OPTIMIZING THE F-16 CONFORMAL FUEL TANK USING DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS

摘要: Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFT) for the F-16 were aerodynamically optimized using Design of Experiments (DOE). DOE was applied to design test matrices low-speed wind tunnel tests in order find 'best' shape CFT by identifying how lengths, widths, and heights each portion mathematically affect aerodynamics fuel capacity. A screening first performed identify important independent variables followed a more focused modeling experiment. total eight geometric parameters evaluated Taguchi LI8 Central Composite experiment designs. Candidate shapes from studies high-speed tunnels validate lowspeed results. The paper presents details designs used optimize shape. Sample stability control data plots are presented along with marginal means response surface data. Conclusions describe key enablers lessons learned optimization. Nomenclature ACAD 3-D aircraft lofting software developed LM Aero