Possibility Based Design Optimization of a Light Aircraft using Database Driven Approach

Aircraft conceptual design usually uses low to medium fidelity analysis to determine the basic configuration of an aircraft. Optimum solution is bounded by at least one of the constraints in most cases. This solution has risk to fail at later stage when analyzed with more sophisticated analysis tools. This research uses pre-constructed database to estimate the analysis prediction errors associated with simplified analysis methods. A possibility based design optimization framework is developed to utilize the newly proposed piecewise-linear fuzzy membership functions that compensate the discrepancies caused by simplified analysis. The proposed approach for aircraft design produces the optimum aircraft configurations that are less likely to fall into infeasible region when analyzed using higher fidelity analysis at later design stages.