Original Article

Parametric-modeling-based multi-objective thermoelastic optimization of rudder structures

¹ State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis, Optimization and CAE Software for Industrial Equipment, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
² Structural Design and Strength Technology Research Center, Beijing Electro-Mechanical Engineering Institute, Beijing 100074, China
³ Institute of Advanced Structure Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China

^* e-mails: zhangxiaopeng@dlut.edu.cn; taoran@bit.edu.cn

Received: 9 March 2024
Accepted: 13 January 2025

Abstract

Lightweight optimization of rudder structures subjected to thermo-mechanical coupling is essential for high-speed aircraft but poses significant challenges. Therefore, this paper proposes an enhanced multi-objective thermoelastic optimization method for rudder structures. The improvements involve the inclusion of thermal effects to enhance adaptability to extreme thermal environments, refining the optimization strategy to achieve clear resulting structural configurations, parametric optimization variables enabling combined optimization of parameters and configurations, and incorporating dynamic response constraints to ensure key dynamic responses meet usage requirements. To efficiently analyze and optimize the structural performance of rudder structures, a parametric optimization model for the radial configuration of reinforcement ribs is constructed. The objective of the optimization is to reduce the weight of the rudder structure while considering both frequency and maximum displacement indicators by formulating a multi-objective normalized objective function. These optimization problems are solved using a compromise programming algorithm. The proposed optimization method reduces the weight of the rudder structure by 21.2% while meeting the design indicators under service conditions. The obtained optimization parameters can guide the detailed modeling of the rudder structure, and the optimization results have been further verified through finite element analysis. By leveraging commercial software and established optimization algorithms, this method can be adapted to other thermoelastic optimization challenges through refinements such as parametric modeling and multi-objective optimization functions. And this method is particularly suitable for the thermo-mechanical coupled optimization design of aircraft rudder structures.