Integrated Hypersonic Aeromechanics Tool (IHAT)
Myles L. Baker, Ph.D., Katherine Y. Alston, Michael J. Munson
September 6, 2002
Abstract
The IHAT System is a tool suite for configuration optimization of high speed airbreathing flight vehicles currently under development. The focus of the System is on high speed tactical weapons (Mach 4-8 regime) with relatively long range. The hypersonic flight regime of the weapons results in unique requirements for the analysis, design, and optimization tool suite. While the requirements for tactical weapons systems are quite different from those for launch vehicles, strategic weapons systems, and high speed aircraft, they share the characteristic that they are highly integrated configurations. For such highly integrated configurations, the traditional disciplinary lines between vehicle components tend to disappear as, for example, the structure becomes more tightly integrated with the propulsion system. Due to the highly integrated nature of the configurations, traditional “stovepipe” design methods have not been successful in defining a viable configuration for this type of mission. It is expected that an integrated approach to the analysis, design, and optimization of the entire vehicle will allow interactions between the disciplines to be understood and exploited. This will allow for the development of viable long range hypersonic vehicles. The IHAT System is an effort to provide such an integrated analysis/optimization toolset. IHAT is being developed by a government/ industry team using multiple, incremental builds. This paper describes the first build (Build 1) of the IHAT System.
Introduction
The disciplines involved in high speed vehicle design are numerous. As in any development activity, the first step is to limit the scope of the initial integration to reduce overall risk and to provide for progressive validation and demonstration of the System. For the IHAT System, the first build, Build 1, is focused on integration of the multidisciplinary analysis routines (with limited effort put into optimization) and is further limited to four analysis disciplines: Propulsion, Aerodynamics, Structural, and Thermal. Each of these disciplines is handled by its respective software Module. Additional support Modules are also present in Build 1, including a Geometry Module, an Integration Core Module, and a User Interface Module. It should also be noted that in order to have a fully functional System at the release of Build 1, it was necessary to add two auxiliary routines (Mass Properties and Loads). This set of seven Modules will provide a demonstration of the IHAT System. The overall development approach will provide a tool that addresses some of the strongest multidisciplinary interactions involved in the development of high speed flight vehicles. Once the scope of the initial development effort has been defined, the next step is to define the relationships between the Modules in more detail. This helps establish the inter-Module dependencies, which defines the optimal Module execution order. A Design Structure Matrix (DSM, shown in Figure 1) was used to define the execution order in this effort. In this matrix, the rows indicate the outputs of the various Modules, and the columns indicate the inputs. The Modules are listed along the diagonal of the matrix in order of execution, and data dependencies are shown in the off-diagonalentries.
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