sensitivity analysis is to directly couple computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with numerical optimization techniques, which facilitates the development of efficient direct-design methods. The flow solver is based on an unfactored fully implicit formulation of the Euler equations. The new procedure is demonstrated in the design of three-dimensional transport wings in transonic flow. A very flexible wing geometry model that is totally based on two- and three-dimensional Bezier-Bernstein parameterizations is described. Three wing design cases are presented; one case illustrates the procedure's suitability to preliminary design, and the remaining cases demonstrate its ability to produce realistic and useful optimized shapes, even when starting from very elementary initial geometries.
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