Abstract:

Evaluating and controlling the development costs during the unmanned aerial vehicle （UAV） conceptual design phase can improve the cost-effectiveness ratio of UAVs. This study established a multidisciplinary design and optimization （MDO） framework aimed at minimizing UAV development costs. It carried out the design trade-off of UAVs under the constraints of aerodynamic performance and mass properties， obtaining the UAV solutions and cost suggestions that take into account development cost. The optimization framework was based on the OpenMDAO multi-disciplinary analysis and optimization process. It used OpenVSP to establish the geometric and aerodynamic analysis modules for the UAV and employed the partial least squares method to construct the cost estimation model. This enabled the seamless integration of the design strategies from the overall parameter design of the UAV to the multi-disciplinary analysis and the optimization of the development cost. By optimizing the typical low-cost high-performance UAVs， the results show that when the lift-to-drag ratio is reduced by 6.53%， the maximum take-off mass decreases by 8.17%， and the development costs are reduced by 4.01%. The results demonstrate that during the conceptual design stage， through the optimization of the overall parameters of the UAV， it is possible to meet the aerodynamic and weight constraints while ensuring low development costs. The feasibility of the constructed MDO framework based on development costs has been verified， and it has provided effective suggestions for the design of a UAV with low development costs.

Key words: unmanned aerial vehicle（UAV）, development cost, conceptual design, design for cost reduction, multidisciplinary design and optimization

摘要：

在概念设计阶段对无人机研制费用进行评估和控制，可提高无人机的效费比。通过构建以低研制费用为目标的无人机多学科设计与优化框架，开展在气动性能和质量约束下无人机的设计权衡，获得了考虑经济性的无人机方案和费用建议。优化框架基于OpenMDAO多学科分析优化流程，利用OpenVSP建立无人机几何和气动分析模块，使用偏最小二乘法构建研制费用估算模型，打通从无人机总体参数设计、多学科分析到研制费用优化的方案设计策略。通过对典型低成本高性能无人机进行权衡优化，结果显示在升阻比损失6.53%时，最大起飞质量减少了8.17%，研制费用缩减了4.01%。表明在概念设计阶段通过无人机总体参数设计优化，能够在达到气动和质量约束的同时保证低研制费用。验证了所构建的基于研制费用的多学科设计与优化框架的可行性，同时为无人机低研制费用方案设计提供了有效建议。

关键词: 无人机, 研制费用, 概念设计, 经济性设计, 多学科设计与优化