Surface Mesh Movement Algorithm for Computer-Aided-Design-Based Aerodynamic Shape Optimization

Abstract

This paper focuses on the development of a surface mesh movement algorithm suitable for computer-aided-design-based aerodynamic shape optimization. The algorithm interrogates the computer-aided-design system via the vendor-neutral application programming interface Computational Analysis Programming Interface and uses the Computational Analysis Programming Interface's watertight triangulation of a modified computer-aided-design geometry to guide the movement of the structured surface mesh as the geometry changes during the optimization process. A mapping procedure is introduced that not only preserves the characteristics of the original surface mesh but also guarantees that the new mesh points are on the computer-aided-design geometry. The deformed surface mesh is then smoothed in the parametric space before it is transformed back into three-dimensional space. The procedure is efficient, in that all the processing is done in the parametric space, incurring minimal computational cost. The mesh movement tool is integrated into a three-dimensional shape-optimization framework, with a linear-elasticity volume-mesh movement algorithm, a Newton–Krylov flow solver for the Euler equations, and a discrete-adjoint gradient-based optimizer. The accuracy of the computed gradients is verified through a number of examples.