Multidisciplinary Design Optimization

Multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) is a field of engineering that uses optimization methods to solve design problems, incorporating a number of disciplines. It is also known as multidisciplinary optimization and multidisciplinary system design optimization (MSDO). MDO allows designers to incorporate all relevant disciplines simultaneously. These techniques have been used in a number of fields, including automobile design, naval architecture, electronics, computers and electricity distribution. However, the largest number of applications has been in the field of aerospace engineering, such as aircraft and spacecraft design. For example, the Boeing blended wing body (BWB) aircraft concept has used MDO extensively in the conceptual and preliminary design stages. The disciplines considered in the BWB design are aerodynamics, structural analysis, propulsion, control theory and economics.