scholarly journals Adding Value to Trade Space Exploration When Designing Complex Engineered Systems

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy W. Simpson ◽  
Simon Miller ◽  
Elliott B. Tibor ◽  
Michael A. Yukish ◽  
Gary Stump ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Space Exploration ◽  
Complex Engineered Systems ◽  
Engineered Systems ◽  
Trade Space Exploration

Toward a Value-Driven Design Approach for Complex Engineered Systems Using Trade Space Exploration Tools

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon W. Miller ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson ◽  
Michael A. Yukish ◽  
Gary Stump ◽  
Bryan L. Mesmer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Visualization ◽  
Space Exploration ◽  
Systems Design ◽  
Design Decision ◽  
Value Functions ◽  
Complex Engineered Systems ◽  
A Value ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Engineered Systems ◽  
Trade Space Exploration

Design decision-making involves trade-offs between many design variables and attributes, which can be difficult to model and capture in complex engineered systems. To choose the best design, the decision-maker is often required to analyze many different combinations of these variables and attributes and process the information internally. Trade Space Exploration (TSE) tools, including interactive and multi-dimensional data visualization, can be used to aid in this process and provide designers with a means to make better decisions, particularly during the design of complex engineered systems. In this paper, we investigate the use of TSE tools to support decision-makers using a Value-Driven Design (VDD) approach for complex engineered systems. A VDD approach necessitates a rethinking of trade space exploration. In this paper, we investigate the different uses of trade space exploration in a VDD context. We map a traditional TSE process into a value-based trade environment to provide greater decision support to a design team during complex systems design. The research leverages existing TSE paradigms and multi-dimensional data visualization tools to identify optimal designs using a value function for a system. The feasibility of using these TSE tools to help formulate value functions is also explored. A satellite design example is used to demonstrate the differences between a VDD approach to design complex engineered systems and a multi-objective approach to capture the Pareto frontier. Ongoing and future work is also discussed.

scholarly journals Forensic Engineering Use Of Fault Tree Analysis

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank H. Johnson ◽  
DeWitt William E.
Keyword(s):  
Fault Tree ◽  
Fault Tree Analysis ◽  
Tree Analysis ◽  
Complex Engineered Systems ◽  
Track Record ◽  
Forensic Engineering ◽  
Fire And Explosion ◽  
Engineered Systems ◽  
Analytical Tools

Analytical Tools, Like Fault Tree Analysis, Have A Proven Track Record In The Aviation And Nuclear Industries. A Positive Tree Is Used To Insure That A Complex Engineered System Operates Correctly. A Negative Tree (Or Fault Tree) Is Used To Investigate Failures Of Complex Engineered Systems. Boeings Use Of Fault Tree Analysis To Investigate The Apollo Launch Pad Fire In 1967 Brought National Attention To The Technique. The 2002 Edition Of Nfpa 921, Guide For Fire And Explosion Investigations, Contains A New Chapter Entitled Failure Analysis And Analytical Tools. That Chapter Addresses Fault Tree Analysis With Respect To Fire And Explosion Investigation. This Paper Will Review The Fundamentals Of Fault Tree Analysis, List Recent Peer Reviewed Papers About The Forensic Engineering Use Of Fault Tree Analysis, Present A Relevant Forensic Engineering Case Study, And Conclude With The Results Of A Recent University Study On The Subject.

The Importance of Training for Interactive Trade Space Exploration: A Study of Novice and Expert Users

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wolf ◽  
Jennifer Hyland ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson ◽  
Xiaolong (Luke) Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Space Exploration ◽  
Design Decision ◽  
Support Design ◽  
Computing Power ◽  
Training Video ◽  
Engine Combustion ◽  
Interactive Data ◽  
Effectiveness And Efficiency ◽  
Trade Space Exploration ◽  
Future Work

Thanks to recent advances in computing power and speed, engineers can now generate a wealth of data on demand to support design decision-making. These advances have enabled new approaches to search multidimensional trade spaces through interactive data visualization and exploration. In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of interactive trade space exploration strategies by conducting human subject experiments with novice and expert users. A single objective, constrained design optimization problem involving the sizing of an engine combustion chamber is used for this study. Effectiveness is measured by comparing the best feasible design obtained by each user, and efficiency is assessed based on the percentage of feasible designs generated by each user. Results indicate that novices who watch a 5-min training video before the experiment obtain results that are not significantly different from those obtained by expert users, and both groups are statistically better than the novices without the training video in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. Frequency and ordering of the visualization and exploration tools are also compared to understand the differences in each group’s search strategy. The implications of the results are discussed along with future work.

