It is well known that air and space travel is highly inefficient in its use of energy, but at the same time, it is a vital cog in the globalized economy. Thus, there is a strong drive for engineers to produce a more efficient flight vehicle in and timely and economic manner, which in turn supports the use of high-end computer analysis of new designs to expedite research. One shortcoming that remains, however, is the inability to rapidly optimize multi-vehicle designs for given parameters without the extensive use of abstract multivariable calculus outside of the test bed. Due to this, no significant study of optimal positioning of multiple structures has been conducted, leaving these determinations to in-flight experimentation with prototype designs.

To provide a solution to this problem, a project will seek to develop an autonomous optimization tool to complement finite-element (FEM) solutions for given wing designs, with concentration on formation-type flight systems. Thus, by direct comparison of vortical currents in the questioned design, the program will use Newtonian methods to determine an approximate ideal and provide the FEM solution for that design. Once this is accomplished, the program will expand to cover multi-component flight systems beyond those of simple airfoils and function with flows related to turbines and the tail sections of rockets, especially those that employ spin motors as control assist in transit. Successful application of this will in turn provide a base to compare any multi-element system for optimal fluid force parameters.

Team Members:

Garrett Lewis

Sponsoring Teacher: Neil McBeth

Mail the entire Team