FAST: A Future Aircraft Sizing Tool for Advanced Aircraft and Propulsion System Design

2025-02-12

AI Summary

Global aviation carbon emissions continue to rise, necessitating rapid innovation in low-carbon aircraft; however, conventional sizing tools require extensive design parameters, hindering early-stage conceptual iteration. To address this, we propose FAST (Fast Aircraft Sizing Tool), a modular MATLAB-based framework integrating mass estimation, propulsion modeling, aerodynamic analysis, and mission performance simulation—supporting conventional, fully electric, and hybrid-electric architectures. FAST enables full-flight-envelope performance evaluation, multi-configuration comparison, and sensitivity analysis within minutes using only minimal input parameters. It represents the first general-purpose, propulsion-agnostic rapid sizing framework tailored for sustainable aviation, eliminating dependence on detailed design data. Validated on emerging configurations—including eVTOLs and regional electric aircraft—FAST significantly accelerates low-carbon aircraft concept screening and quantifies carbon-reduction potential with unprecedented efficiency.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight
• Search and Optimization: Sampling/Simulation-based Search
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Planning with Language Models

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Sustainability and carbon-aware systems for Web, mobile, and WoT
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements

Abstract

Without radical technological advancements, the global aviation industry will continue to be a major carbon emitter. To reduce aviation's carbon emissions, innovative aircraft technology, including electrified aircraft propulsion, is under development. However, current aircraft sizing tools require detailed design information that may not be available early in the development process, particularly for novel technologies. This can yield suboptimal designs and inhibits innovation. A computational tool is needed to easily and rapidly size an aircraft configuration while allowing the designer to explore the design space, examine tradeoffs, and evaluate alternative designs. The Future Aircraft Sizing Tool (FAST), developed in Matlab, addresses this challenge by rapidly sizing aircraft with any propulsion architecture, including conventional, electric, and hybrid electric systems, even with limited initial data. FAST enables engineers to explore various aircraft configurations, evaluate design alternatives, assess performance across a flight envelope, and visualize concepts during the sizing process. By supporting early stage design, FAST addresses a gap in currently available computational tools for developing sustainable aviation technologies to help reduce the industry's carbon footprint.

Problem

• Develops tool for aircraft sizing
• Supports early stage design exploration
• Reduces aviation carbon emissions

Innovation

• Rapid aircraft sizing tool
• Supports any propulsion architecture
• Enables early stage design exploration