Metamodel-based multidisciplinary design optimization methods for aerospace system

Abstract The design of complex aerospace systems is a multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) problem involving the interaction of multiple disciplines. However, because of the necessity of evaluating expensive black-box simulations, the enormous computational cost of solving MDO problems in aerospace systems has also become a problem in practice. To resolve this, metamodel-based design optimization techniques have been applied to MDO. With these methods, system models can be rapidly predicted using approximate metamodels to improve the optimization efficiency. This paper presents an overall survey of metamodel-based MDO for aerospace systems. From the perspective of aerospace system design, this paper introduces the fundamental methodology and technology of metamodel-based MDO, including aerospace system MDO problem formulation, metamodeling techniques, state-of-the-art metamodel-based multidisciplinary optimization strategies, and expensive black-box constraint-handling mechanisms. Moreover, various aerospace system examples are presented to illustrate the application of metamodel-based MDOs to practical engineering. The conclusions derived from this work are summarized in the final section of the paper. The survey results are expected to serve as guide and reference for designers involved in metamodel-based MDO in the field of aerospace engineering.