Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg. 285 (2015) 255–290 www.elsevier.com/locate/cma Aerodynamic shape optimization of aircraft components using an advanced multi-objective evolutionary approach Claudio Comis Da Ronco 1 , Rita Ponza 2 , Ernesto Benini ∗,3 Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Italy Received 1 October 2013; received in revised form 25 August 2014; accepted 17 October 2014 Available online 20 November 2014 Abstract In this paper, a fast and effective CFD-based automatic loop for optimization of rotorcraft components is presented. The au- tomatic loop is strictly designed around an innovative Multi Objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA) developed at University of Padua, namely the GeDEA-II. This algorithm allows performing multi-objective, multi-point optimization works in a fast and robust way. It combines novel crossover and mutation operators when compared to other state-of-the-art MOEA. Recent papers show its excellent performance when tested on state-of-the-art problems. In order to test the performance of this algorithm, two test cases are presented, each having peculiar characteristics making them even harder to solve. Test cases regard the aerodynamic shape optimization of ERICA components, that is an innovative tilt-rotor concept conceived and designed recently. The first prob- lem regards the single-objective, multi-constrained aerodynamic optimization of the ERICA tilt-rotor cockpit region. The second one is a multi-objective multi-constrained optimization of the ERICA landing gear sponsons. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of this automatic optimization loop in tackling real-world engineering problems. c ⃝ 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Aerodynamics; Optimization; Multi objective evolutionary algorithm; Aircraft optimization 1. Introduction Aviation is an essential element of today’s global society, bringing people and cultures together and creating eco- nomic growth. The air transport industry is paying a lot of attention to growing public concern about the environmental issues of air pollution, noise and climate change. Although today air transport only produces 2% of man-made CO 2 emissions, this is expected to increase to 3% by 2050. Clean Sky [1] is a European Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) that will develop breakthrough technologies to reduce aviation environmental impact. One of the goals of the Clean Sky JTI is the 50% reduction in CO 2 emission through ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 049 8276767; fax: +39 049 8276785. E-mail address: ernesto.benini@unipd.it (E. Benini). 1 Aeronautical Engineer, Ph.D. 2 R&D Senior Engineer. 3 Professor, Ph.D. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cma.2014.10.024 0045-7825/ c ⃝ 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.