Multidisciplinary Design Analysis and Optimization of Aerospace Composite Materials is a collection of 10 SAE International technical papers, covering the use of composite materials from various perspectives: overall multidisciplinary design methodology, weight and structural analysis, aerodynamic and thermal analysis, acoustics, lightening, reliability and sustainability considerations.

Since their first usage in commercial transport aircraft in the early 1970s, composites have emerged as the material of choice for aerospace and space vehicles, including general aviation aircraft, military aircraft, space launch vehicles and unmanned air vehicles. However, the biggest advantage of composite materials may lie in the fact that they are highly “designable”, and intentionally developed with multi-functional performance in mind, as opposed to a mono-functional performance of most conventional materials.

Due to this versatility, composites also offer opportunities for engaging the integrated, multidisciplinary design and optimization of aircraft. In this process, the separated design analysis would be conducted with the aim of solving a single disciplinary issue, such as aerodynamics, structure, propulsion, guidance, environmental and societal constraints, etc. But, failing to consider the critical design requirements and constraints from all other disciplines can result in wasteful investigations of the overall design space.