The paper defines an innovative, novel design methodology that results in a product that effectively satisfies the designer's needs and requirements. Use is made of the response surface methodology after consideration of other metamodeling techniques. Drawbacks of the response surface methodology are mitigated by incorporating sensitivity information in the response surface creation. The definition, application, and eventual implementation of this emerging design tool for new product design is described. The new methodology envisioned will make use of the bi-level integrated system synthesis decomposition for distributed computing. The overall goal is to accomplish cheaper, faster, better designs for structural systems and components. This research leads to the discussion of the use of design tools for structural optimization, including the dynamic aeroelastic constraints.

The research looked into the aeroelastic properties and modal response of a composite rectangular wingbox. This research attempted to assess the sensitivity of the flutter speed, divergence speed and modal response when varying the composite skin lay-up, fibre orientation, and the root flexibility of the model. All this research was conducted using the finite element code ASTROS. An attempt was made to cover as extensive a field as possible and identify interesting areas that required further examination. Interesting relations were found between the following properties: EI/GJ versus fibre orientation and various mode ratios versus root stiffness. These could be linked with the changes in flutter and divergence speed of the composite model. In certain regions of the root flexibility, the flutter and divergence speeds showed dips and peaks. These coincided with changes in modal behaviour and were verified with a visualisation tool.

The design of hypersonic vehicles is influenced by tightly coupled interactions between aerodynamics, propulsion, and structures. Therefore, in the conceptual design phases, the identification and mitigation of potential problem areas and disciplinary interrelations are critical. Although the multidisciplinary character of hypersonic designs is well known, research in hypersonics is primarily focused on the isolated disciplines with side notes on the interactions. The designer has to integrate all the disciplinary information and create a successful system. This integration is a tedious and elaborate process involving time-consuming iterations.

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In this paper, an overview is given of the different alternatives to an integrating computational framework. A new framework will be introduced, which incorporates the latest computational techniques and more importantly a mind-set emphasizing flexibility, modularity, portability and re-usability.