Parametric modeling and aerodynamic optimization of EXPERT configuration at hypersonic speeds

摘要

With the rapid development of aviation and space industry, hypersonic vehicles with high lift-to-drag ratio have attracted an increasing attention. The aerodynamic performance of the aircraft plays a dominant role in the conceptual design of flight vehicles. Based on the sketch of the European EXPERT reentry vehicle, this investigation provides readers with detailed instructions for the Free Form Deformation (FFD) parametric modeling and aerodynamic optimization of the design of hypersonic vehicles. The aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle are numerically investigated by the panel method. The Multi-Island Genetic Algorithm (MIGA) is utilized to optimize the aerodynamic shape. The obtained results show that the value of the objective function (L/D)(max) increases from 0.7141 to 1.4133, and the optimum angle of attack decreases from 21 degrees to 12 degrees. The further analysis digs out the potential effects of the upper and lower surfaces to the vehicle. The impact of the upper surface is greatly diminished. The influence of the body flap, as well as the other objective functions, would be taken into consideration in the oncoming work. (C) 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.