Multidisciplinary optimization of a high-speed aircraft in preliminary design phase using VOLTA

The presentation discusses the development of workflows to automate the Preliminary Design phases of a high-speed aircraft. The Preliminary Design process encompasses two phases: the first phase is based on the use of low-fidelity models, while the second phase entails some high-fidelity simulations possibly including the interaction with a High Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure. The workflows under analysis integrate several commercial tools currently in use at Leonardo Aircraft Division (LAD) for Preliminary Design. They allow to explore the design space of solutions and enable a Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) starting from a predefined set of geometric input parameters and requirements. In the presented activity, modeFRONTIER is used for workflow orchestration and for optimization. Specifically, dedicated modeFRONTIER nodes already set up for the commercial tools of interest are exploited, as well as dedicated Python nodes for the interaction with open-source tools’ APIs and APIs or SDKs developed by ESTECO. The integration of other Leonardo proprietary codes within the workflows is also envisaged. For sake of clarity, modeFRONTIER tool is already well established at Leonardo, with former applications focused mainly on single-discipline optimizations. However, since the Preliminary Design process typically involves many engineering disciplines, the interaction of several experts within the same workflow is required. Therefore, the activity is also a chance to test the collaborative features of the VOLTA environment. In addition, the application allows to prove the capability of the VOLTA environment to handle the different runs of a workflow, keeping track of the models’ versioning. The activity is carried out in collaboration with ESTECO developers, with dedicated trainings/workshops and continuous support envisaged to learn to adopt the best approaches in using the modeFRONTIER / VOLTA suite.