Patent ID: 8725470
Filing Date: 2014-05-13
Classification: G06F,Y02T

Abstract:
1. A method for simultaneously optimizing performance of a baseline lifting blunt body vehicle to an optimized lifting blunt body vehicle that moves through a fluid medium at speeds greater than the speed of sound through the fluid, the method comprising: providing a computer and computer code that is programmed: (1) to provide a geometric model of a vehicle aeroshell surface of the baseline lifting blunt body vehicle having M surface segments (M≧1) of the vehicle surface at selected locations and orientations, with at least one surface segment being representable mathematically as a super-quadric surface with an associated candidate shape vector V including N geometric parameters (N≧5) that describe the super-quadric surface in terms of a Cartesian coordinates system (x,y,z) as at least one geometric relation, drawn from where x1, y1 and z1 are positive semi-axis lengths, and y1 and z1 may vary with x, a and b are exponents with values greater than 1, which may vary with x, the x-axis is oriented from back to front along the vehicle surface, and (x0,0,0) is a selected origin for the vehicle planar section on a centerline of the vehicle surface, where each section may involve all three coordinates, x, y and z, or may involve two of these three coordinates, depending upon location and orientation of the planar section, and where interfaces between any two adjacent surface segments are at least C1 continuous; (2) to provide a candidate vehicle trajectory that the vehicle is postulated to follow through a selected fluid atmosphere; (3) to provide a candidate vehicle structure mass distribution for the vehicle; (4) to provide a candidate distribution of thermal protection system (TPS) mass on the vehicle; (5) to analyze a vehicle-fluid interaction between the vehicle structure, the candidate structure mass distribution and candidate TPS mass distribution, traveling along the candidate trajectory, and the fluid atmosphere; (6) to analyze structural responses of the vehicle, traveling along the candidate trajectory, (7) to compute at least one vehicle performance parameter associated with a combination of the candidate shape vector V, the candidate vehicle trajectory, the candidate structure mass distribution and candidate TPS mass distribution, traveling along the candidate trajectory; (8) to provide a Pareto Optimum set, which may initially be an empty set, of vehicle performance values representing performance of at least one preceding choice of candidate shape vector V, candidate vehicle trajectory, candidate structure mass distribution, and candidate TPS mass distribution as the vehicle moves along a corresponding preceding candidate trajectory in the fluid atmosphere, where the Pareto Optimum set includes only performance values that equal or exceed a specified Pareto threshold value; (9) to determine if the at least one vehicle performance parameter satisfies a specified set of constraints associated with flight of the vehicle through the fluid atmosphere; (10) where at least one of the set of constraints in not satisfied, to return to step (1) and to repeat steps (1)-(9); (11) where all of the constraints in the set are satisfied, to compare the at least one candidate vehicle performance parameter for the candidate shape vector V, combined with a candidate engineering performance vector E including the candidate vehicle trajectory, the candidate structure mass distribution, and the candidate TPS mass distribution with a corresponding performance parameter for each of the Pareto Optimum set of performance values (12) when the candidate vehicle performance parameter is not at least equal to the Pareto threshold value, to return to the step (1) and to repeat steps (1)-(9); and (13) when the candidate vehicle performance parameter is at least equal to the Pareto threshold value, to add the vehicle performance parameter and the associated candidate shape vector V and the candidate engineering performance vector E to the Pareto Optimum set, and to return to step (1) at least once and to repeat steps (1)-(12) at least once, whereby using the computer and computer code, the baseline lifting blunt body vehicle is optimized based on at least one vehicle performance parameter to thereby determine the optimized lifting blunt body vehicle.