| A simulation-based aerodynamic design tool is developed for multi-element high-lift airfoils operating in ground effect. A control theory approach is adopted, using the compressible Navier-Stokes equations as the basis for viscous design of airfoil element shapes and relative positioning.; Particular considerations of aerodynamic design, high-lift systems, and the ground effect are described, and the suitability of aerodynamic shape optimization of such systems is discussed. The model of fluid flow and its discretization for solution on digital computers is investigated. A cell-centered finite-volume explicit multigrid method is used to solve both the flow and adjoint systems utilizing structured multiblock meshes. The adjoint equations for shape optimization are developed using a continuous adjoint formulation, and implemented with a moving ground boundary condition for the first time. A suite of test cases verified and validated the numerical algorithms and implementation. Realistic case studies were performed, demonstrating significant performance improvements over the baseline configurations. These included two free-air multi-element airfoil drag minimizations, and in addition two inverted two-element airfoil drag minimizations in ground effect. |
