Design Evolution of a Typical Aircraft Engine\ud Mount Bracket Using FE Based Optimisation\ud Technique

In the present scenario of aerospace sector,\ud structure weight is considered to be major factor in\ud deciding the performance, efficiency etc. One of the\ud potential major weight reduction contributor is the\ud structural airframe. Structure optimization which deals with\ud the structural weight reduction without compromising\ud strength is a complicated, time consuming and experience\ud based process.In this paper, optimisation of a critical\ud bracket of flying prototype aircraft engine mount is\ud demonstrated using a Finite Element(FE) based\ud optimisation software Altairoptistruct. The optimisation is\ud carried in two steps. Topology optimisation, which is\ud anelastic energy based optimisation to search for\ud anoptimum material distribution followed by a size\ud optimisationto get a final solution of the product. The\ud optimisation was carried with an objective of weight\ud reduction satisfying the strength requirements. As an\ud outcome of this exercise, the final product ready for\ud realisation is lighter in weight by around 20% compared to\ud the initial design