Exergy based optimization of rocket system staging times

Exergy is defined as the useful work available to a system. Exergy efficiency is an overall system metric that integrates across disciplines where exergy is used as a "common currency. " The use of exergy efficiency gives an overall performance metric which accounts for interactions and couplings between systems. As a holistic metric designers can focus on modifying design variables to improve exergy efficiency. The process of modifying design variables is the focus of Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO), which combines multidisciplinary analysis and optimization methods to form useful design frameworks for large, complex systems. The proposed paper will explore the utilization of MDO with exergy-based analysis in order to optimize the staging times of a rocket system.