Lattice Structures for Supersonic Passenger Aircraft Wing: Design and Optimization

Abstract

Challenges related to the flight safety and efficiency of supersonic aircraft call for the development of novel design concepts. To address this need, a project focused on the design of a supersonic aircraft wing is proposed. A wing based on special lattice structures is examined, and its performance is evaluated against conventional structural configuration. The analysis is supported by the sizing optimization. Various formulations of optimization problem are investigated to establish how different parameters and constraints affect the results. The effect of geometric nonlinearity is discussed for the identification of buckling modes associated with significant wing deflection. The results demonstrate that the proposed lattice structure satisfies the strength criteria based on maximum equivalent von Mises stress and exhibits higher stiffness compared to the conventional structural scheme. Moreover, the lattice configuration ensures fail-safety by localizing the damage to individual lattice cells, thereby preventing catastrophic global failure of the primary structure.