A Scalable Adjoint Method for Coupled Flexible Multibody Dynamics
Published:
57th AIAA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, San Diego, California, Jan 2016
https://dx.doi.org/10.2514/6.2016-1907
High-performance aerospace structures are light-weight, flexible, frequently made from multiple, connected components, and are subject to dynamic loads. To design structures subject to these conditions, we propose a scalable adjoint method for coupled flexible multibody dynamic simulations. Adjoint-based derivative evaluation methods have been used for design optimization in a wide-array of multidisciplinary applications. However, relatively few authors have developed adjoint methods for flexible multibody dynamic simulations. To address this issue, we develop a modular adjoint-based derivative evaluation method for flexible multibody systems that is designed for high-performance parallel computing environments. We envision that this framework will be useful for the assessment and design of flexible multibody systems that arise in many aerospace applications.
Figure: Adjoint based solution of range maximization of a projectile in the subject to the physics of coupled multibody dynamics.