From modeling to decarbonation: MDO as a driver of transformation at the 4th European workshop

Publication Date

11 June 2025

An international workshop at the heart of advances in MDO

The event, organised in collaboration with ONERA, DLR, IRT Saint Exupéry and NASA, brought together nearly 150 participants, facilitating a fruitful dialogue between academic research and industrial needs.

The programme was rich and varied, led by Joseph Morlier, Professor of Multidisciplinary Design Optimisation at ISAE-SUPAERO, Nathalie Bartoli, Director of Research at ONERA and Associate Professor at ISAE-SUPAERO, and Christian Gogu, Professor of Structural Optimisation and Reliability at ISAE-SUPAERO.

Among the key topics, multi-fidelity modelling was widely discussed, illustrating how to combine fast models and high-fidelity models to optimise efficiently without sacrificing accuracy. Approaches incorporating artificial intelligence also attracted attention, notably through the use of machine learning techniques to accelerate simulations and guide optimisation processes. And the environmental dimension took centre stage, with presentations dedicated to reducing the carbon footprint of aircraft.

” Whereas a few years ago it was difficult to get industry to move forward, mainly because of disciplinary barriers, MDO is making progress, and the benefits of academic research are now being rapidly integrated, mainly thanks to the availability of open source code (SMT, OpeMDAO, Gemseo, etc.) and multidisciplinary benchmarks (NASA CRM wing, DLR jet engine, etc.) “, emphasised Joseph Morlier, putting the recent evolution of the MDO ecosystem into perspective.

Key events and interdisciplinary collaborations

The keynote address by Benjamin Philips (NASA Langley Research Center) was one of the highlights. Entitled “Transforming MDAO: How We Can Bridge the Gap Between Academic Development and Industry Adoption”, his keynote offered a critical reflection on current MDO tools and practices as part of NASA’s Transformative Tools and Technologies (TTT) project. Benjamin Philips highlighted the persistent tensions between advances in academic methodology and the demands of industrial robustness, while also outlining ways in which the two can be reconciled. His presentation ended with a lively discussion.

Laura Mainini, Professor of Aerospace Computational Design in the Department of Aeronautics at Imperial College London, focused on the benefits of exploiting different levels of fidelity in optimisation processes. She showed how the combined use of fast and high-fidelity models makes it possible to balance accuracy and computational cost, particularly when it comes to integrating environmental considerations right from the design phase. His approach, at the interface between advanced modelling and sustainability, opens up prospects for a more agile MDO adapted to the growing complexity of aerospace systems.

The technical sessions brought together a wide range of participants from ONERA, DLR (the German Aerospace Centre), IRT Saint Exupéry, Dassault Aviation, Airbus, Safran, Imperial College London, Rolls-Royce, the Universities of Sheffield and Southampton, Vicomtech and the University of Cagliari. These contributions addressed concrete issues, such as the coupling between disciplines in hybrid-electric configurations, the management of multi-fidelity models and optimisation geared towards environmental performance.

A collaborative approach to sustainability

The final day was marked by a special session dedicated to the European NEXTAIR project, funded as part of Horizon Europe. This programme aims to develop new methodologies for optimising complex systems in the aeronautical sector, by integrating environmental and sustainability criteria right from the design stage. This session provided an opportunity to present concrete examples of applications and to highlight the results obtained from industrial scenarios.

The workshop also highlighted the excellence of French research in MDO, and in particular the structuring role played by ISAE-SUPAERO, whose work in optimisation for aeronautical design is part of a European and collaborative dynamic.

” We have all demonstrated the importance of interdisciplinary coupling through intense and productive discussions. Taking these couplings into account will help to change attitudes within the aerospace industry: the problem is no longer to optimise aerospace vehicles or their trajectories, but mainly to enable a traveller to get from point A to point B while minimising the impact on the planet”, pointed out Joseph Morlier, “and this trend was demonstrated during the very interesting poster sessions presented by numerous international doctoral students “.

The involvement of the Institute’s young researchers and doctoral students (Shantanu Sapre, Ousmane Sy, Shubham Deshmukh) made a major contribution to the smooth running of the event, both logistically and scientifically. ” This workshop required a great deal of upstream preparation, but thanks to the dedication of all the members of the organising team, we were able to build on the success of previous editions and further increase the number of participants, with this year’s event being by far the largest in terms of numbers, ” commented Christian Gogu.

Finally, as Nathalie Bartoli summed up: ” This event was both technically and humanly rich, marked by the quality of the exchanges, a warm atmosphere, and a great dynamic of collaboration within the European MDO community “.

MDO in the DMSM

The Structures and Materials Mechanics research department (DMSM) focuses its research on damage to composite structures, fatigue of metallic materials and structures, vibration dynamics and numerical methods for mechanics. Within the department, Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) is a methodological approach that aims to optimize the design of complex systems by simultaneously taking into account several engineering disciplines.

Unlike traditional methods where each discipline is optimised sequentially, MDO integrates the interactions between disciplines from the earliest design phases, enabling globally optimal solutions to be identified.

In aeronautics, MDO integrates several disciplines, such as aerodynamics, structure and propulsion, into its research, enabling the overall optimisation of aircraft by reconciling performance, safety, weight and fuel consumption. Today, this systemic approach is an essential response to the sector's technical and environmental challenges.