Multi-fidelity Kriging-based optimization of engine subsystem models with medial meshes

Abstract

Engine subsystem models are not commonly used in design optimization studies as it is computationally expensive to solve these models for a large number of iterations. To reduce the computational cost of such optimizations, a novel multi-fidelity Kriging-based optimization approach is proposed that uses shell finite element models (FEMs) to provide a low-fidelity response and solid FEMs to provide a high-fidelity response. This marks the first time that shell and solid models have been together in a multi-fidelity approach. The shell FEMs are generated from medial surfaces that are extracted from solid component geometries in a semi-automatic manner. This approach is applied to a case study for optimizing the intercasing subsystem from the CRESCENDO whole engine model. The results show that the optimum design found by the multi-fidelity Kriging approach was on par with the optimum design found by a single-fidelity Kriging approach using only solid FEMs which is more than twice as expensive to run. The shell and solid FEMs were also shown to be well-correlated such that optimization studies employing only the shell FEMs by themselves could generate designs that are feasible with respect to the design constraints imposed on the solid model.

More information

Identifiers

ORCID for David Toal: orcid.org/0000-0002-2203-0302

ORCID for Andy Keane: orcid.org/0000-0001-7993-1569

Catalogue record

Export record