Parallel multipoint variable-complexity approximations for multidisciplinary optimization

The design of modern aerospace vehicles involves multidisciplinary interactions and presents a formidable challenge to the designer in a competitive marketplace. Multidisciplinary optimization technology is a major tool for addressing this need, but its current use in the design process is limited by its enormous computational burden. Even refined models for recent applications such as the High Speed Civil Transport fall short of the level of complexity required for realistic designs. The goal of the research is to apply the power of emerging parallel computation systems to permit a level of model refinement that would produce realistic designs. We propose a new variable-complexity approximation strategy that will take maximum advantage of parallel computation capabilities