Pareto Optimization: 2D Airfoil Design

Design Manager allows you to run design optimization studies with multiple competing objectives. This type of study is known as multiple-objective tradeoff optimization, or Pareto optimization.

When running an optimization study with two competing objectives, the optimal design is not unique. Rather, a set of optimal designs (called a Pareto front) expresses the tradeoff relationship between the objectives. Each design in the set is the optimum in one objective for a given value of the competing objective. In general, the creation of a Pareto front requires you to run a large number of simulations.

In this tutorial, you optimize an airfoil design by adjusting the position of the leading and trailing flaps. The optimization has two competing objectives: maximizing lift while minimizing drag. To reduce the run time, you consider a 2D design and evaluate the steady-state solution.



In the 3D-CAD model of the airfoil, a set of design parameters controls the position of the airfoil flaps. To find the flap positions that result in the optimal lift and drag characteristics, you run a Pareto optimization study that explores a total of 120 designs. For each design, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ automatically modifies the values of the design parameters and evaluates the resulting lift and drag coefficients.

The airfoil operates at an angle of attack of zero. The Mach Number of the freestream that surrounds the domain is 0.125.

When running the Design Manager project for this study, it is recommended you run at least 4 different designs simultaneously, with each design running in parallel on at least 3 cores. Hence, a minimum of 4x3 cores are recommended.