Value-based multidisciplinary optimization for commercial aircraft program design

Traditional commercial aircraft design attempts to achieve improved performance and reduced operating costs by minimizing maximum takeoff weight, but this approach (does not guarantee the financial viability of the program to the manufacturer. Improved design practices would take into account not only aircraft performance but also financial aspects of the design. The methodology suggested herein investigates multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) involving performance and finance jointly in aircraft program design, as well as assessment of program business risk. A value-based MDO framework couples a performance model with an improved stochastic program valuation, accounting explicitly for both uncertain demand via market volatility and managerial flexibility by invoking Real Options theory. Stochastic program value is used as the new objective for the design optimization problem. The methodology and framework developed are applied to a design example for the Blended-Wing-Body aircraft concept. Value-based optimization yields a design with a 2.3%-higher program value than that of the conventional minimum-weight solution.