Comparative analysis of conventional and optimal methods for detail part design for light aircraft

The present paper evaluates the pros and cons of three different methods of detail design of parts for light aircraft: a conventional (heuristic) method, topology optimization and morphogenesis. This is done through applying these methods to solve the same design problem and analyze the results theoretically by means of finite element analysis under certain external loads. The theoretical results are compared to experimental using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique on real parts with the same loads applied. As a case study a control surface A-frame hinge similar to the lower rudder hinge of M-540 aircraft is considered.