Development of an inverse design method for airfoils: integrating elastic surface and leading edge curve approaches
摘要
In the present study, an inverse design method is developed to achieve an equivalent airfoil geometry with a predetermined pressure distribution. This method utilizes the elastic surface algorithm, where airfoil surfaces are modeled as beams, and the finite element method is employed to modify the shape of these hypothetical beams. According to beam deformation theory, the areas near the leading and trailing edges, which are close to the beam supports, have much slower convergence compared to the middle points of the airfoil. To enhance convergence at the leading edge, separate curves are used to form the geometry in this region. Quadratic curves, cubic curves, and Bezier curves with four, five, and six control points were compared, and the results show that the quadratic curve achieves the best convergence toward the target pressure distribution at the leading edge. The proposed inverse design method, integrating the elastic surface algorithm with the leading-edge curve generation, thus ensures improved convergence in this critical region.