Research on laminar flow and its transition to turbulent flow has been an important part of fluid dynamics research during the last sixty years. Since transition impacts, in some way, every aspect of aircraft performance, this emphasis is not only understandable but should continue well into the future. The delay of transition through the use of a favorable pressure gradient by proper body shaping (natural laminar flow) or the use of a small amount of suction (laminar flow control) was recognized even in the early 1930s and rapidly became the foundation of much of the laminar flow research in the U.S. and abroad. As one would expect, there have been many approaches, both theoretical and experimental, employed to achieve the substantial progress made to date. Boundary layer stability theories have been formu lated and calibrated by a good deal of wind tunnel and flight experiments. New laminar now airfoils and wings have been designed and many have been employed in aircraft designs. While the early research was, of necessity, concerned with the design of subsonic aircraft interest has steadily moved to higher speeds including those appropriate to planetary entry. Clearly, there have been substantial advances in our understanding of transition physics and in the development and application of transition prediction methodolo gies to the design of aircraft.

A young boy learns about land vehicles from bicycles to subways and trolleys as he and his father travel to the train station

Although the overall appearance of modern airliners has not changed a lot since the introduction of jetliners in the 1950s, their safety, efficiency and environmental friendliness have improved considerably. Main contributors to this have been gas turbine engine technology, advanced materials, computational aerodynamics, advanced structural analysis and on-board systems. Since aircraft design became a highly multidisciplinary activity, the development of multidisciplinary optimization (MDO) has become a popular new discipline. Despite this, the application of MDO during the conceptual design phase is not yet widespread. Advanced Aircraft Design: Conceptual Design, Analysis and Optimization of Subsonic Civil Airplanes presents a quasi-analytical optimization approach based on a concise set of sizing equations. Objectives are aerodynamic efficiency, mission fuel, empty weight and maximum takeoff weight. Independent design variables studied include design cruise altitude, wing area and span and thrust or power loading. Principal features of integrated concepts such as the blended wing and body and highly non-planar wings are also covered. The quasi-analytical approach enables designers to compare the results of high-fidelity MDO optimization with lower-fidelity methods which need far less computational effort. Another advantage to this approach is that it can provide answers to “what if” questions rapidly and with little computational cost. Key features: Presents a new fundamental vision on conceptual airplane design optimization Provides an overview of advanced technologies for propulsion and reducing aerodynamic drag Offers insight into the derivation of design sensitivity information Emphasizes design based on first principles Considers pros and cons of innovative configurations Reconsiders optimum cruise performance at transonic Mach numbers Advanced Aircraft Design: Conceptual Design, Analysis and Optimization of Subsonic Civil Airplanes advances understanding of the initial optimization of civil airplanes and is a must-have reference for aerospace engineering students, applied researchers, aircraft design engineers and analysts.