Real time drag minimization using redundant control surfaces

A method for minimizing the drag of a wind tunnel model with multiple control surfaces is presented. The minimization is performed in the wind tunnel and measurements are performed in real time. Real time measurements introduce difficulties such as noise in the signals, hysteresis and problems with repeatability of the function evaluations. The lack of a numerical function to minimize therefore puts certain demands on the optimization method, and hence a derivative free method, often referred to as a generating set search method, is used. The proposed method is generalized to take both linear equality constraints as well as linear inequality constraints into account. The generating set search method is implemented in the wind tunnel and tests show that the drag can be decreased while satisfying the constraints.