Luc Hootsmans, Technical Authority Design Space Exploration / Engineering, GKN Aerospace / Fokker Aerostructures, is a seasoned aeronautical engineer working in aerospace design for 38 years, recently specializing in the field of design space exploration through progressive optimization and surrogate modelling techniques powered by AI and applying these in practical application in his day-to-day work. We spoke to him regarding the challenges of aerospace engineering and how he applies disruptive engineering techniques by Noesis Solutions to accelerate the design process while facing the challenges of the complexity of the process.

He was introduced to Optimus, an automation and optimization tool by Noesis Solutions, since 2011. With this collaboration, he was able to successfully explore optimization and surrogate modeling techniques and is “now a daily basis for GKN Aerospace main customers” he added.

Here is a summary of our conversation with him –

What are the key challenges in the aircraft engineering industry?

“A little more than 10 years ago, I started the initiative to create a framework capable of performing trade studies of aircraft components in days  instead of months. Main focus on fulfilling airworthiness requirements as well as cost and weight. Besides the main challenge to achieve a high level of automation, another challenge was the automatic sizing of the structures.”

What are your next challenges or expectations wrt. Digital Transformation?

“Today for each new trade study configuration the framework is run, providing results in days. In our vision we are working towards shortening this even further to an instant result. This by applying AI to a high extent based on data points representing different designs applied in a certain design space. Such that with requirements as input, the resulting design and its main KPI's are output.”

What are the key factors you would contribute to your successful relationship with Noesis Solutions?

“With the easy-to-use GUI of the SW, the well documented manual and tutorial, the rapid response support office, and the level of quality of the software, Optimus is one of the best options to start with, for those who consider their first steps in the field of disruptive engineering techniques.

Besides the fact that the actual quality and functionality of Optimus, the key success factor in our work today are the unrivaled support and the quick turnaround time. This combined with the self-propelled R&D initiatives matching our needs and roadmap and the level of co-operation offered to us, making Noesis Solutions a crucial and most valuable partner in our eco-system.”

About Noesis Solutions

Established in 2003, Noesis Solutions, a trusted digital engineering innovation partner, has empowered customers adopt a transformational strategy that resolves their toughest multi-disciplinary engineering challenges of today. Our continuously evolving product portfolio, state-of-the-art technology, and unmatched customer services enable customers transform the way they build their products in a much faster and an efficient manner.

Noesis Solutions is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cybernet Systems, a leading provider of multi-domain CAE solutions covering a vast range of engineering problems. Headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, Noesis Solutions operates through a network of subsidiaries and representatives in key locations around the world.