Title: Automated design of aircraft fuselage stiffeners using multiobjective evolutionary optimisation

Authors: Ruangrit Sarangkum; Kittinan Wansasueb; Natee Panagant; Nantiwat Pholdee; Sujin Bureerat; Ali R. Yildiz; Sadiq M. Sait

Addresses: Faculty of Engineering, Sustainable Infrastructure Research and Development Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khon Kaen University, 40002, Thailand ' Faculty of Engineering, Sustainable Infrastructure Research and Development Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khon Kaen University, 40002, Thailand ' Faculty of Engineering, Sustainable Infrastructure Research and Development Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khon Kaen University, 40002, Thailand ' Faculty of Engineering, Sustainable Infrastructure Research and Development Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khon Kaen University, 40002, Thailand ' Faculty of Engineering, Sustainable Infrastructure Research and Development Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khon Kaen University, 40002, Thailand ' Department of Automotive Engineering, Bursa Uludag University, Bursa, 16059, Turkey ' Department of Computer Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, 31261, Saudi Arabia

Abstract: This paper proposes an optimisation process for the design of aircraft fuselage stiffeners using evolutionary optimisation. A new design problem is developed to find a layout for fuselage stiffeners (rings and stringers) such that the structural mass, compliance, and the first-mode natural frequency can be optimised, subject to structural constraints. The stiffeners are modelled as beam elements. Three multiobjective meta-heuristics are employed to solve the problem, and a comparative study of the results of these optimisers is carried out. It is found that the proposed layout synthesis problem for aircraft fuselage stiffeners leads to a set of efficient structural solutions, which can be used at the decision-making stage. It is an automated design strategy with high potential for further investigation.

Keywords: aircraft fuselage; multiobjective optimisation; rings and stringers; fuselage stiffeners; meta-heuristics; evolutionary algorithms; structural optimisation; constrained optimisation; aerodynamic; finite element analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2019.109864

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2019 Vol.80 No.2/3/4, pp.162 - 175

Received: 08 Aug 2019
Accepted: 09 Mar 2020
Published online: 28 Sep 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article