Parameterized modeling and optimization of reusable launch vehicles based on reverse design approach.

Hypersonic vehicles have been paid more and more attention by various countries, and many developed countries have set off a competition of hypersonic technology. Under this background, this paper creatively applies the reconstruction method based on three vanishing points to the reconstruction of complex aircraft for the first time. The shape of aircraft is restored by photos from different angles, which provides a good help for preliminarily understanding and mastering the information of international mainstream advanced aircraft. In this paper, the feasibility of the whole method is verified by the classical X-37B model, and its three-dimensional structure model can be obtained relatively accurately. In terms of aerodynamic performance evaluation, the panel method is adopted to evaluate the aerodynamic performance on the basis of verifying the reliability of the engineering method. And the results show that the lift-to-drag ratio reaches the maximum of 1.22 at the angle of attack of 25°. This is quite similar to the CFD calculation of class X-37B model in other literatures. The accuracy of the model makes up for the error of the engineering estimation method to a certain extent. In view of the inaccuracy of the wing reconstruction, the genetic algorithm is used to optimize its aerodynamic performances. The lift-to-drag ratio of the wing is increased by 26.3% at 25°, which leads to an increase of 4.35% in the optimal angle of attack lift-to-drag ratio of the whole model. At last, the modularization programming approach is adopted in the optimization process, ensuring the generality of this method, and the whole method will have a broad application prospect. • A reusable vehicle was reconstructed by the developed reverse engineering approach. • The aerodynamic performance of the reusable vehicle was optimized. • When the angle of attack is 25°, the lift-to-drag ratio reaches the maximum value of 1.22. • The overall lift-to-drag ratio of the model is with an increase of 4.35%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]