Implementation of a sketch based approach to conceptual aircraft design synthesis and modeling

In the context of applying computer aided design tools to aircraft conceptual design, a sketch based approach is proposed to help designers turn their original concepts into complex numerical models that are usable for further analysis and optimization. This approach emphasizes the integration of general configuration and the layout of such components as engines, payloads, fuel tanks and landing gears, and the representation of a design scheme as uniform plane sketches and three dimensional models. This paper presents the measures adopted to implement the approach in a prototype system, including the object-oriented data structure, friendly graphical user interfaces and basic features of relevant modules. Several examples generated in the prototype and applications of the results are finally outlined to illustrate the effectiveness of the approach.