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An Approach to Multidisciplinary Design, Analysis & Optimization For Rapid Conceptual Design
Atherton Carty
September 6, 2002
Abstract
Due to increased competition within the aerospace industry, simply meeting the minimum project requirements for a new design will no longer ensure a project win. In order to achieve mission success, emphasis must be placed on producing an optimum final product through an efficient, lean process. To achieve an optimum final product, MultiDisciplinary Design (MDD), MultiDisciplinary Analysis (MDA), and MultiDisciplinary Optimization (MDO) must be utilized from project inception. Traditionally, MDD, MDA, and MDO have been time intensive activities, whose limited implementation in the prototyping design process has added little benefit. If significant gains are to be made by employing MDD, MDA, and MDO in a prototyping environment, the time associated with their implementation must be reduced such that a sufficient number of trades can be performed to realize these gains.
In order to remain an industry leader in an increasing competitive aerospace marketplace theLockheed Martin Aeronautics Company’s Advanced Development Projects organization has employed Rapid Conceptual Design (RCD) methodology. The Rapid Conceptual Design group was formed and given the task of defining an RCD methodology and selecting, implementing, & evaluating software designed to facilitate the process of MDD and MDO. The group’s objective is to develop tools to facilitate integrated design analysis and optimization, resulting in a reduction in the cycle time associated with performing MDD, MDA, and MDO. Several commercial off the shelf (COTS) tools are available, to allow the integration of existing analysis codes and applications in a modular format, providing an efficient user environment for performing analyses.
The complete integration of MDD and MDO through the application of RCD has enabled the identification of optimal solutions that are counter intuitive and functions of multiple design disciplines. The intent of this paper is to discuss RCD methodology, its underlying tenants and operating principles, as well as examples of how it has been and how it is being implemented on multiple programs within ADP's "Skunk Works" organization.
Introduction
The Rapid Conceptual Design (RCD) methodology is much more of a design process than it is a specific design tool, or set of design tools. It is true that the end result of an RCD process is typically an integrated system model; however, the way in which this resulting design tool is created and the analysis capabilities it brings to bear are drastically different from the tools utilized in traditional design approaches. The most obvious of these is the fact that the resulting integrated system model is tailored to the specific problem of interest for which a given analysis is required. In contrast, the classic design approach would typically involve the adaptation of an existing monolithic code to address a class of vehicle for which it may not have ever been intended. As a result, it is not unlikely that the effort which is required to adapt the legacy method to a given problem type may well be on par with the level of effort which would be required to develop a new model altogether.
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