Aerodynamic shape optimization using simultaneous pseudo-timestepping

The paper deals with a numerical method for aerodynamic shape optimization. It is based on simultaneous pseudo-timestepping in which stationary states are obtained by solving the non-stationary system of equations representing the state, costate and design equations. The main advantages of this method are that it requires no additional globalization techniques and that a preconditioner can be used for convergence acceleration which stems from the reduced SQP method. A design example for drag reduction for an RAE2822 airfoil, keeping its thickness fixed, is included. The overall cost of computation is less than four times that of the forward simulation run.