Helicopter sizing based on genetic algorithm optimized neural network

It is very important to estimate the basic parameters in helicopter preliminary design. Neural Network (NN) has the advantages in estimating accuracy and generalization over traditional methods. However, there are some difficulties in using NN, e.g., how to select a proper network structure and the number of hidden layers. In this paper, structure and connection weight of a three-layer NN are optimized by genetic algorithm, and the optimized network is applied to helicopter sizing. The proposed method can not only give an optimal NN structure and connection weight, but also reduce the prediction error and has the capability of self-learning when the latest data are available. Furthermore, this method can be easily applied to helicopter design systems.