Optimal Design of an In-flight Refueling Door Mechanism

Abstract

In this study, the preliminary design of an in-flight refueling door mechanism is performed. A systematic design methodology is introduced and used in the design of the refueling door mechanism. The design is divided into two sub-functions: door opening and actuation. Nine different mechanism concepts are created for the door opening function and eight different concepts are created for the actuation function. Pugh decision matrix method is used to evaluate and select the most feasible options. Six experienced engineers scored the option set, resultantly two concepts for the door opening and three concepts for the actuation sub-function are selected. Kinematic synthesis of these concepts is performed and used to determine the upper and lower bounds during optimization. Kinematic and force analysis of the concepts are performed and utilized for the constraints and cost function calculations of the optimization algorithm. Multi-objective Genetic Algorithm optimization technique is used to optimize the parameters of the selected mechanisms. The best mechanism for each sub-function is selected and combined to reach the final design. It was shown that through optimization, the required input torque decreased approximately 20% for the door opening mechanism and the required input force decreased approximately 42% for the actuation mechanism when compared to the graphical synthesis results.