Large-Scale Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of an eVTOL Aircraft using Comprehensive Analysis

This paper presents a framework under development for enabling large-scale multi-fidelity modeling and optimization of electric vertical takeoff and landing concepts (eVTOL). The key features of the framework are a geometry-centric approach to multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO), a modular functional-form representation of the disciplines involved in aircraft design, and fully automated derivative computations thereby allowing efficient gradient-based optimization. The framework is first presented in a general manner agnostic to the vehicle concept or the physics-based analyses used. The key disciplines involved in the design of eVTOL aircraft and the couplings between the disciplines are described. The complex multidisciplinary nature of the design is emphasized. The framework is then applied to the design of the NASA lift-plus-cruise concept. Low-fidelity solvers of aerodynamics, propulsion, structural estimation, acoustics, powertrain, and battery are coupled together. The optimization considers 108 design variables and 16 constraints. It is shown that MDO considering geometric variables results in a design with lower gross mass than when the geometric variables are not considered. The optimization turnaround time of 30 minutes on a standard workstation demonstrates the capabilities of fully-coupled large-scale MDO using gradient-based optimization. The framework is under development and an open-source version will be released in the near-future.