The objective of this paper is to present a robust optimization algorithm for computationally efficient airfoil design under mixed (inherent and epistemic) uncertainty using a multi-fidelity approach. This algorithm exploits stochastic expansions derived from the Non-Intrusive Polynomial Chaos (NIPC) technique to create surrogate models utilized in the optimization process. A combined NIPC expansion approach is used, where both...

Purpose – Strategies for accelerated multi-objective optimization of aerodynamic surfaces are investigated, including the possibility of exploiting surrogate modeling techniques for computational fluid dynamic (CFD)-driven design speedup of such surfaces. The purpose of this paper is to reduce the overall optimization time. Design/methodology/approach – An algorithmic framework is described that is composed of: a search space reduction,...

Aerodynamic design is inherently a multi-objective optimization (MOO) problem. Determining the best possible trade-offs between conflicting aerodynamic objectives can be computationally challenging when carried out directly at the level of high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics simulations. This paper presents a computationally cheap methodology for exploration of aerodynamic design trade-offs. In particular, point-by-point...

The remarkable aerodynamic efficiency of flapping insect wings has fascinated researchers for many years. Butterfly wings are distinguished by a much larger lifting surface, and thus, a different style of flapping flight. The considerations described in the article are an introduction to a fully flexible analysis of the wing in motion. The study of the rigid wing gives the basic knowledge necessary in the further process. The yaw,...

Variable-fidelity optimization (VFO) can be efficient in terms of the computational cost when compared with traditional approaches, such as gradient-based methods with adjoint sensitivity information. In variable-fidelity methods, the directoptimization of the expensive high-fidelity model is replaced by iterative re-optimization of a physics-based surrogate model, which is constructed from a corrected low-fidelity model. The success...