Towards Crash-Tolerant Rotorcraft Design via Topology Optimization

doi:10.4050/F-0081-2025-0232

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Towards Crash-Tolerant Rotorcraft Design via Topology Optimization

Ghanendra Das, Lonnie Webb, Daniel Oluwalana, Graeme Kennedy, Kai James, Georgia Institute of Technology

https://doi.org/10.4050/F-0081-2025-0232

Abstract:
We present our ongoing efforts towards the development of crash-tolerant rotorcraft airframe structures through topology optimization, with the goal of enhancing energy absorption and occupant survival during vertical impact events. A high strain rate explicit dynamics solver has been developed, fully accelerated on GPUs, to enable rapid and accurate simulation of impact events critical to crashworthiness evaluation. In parallel, we have built a scalable three-dimensional topology optimization framework that enforces stiffness, weight, and frequency constraints simultaneously, driving structurally efficient and vibration-resistant designs. Benchmarking results demonstrate significant GPU-enabled speedups, facilitating high-fidelity crash simulations and large-scale optimization at practical turnaround times. This work establishes a computational foundation for future integration of crash-centric objectives and constraints into the optimization framework.