Geometry Generation of Complex Unconventional Aircraft with Application to High-Fidelity Aerodynamic Shape Optimization

This paper describes a geometry generator capable of providing a high-quality model of unconventional aerospace vehicles with fast turnaround. These desirable but contradictory properties are made possible by striking the right balance between user interaction and modeling automation. The former is achieved through a popular Python-based command line interface and the latter through a component-based approach. Final geometries are defined analytically with watertight networks of non-uniform rational B-spline surfaces that are topologically four-sided. Such a tool is expected to leverage the high-fidelity multidisciplinary design analysis and optimization packages that are being increasingly incorporated in earlier stages in the design of novel aircraft. As an example, a drag minimization problem applied to a regional jet geometry generated by the proposed tool concludes the paper.