High fidelity multidisciplinary design optimization of a wing using the interaction of low and high fidelity models

This paper presents an efficient metamodel building technique for solving collaborative optimization (CO) based on high fidelity models. The proposed method is based on a metamodeling concept, that is designed to simultaneously utilize computationally efficient (low fidelity) and expensive (high fidelity) models in an optimization process. A distinctive feature of the method is the utilization of interaction between low and high fidelity models in the construction of high quality metamodels both at the discipline level and system level of the CO. The low fidelity model is tuned in such a way that it approaches the same level of accuracy as the high fidelity model; but at the same time remains computational inexpensive. In this process, the tuned low fidelity models are used in the discipline level optimization process. In the system level, to handle the computational cost of the equality constraints in CO, model management strategy along with metamodeling technique are used. To determine the fidelity of metamodels, the predictive estimation of model fidelity method is applied. The developed method is demonstrated on a 2D Airfoil design problem, involving tightly coupled high fidelity structural and aerodynamic models. The results obtained show that the proposed method significantly reduces computational cost, and improves the convergence rate for solving the multidisciplinary optimization problem based on high fidelity models.