A design optimization process is developed to define the wing box structure for High-Altitude Long-Endurance Aircraft (HALE). The goal of this study is to determine the best tradeoff between mass and rigidity of a HALE aircraft wing structure. A preliminary composite laminate structural design procedure is described which uses a NASTRAN-based Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and the Hierarchical Evolutionary Engineering Design System (HEEDS) MDO software to define a locus of acceptable, optimized wing box design definitions.
","abstract_html":"<p>A design optimization process is developed to define the wing box structure for High-Altitude Long-Endurance Aircraft (HALE). The goal of this study is to determine the best tradeoff between mass and rigidity of a HALE aircraft wing structure. A preliminary composite laminate structural design procedure is described which uses a NASTRAN-based Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and the Hierarchical Evolutionary Engineering Design System (HEEDS) MDO software to define a locus of acceptable, optimized wing box design definitions.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Arévalo, Philip T."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Mechanical Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:26:22Z","subjects":["design optimization","composites","high-altitude","aircraft","Aerospace Engineering","Mechanical Engineering"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/edt/16","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Arévalo, Philip T."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["design optimization","composites","high-altitude","aircraft","Aerospace Engineering","Mechanical Engineering"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/16"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["A design optimization process is developed to define the wing box structure for High-Altitude Long-Endurance Aircraft (HALE). The goal of this study is to determine the best tradeoff between mass and rigidity of a HALE aircraft wing structure. A preliminary composite laminate structural design procedure is described which uses a NASTRAN-based Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and the Hierarchical Evolutionary Engineering Design System (HEEDS) MDO software to define a locus of acceptable, optimized wing box design definitions.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Design Optimization of a Composite Wing Box for High-Altitude Long-Endurance Aircraft"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Arévalo, Philip T."],"dc:description.abstract":["A design optimization process is developed to define the wing box structure for High-Altitude Long-Endurance Aircraft (HALE). The goal of this study is to determine the best tradeoff between mass and rigidity of a HALE aircraft wing structure. A preliminary composite laminate structural design procedure is described which uses a NASTRAN-based Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and the Hierarchical Evolutionary Engineering Design System (HEEDS) MDO software to define a locus of acceptable, optimized wing box design definitions.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/edt/16"],"dc:subject":["design optimization","composites","high-altitude","aircraft","Aerospace Engineering","Mechanical Engineering"],"dc:title":["Design Optimization of a Composite Wing Box for High-Altitude Long-Endurance Aircraft"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mechanical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:26:22Z"}