Lightweight Design of Aircraft Structures Based on Elastic Boundary Sub-Model Optimization Algorithm

The lightweight design of modern aircraft necessitates efficient optimization of complex thin-walled structures to improve performance and minimize mass. This paper proposes an Elastic Boundary Sub-model Optimization (EBSO) algorithm for accurately predicting and optimizing local buckling behavior in aerospace thin-walled structures. The method partitions the global structure into substructures and incorporates elastic boundary conditions to realistically simulate interaction effects between adjacent components. By establishing a direct mapping between substructural design parameters and critical buckling loads, an iterative optimization framework is developed to enable concurrent design of multiple thin-walled segments. A numerical case study involving an aircraft fuselage panel demonstrates that the EBSO algorithm significantly improves the accuracy of local buckling predictions. The results confirm that the method achieves a substantial weight reduction while maintaining structural stability, greatly enhancing the efficiency of lightweight design optimization.