**2.6 Section "A": ellipsoidal optimization**

Section "A" was found to offer superior structural properties compared to the other designs analyzed in this project. This section allows for the smoothest stress distribution along the composite winding. However, as previously stated, the design exploration aims to find a cross section with a smaller height, such as section "E" (**Figure 5**). Given the poor performance of the custom designed sections (B–E, E1–E4) a new design exploration was carried out by defining the main geometry as an ellipse. By varying the major and minor axis dimensions, subsequently, a more systematic approach was adopted for the optimization of the cross section. Section "A" was used as the starting point, and from there, the design variables (**Figure 2b**) were parameterized. The test matrix for the ellipsoidal optimization of the cross section is presented in **Table 6**. Configuration 13 is the previously optimized circular section and is used as the baseline for this optimization. The objective is to reduce the overall height and material usage.
