Keynote lecture: a perspective on the future of design

Hypersonic vehicles are, by necessity, highly integrated flying machines. They also have inherently high performance and economic uncertainties. Combined, these characteristics render conventional practices inadequate for designing hypersonic vehicles. As advancing technology enables more sophisticated design tools, and computer speed continues to grow exponentially, systems will be designed in an ever more integrated fashion to wring the most out of system performance and economics. Hypersonic vehicles are therefore representative of future design challenges, and will be used as an example of future trends in design practice.Improved methods of system design that account for (and even take advantage of) the highly integrated nature of hypersonic vehicles are crucial to their successful development. Some of the advanced design methods requiring maturation and integration include: a parametric geometry generation system that provides consistent high quality geometry data to all analysis disciplines; automated data transfer between analysis tools; automated execution of high-fidelity computational analysis tools; multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) techniques; probabilistic analysis techniques; and accurate cost modeling. Also crucial is the coupling of the vehicle design/optimization system with operations/mission modeling and simulation tools. Such a link will enable designs to be optimized for system effectiveness and economics at the highest level. Successful hypersonic vehicle design is not possible without such improved, integrated methods. This presentation will focus on this vision of future system design, and will status some aspects of progress being made toward achieving this vision.Dr. Kevin G. Bowcutt is a Boeing Senior Technical Fellow and Chief Scientist of Hypersonic Design and Applications for The Boeing Company, with 21 years of experience. Kevin is an expert in hypersonic aerodynamics, propulsion integration, and vehicle design and optimization. Dr. Bowcutt pioneered the modern viscous optimized hypersonic waverider during his doctoral research at the University of Maryland. After school, Kevin served in technical leadership roles for propulsion integration on the National AeroSpace Plane (NASP) program and worked on two national teams assembled to solve key NASP technical issues. Following NASP, Kevin led a project to test scramjet engines at speeds up to 9,000 ft/sec by firing them from a light gas gun at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Next, Dr. Bowcutt conceived and led the conceptual design activity for the DARPA/Boeing Affordable Rapid-Response Missile Demonstrator (ARRMD) Mach 7 waverider vehicle, applying Multidisciplinary Design Optimization techniques to dramatically improve vehicle performance. Dr. Bowcutt most recently led the design team that created the FASST two-stage-to-orbit air-breathing reusable launch vehicle concept, which has recently become architecture #6 for the NASA Next Generation Launch Technology program. Kevin currently leads several hypersonic vehicle design/analysis efforts, leads the hypersonic vehicles portion of the Boeing Integrated Vehicle Design System (BIVDS) project, is working on the Space Shuttle Columbia accident investigation, and is a Director of Technical Independent Reviews for Boeing Air Force Systems. Dr. Bowcutt holds BS, MS and PhD degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland.