Aerodynamic design method based on N-S equations and discrete adjoint approach

The quick and accurate gradient calculation technique is one of the most important techniques of aerodynamic design optimization that based on gradient. A discrete adjoint approach is developed in this paper to get the gradient, and the flow governing equations are three dimensional N-S equations. Both the adjoint equations and the flow governing equations are solved by LU-SGS method. The gradient achieved by the present method is compared with those by finite difference method. A wing is firstly optimized and then revise designed by this method, and the results are satisfying. The test results show that the present method is reliable and efficient.