The continuing growth in air traffic and increasing public awareness have made environmental considerations one of the most critical aspects of commercial aviation today. The focus of commercial aircraft design has been on producing airplanes that meet performance goals at minimum operating costs. Environmental performance has been considered mostly at the postdesign analysis phase, during which adjustments have been made to satisfy the noise and emissions requirements of individual airlines or airports. This sequential design approach does not guarantee that the final aircraft is of overall optimal design with respect to operating costs and environmental considerations, but it served its purpose as long as only localized, minor adjustments were necessary to bring aircraft into environmental compliance. However, the gradual tightening of environmental requirements has increased the cost and complexity of achieving compliance in the postdesign phase significantly. Therefore, there is a need for integrating environmental considerations at an early stage of the aircraft design process and for more systematic investigation and quantification of the tradeoffs involved in meeting specific noise and emissions constraints.
Under a research grant from the NASA Glenn Research Center, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University explored the feasibility of including environmental performance as an optimization objective at the aircraft conceptual design stage, allowing a quantitative analysis of the tradeoffs between environmental performance and operating cost. During 2006, a preliminary design framework was developed that uses a multiobjective genetic algorithm to determine optimal aircraft configuration and to estimate the sensitivities between the conflicting objectives of low noise, low emissions, and low operating costs. The framework incorporates the Aircraft Noise Prediction Program (ANOPP, a detailed noise-prediction code developed by NASA), the NASA Engine Performance Program (NEPP, an engine simulator developed by NASA Glenn), and aircraft operation procedures, analysis, and optimization modules developed at MIT and Stanford University. It allows tradeoffs between aircraft design, operations, and environmental impact to be explored and quantitatively articulated, resulting in assessments of the relative benefits of different opportunities for improving air transportation. The figure shows the design framework and its components.
Design framework and its components.
Long description of figure.
Willcox, Karen E., et al.: An Environmental Design Space to Assess Aircraft Technology and Operational Trades. Final Report, NASA Grant NAG3-2897, 2006.
Glenn contact: Michael T. Tong, 216-433-6739, Michael.T.Tong@nasa.govLast updated: August 28, 2007
Web page curator: Nancy.L.Obryan@nasa.gov (RS Information Systems, Inc.)
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