scholarly journals Design of Complex Engineered Systems

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina L. Bloebaum ◽  
Anna-Maria R. McGowan
Keyword(s):  
Complex Engineered Systems ◽  
Engineered Systems

Quantifying the Resilience-Informed Scenario Cost Sum: A Value-Driven Design Approach for Functional Hazard Assessment

2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Hulse ◽  
Christopher Hoyle ◽  
Kai Goebel ◽  
Irem Y. Tumer
Keyword(s):  
Functional Model ◽  
Scoring Function ◽  
Modeling Languages ◽  
Concept Selection ◽  
Complex Engineered Systems ◽  
Propagation Behavior ◽  
Engineered Systems ◽  
Selection Framework ◽  
And Function ◽  
Probability Information

Complex engineered systems can carry risk of high failure consequences, and as a result, resilience—the ability to avoid or quickly recover from faults—is desirable. Ideally, resilience should be designed-in as early in the design process as possible so that designers can best leverage the ability to explore the design space. Toward this end, previous work has developed functional modeling languages which represent the functions which must be performed by a system and function-based fault modeling frameworks have been developed to predict the resulting fault propagation behavior of a given functional model. However, little has been done to formally optimize or compare designs based on these predictions, partially because the effects of these models have not been quantified into an objective function to optimize. The work described herein closes this gap by introducing the resilience-informed scenario cost sum (RISCS), a scoring function which integrates with a fault scenario-based simulation, to enable the optimization and evaluation of functional model resilience. The scoring function accomplishes this by quantifying the expected cost of a design's fault response using probability information, and combining this cost with design and operational costs such that it may be parameterized in terms of designer-specified resilient features. The usefulness and limitations of using this approach in a general optimization and concept selection framework are discussed in general, and demonstrated on a monopropellant system design problem. Using RISCS as an objective for optimization, the algorithm selects the set of resilient features which provides the optimal trade-off between design cost and risk. For concept selection, RISCS is used to judge whether resilient concept variants justify their design costs and make direct comparisons between different model structures.

A Preliminary Study of Novice and Expert Users’ Decision-Making Procedures During Visual Trade Space Exploration

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wolf ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson ◽  
Xiaolong Luke Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Data Visualization ◽  
Space Exploration ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Test Group ◽  
Design Decision ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Trade Space Exploration ◽  
Insight Into

Thanks to recent advances in computing power and speed, designers can now generate a wealth of data on demand to support engineering design decision-making. Unfortunately, while the ability to generate and store new data continues to grow, methods and tools to support multi-dimensional data exploration have evolved at a much slower pace. Moreover, current methods and tools are often ill-equipped at accommodating evolving knowledge sources and expert-driven exploration that is being enabled by computational thinking. In this paper, we discuss ongoing research that seeks to transform decades-old decision-making paradigms rooted in operations research by considering how to effectively convert data into knowledge that enhances decision-making and leads to better designs. Specifically, we address decision-making within the area of trade space exploration by conducting human-computer interaction studies using multi-dimensional data visualization software that we have been developing. We first discuss a Pilot Study that was conducted to gain insight into expected differences between novice and expert decision-makers using a small test group. We then present the results of two Preliminary Experiments designed to gain insight into procedural differences in how novices and experts use multi-dimensional data visualization and exploration tools and to measure their ability to use these tools effectively when solving an engineering design problem. This work supports our goal of developing training protocols that support efficient and effective trade space exploration.

Evaluation of System Reconfigurability Based on Usable Excess

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey D. Allen ◽  
Jason D. Watson ◽  
Christopher A. Mattson ◽  
Scott M. Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
Assembly Lines ◽  
Automated Assembly ◽  
Complex Engineered Systems ◽  
Future Needs ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Engineered Systems ◽  
Over Time

The challenge of designing complex engineered systems with long service lives can be daunting. As customer needs change over time, such systems must evolve to meet these needs. This paper presents a method for evaluating the reconfigurability of systems to meet future needs. Specifically we show that excess capability is a key factor in evaluating the reconfigurability of a system to a particular need, and that the overall system reconfigurability is a function of the system’s reconfigurability to all future needs combined. There are many examples of complex engineered systems; for example, aircraft, ships, communication systems, spacecraft and automated assembly lines. These systems cost millions of dollars to design and millions to replicate. They often need to stay in service for a long time. However, this is often limited by an inability to adapt to meet future needs. Using an automated assembly line as an example, we show that system reconfigurability can be modeled as a function of usable excess capability.

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