Trawl-door shape optimization by space-mapping-corrected CFD models and kriging surrogates

Abstract

Trawl-doors are a large part of the fluid flow resistance of trawlers fishing gear and has considerable effect on the fuel consumption. A key factor in reducing that consumption is by implementing computational models in the design process. This study presents a robust two dimensional computational fluid dynamics models that is able to capture the nonlinear flow past multi-element hydrofoils. Efficient optimization algorithms are applied to the design of trawl-doors using problem formulation that captures true characteristics of the design space where lift-to-drag ratio is maximized. Four design variables are used in the optimization process to control the fluid flow angle of attack, as well as position and orientation of a leading-edge slat. The optimization process involves both multi-point space mapping, and mixed modeling techniques that utilize space mapping to create a physics-based surrogate model. The results demonstrate that lift-to-drag maximization is more appropriate than lift-constraint drag minimization in this case and that local search using multi-point space mapping can yield satisfactory design at low computational cost. By using global search with mixed modeling a solution with higher quality is obtained, but at a higher computational cost than local search.