Session: 01-02-03 Adaptive and Multifunctional Structures III

Paper Number: 110575

110575 - Design and Optimization of Bird-Bone-Like Aircraft Wing Structures 

Increasing the efficiency of load-bearing structural components is an important challenge in engineering design. Architected lattice structures that consist of repeating arrangements of porous unit cells exhibit unique mechanical properties and present an opportunity to address this challenge. In this research, we utilize strut-based lattice structures made up of linear elements, or struts, that are connected at nodes for designing the internal structure of an aircraft wing subjected to aerodynamic loading. Tetrahedral unit cells are used as building blocks of the internal structure due to their high strength-to-weight ratio and stability. We define the unit cell size and diameter of the beams as two optimization variables over the design domain. The distribution of material within the structure is then optimized using an evolutionary algorithm to minimize the mass and maximize the load-carrying capacity of the wing structure. Several combinations of weighting factors are assigned to the two optimization objectives to obtain the overall optimal solution considering the importance of each objective for specific design problems. This study employs finite element modeling to evaluate the performance of the lattice structure. The results demonstrate remarkable improvements in the overall performance and efficiency of the wing structure.

Presenting Author: Sepideh Ebad Sichani Pennsylvania State University

Presenting Author Biography: Sepideh Ebad Sichani is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Penn State University. She obtained her Master of Science degree in Building and Architectural Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan (Italy ). She is interested in material science and adaptive structures and her work focuses on architected materials.

Authors:

Sepideh Ebad Sichani Pennsylvania State University
Xin Ning Pennsylvania State University