Vehicle Geometry

Abstract

We apply our shape optimization methodology to two types of vehicles: a capsule shape and a winged-fuselage shape. In this chapter, we present the methods by which we parameterize these vehicle shape, e.g. the manner in which we relate the shape parameters that are to be optimized to a continuous vehicle shape. The capsule is defined by a combination of basic geometric shapes: sphere segments, a torus segment and a conical frustum. The winged vehicle is defined more generically using cubic spline surfaces for both the fuselage and the wings. An algorithm to map shape parameters to surface points, while ensuring a physically realistic vehicle shape, is presented in detail.