Designer Systems of Systems: A Rational Integrated Approach of System Engineering to Tailored Aerodynamics, Aeroelasticity, Aero-viscoelasticity, Stability, Control, Geometry, Materials, Structures, Propulsion, Performance, Sizing, Weight, Cost

This chapter [Portions of the analysis and results of this continuing research project were presented at the Fourth International Conference on Inverse Problems, Design and Optimization (IPDO–2013), Albi, France (Hilton and D’Urso, Paper ID 06290, 2013).] reports on a comprehensive optimized inverse analysis protocol that has been formulated at the complex multifunctional, multiphysics and multidisciplinary total system of systems (SoS) level leading to trans-disciplinary convergence for the entire designer vehicle with provisions for optimized/tailored aerodynamics, stability, control, materials, structures, propulsion, performance, sizing, weight, cost, etc. The protocol for these inverse problems is based on a generalized calculus of variations approach, including but not limited to Lagrange multipliers.

The possibility of achieving such a generalized unified approach has become a reality through the double advent of modern computer software and hardware. First, the availability of such programs as MATLAB™, MATHEMATICA™, MAPLE™, etc. make it feasible to carry out the detailed large scale analytical enterprises, such as multiple symbolic integrations, differentiations, matrix algebra, etc. Secondly, the online operational advent of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign National Center for Supercomputing Applications/National Science Foundation (UIUC NCSA/NSF) Blue Waters™, the sustained peta-scale (10¹⁵ flops/s) computing system (Anonymous, http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/BlueWaters/, 2011; Anonymous, http://www.ncsa.illinois.edu/News/Stories/Kramer/, 2009; Anonymous, About blue waters, 2014; Anonymous, https://bluewaters.ncsa.illinois.edu, 2013), will allow efficient solutions of the necessary hundreds of millions of simultaneous nonlinear algebraic equations describing parameters for an entire air or space flight vehicle (Through this chapter the term vehicle is used to denote atmospheric and space flight vehicles unless otherwise specified.) or other large scale SoS that may contain numerous rigid, specified and/or flexible sub-systems as well as aerodynamics, cost, manufacturing, performance, propulsion, stability and control, etc.

Illustrative examples are limited to structures, solid mechanics and aero-viscoelastic examples that represent currently available solutions. Additional parts of the entire complex SoS are under investigation and will be reported in archival journals in future years.