  Control co-design (CCD) is a technique for improving the closed-loop
performance of systems through the coordinated design of both plant parameters
and an optimal control policy. While model predictive control (MPC) is an
attractive control strategy for many systems, embedding it within a CCD
algorithm presents challenges because obtaining a closed-form solution for this
receding-horizon optimization strategy is often not feasible. This paper meets
that challenge by including a robust MPC formulation within the inner loop of a
CCD algorithm. As exemplified by application to an aircraft thermal management
system, the proposed algorithm closely matches the plant design of an open-loop
benchmark. However, unlike the open-loop approach, the proposed algorithm can
leverage MPC control variables designed a priori to achieve robust online
operation under disturbance profiles that differ from those used for design.
