INLET

GENERATIVE DESIGN • OPTIMIZATION

"Everything that can be automated will be automated."

Not long ago, inlet design remained one of the last areas of aerodynamic design to be performed entirely by hand.  The challenges associated with automating the process were significant, but the potential payoff was huge.

I directed efforts across four product development and research groups to convert the existing rules of thumb into carefully defined geometric parameters and performance metrics.  We developed new generative design algorithms, novel simulation techniques, and multi-variable optimization routines.  In the end, not only did our process recreate the work of a trained engineer, it completed the work faster and with measurably better results.

For our efforts, we were voted among Boeing Research & Technology's Best Projects of 2013.  The generative design and optimization algorithms went on to contribute heavily to Boeing's 777X and 797 development programs.  Moreover, our success laid the groundwork for an even more ambitious project: the integrated design and optimization of propulsion and wing aerodynamics.