Blended Wing Body Multi-Discipline Model Development for MBSA&E

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems (NGAS) has developed subsystem models within NASA’s Model-Based Systems Analysis and Engineering (MBSA&E) framework that are representative of a concept blended wing body (BWB) commercial transport aircraft. A sizing trade was performed to determine appropriate planform shape to achieve a specified range and cruise condition with a fixed engine. The vehicle sizing trade was carried out using a parametric planform geometry tool that determined the scale, span, sweep, and cabin size based on five design parameters that were varied for the design of experiments. The target characteristics for the BWB sizing was 4000 nautical miles with capacity for carrying 150 passengers.

A representative 3D model was generated in OpenVSP based on the planform selected from the sizing trade. A finite element and vortex lattice model were developed based on the 3D geometry and were subsequently used to perform coupled aero-structural optimization of the vehicle at representative flight conditions. The optimization results show the expected trends with structural thickness sizing and variations in spanload distribution that depend on whether the optimization is considered in a single or multi-discipline coupled fashion.

The models developed under this contract are anticipated to be reusable for future sizing trades on BWB aircraft, as well as for single-discipline and integrated design of static aero-structural interactions. The modularity of the MBSA&E framework allows for higher fidelity trades with custom models to represent individual aircraft disciplines.