Patent — available for licensing
Co-Optimization of Blunt Body Shapes for Moving Vehicles
A NASA invention available to explore as a licensing opportunity.
About this technology
Overview
NASA has patented a design optimization method for optimal shapes for hypersonic vehicles with mid-range lift/drag ratios that enter or operate in planetary atmospheres, including Earth. The design method provides optimized aerodynamic properties (maximizing maneuverability and stability) and aero-thermodynamic properties. The method provides automatic generation of geometry and analysis grids (meshes) rapidly created from a small set of parameters, which can be interpreted in a straightforward and intuitive manner. The vehicle shapes are known as Co-Optimized Blunt Re-Entry Aero (COBRA) geometries. A key advantage for design work is that this approach uses a parameterization that fully defines the vehicle shape without need for human intervention and is thus suitable for rapid automated optimization methods. The method automatically produces a Pareto optimized subset, from which human judgement can then be used to further explore this optimum set and down select to a particular vehicle concept based on trajectory, thermal protection sizing, structural sizing and final vehicle closure.