Recent Trends in Geometry Parameterization Strategies for Aerodynamic Shape Optimization

Abstract

In the aircraft industry, shape optimization is fast becoming a major component of aerodynamic design. The essential components of this optimal shape design process, are a geometry modeler, appropriate mesh creator and flow solver and the optimizer. The interactive link between the geometry modeler and the optimizer is crucial to the successful evolving of the optimal design. This paper reviews some of the current geometry parameterisation schemes with particular reference to their robustness, consistency and their ability to model wide range of shapes within the design space. Constructive methods like Shape Function Transformations and PARSEC and deformation methods like Hicks-Henne bump functions and hierarchical Bezier surfaces are described briefly and discussed with reference to their desirable properties of an ideal parameterization scheme. Recent trends in free-form deformation techniques with adaptive parametrisation of geometry are indicated with references in the literature