ROM Based Problem Formulation in Conceptual Design: Algorithm and Case Study

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronaldo Gutierrez ◽  
Yong Zeng ◽  
Xuan Sun ◽  
Suo Tan ◽  
Xiaoguang Deng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Quality Management System ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Design Algorithm ◽  
Problem Formulations

Problem formulations in natural language imply imprecision, ambiguity, incompleteness, conflict and inconsistency between requirements in a design problem. Recursive Object Model (ROM) based problem formulation in conceptual design extracts complete product requirement from design problems structured initially in natural language. Since ROM carries certain semantic and syntactic information implied in natural language, it is used to formulate a design problem through a question asking approach. The scope of this paper is to present an updated algorithm, question templates, rules and detailed procedures to ask generic questions based on ROM representations. Generic questions are needed for the clarification and extension of the meaning of a design problem in order to overcome the imprecisions, ambiguities, conflicts and inconsistencies of problem descriptions in natural language. The updated algorithm, question templates, rules and detailed procedures for asking generic questions are used in a case study to formulate the development of a Total Quality Management system (TQMS).

Problem Discovery With Many-Objective Visual Analytics

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Woodruff ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Visual Analytics ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Detailed Design ◽  
Default State ◽  
State Of Affairs

Problem discovery is messy. It involves many mistakes, which may be regarded as a failure to address a design problem correctly. Mistakes, however, are inevitable, and misunderstanding the problems we are working on is the natural, default state of affairs. Only through engaging in a series of mistakes can we learn important things about our design problems. This study provides a case study in Many-Objective Visual Analytics (MOVA), as applied to the problem of problem discovery. It demonstrates the process of continually correcting and improving a problem formulation while visualizing its optimization results. This process produces a new, clearer understanding of the problem and puts the designer in a position to proceed with more-detailed design decisions.

Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms’ Performance in a Support Role

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Woodruff ◽  
Timothy W. Simpson ◽  
Patrick M. Reed
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Algorithms ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Parameter Space ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
Diagnostic Assessment ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Assessment Study

This paper presents a diagnostic assessment study, evaluating five leading multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) on their effectiveness, efficiency, reliability, and controllability on four different formulations of the same benchmark conceptual design problem, using the same underlying model. This assessment entails a broad sampling of the parameter space of each MOEA, for each problem formulation, requiring millions of optimization runs and trillions of model evaluations. The results of this assessment show the strengths and limitations of these MOEAs, establishing the Borg MOEA as a leading algorithm.

Robust MDSDO for Co-Design of Stochastic Dynamic Systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Azad ◽  
Michael J. Alexander-Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic System ◽  
Design Optimization ◽  
System Design ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Integrated Design ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
Robust Design Optimization ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Embodiment Design ◽  
And Control

Abstract Optimization of dynamic engineering systems generally requires problem formulations that account for the coupling between embodiment design and control system design simultaneously. Such formulations are commonly known as combined optimal design and control (co-design) problems, and their application to deterministic systems is well established in the literature through a variety of methods. However, an issue that has not been addressed in the co-design literature is the impact of the inherent uncertainties within a dynamic system on its integrated design solution. Accounting for these uncertainties transforms the standard, deterministic co-design problem into a stochastic one, thus requiring appropriate stochastic optimization approaches for its solution. This paper serves as the starting point for research on stochastic co-design problems by proposing and solving a novel problem formulation based on robust design optimization (RDO) principles. Specifically, a co-design method known as multidisciplinary dynamic system design optimization (MDSDO) is used as the basis for an RDO problem formulation and implementation. The robust objective and inequality constraints are computed per usual as functions of their first-order-approximated means and variances, whereas analysis-based equality constraints are evaluated deterministically at the means of the random decision variables. The proposed stochastic co-design problem formulation is then implemented for two case studies, with the results indicating the importance of the robust approach on the integrated design solutions and performance measures.

Visualization and Comparison of Solution Paths With Artificial Metrics

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Rudolph
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Pattern Matching ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Verbal Description ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Analytical Design ◽  
Complete Set ◽  
Matching Techniques ◽  
Verbal Model

Abstract The use of graph theoretical concepts, which can bridge the gap between the construction of verbal and simple analytical design model representations, is explored. Graph methods offer the possibility to process both verbal and analytical object information, since in either case the identification of the objects represented is achieved using an identifier concept, which relies on pattern matching techniques. The comparison of different solution paths for the same conceptual design problem using artificial metrics is shown in a case study. The results show that the solution paths for the analytical model based on the complete set of analytical equations can already be determined and analyzed using a verbal description model. Furthermore, both solution paths of the analytical and the verbal model are identical, if the relevance lists of the verbal design descriptions are complete.

The Four-Box Method: Problem Formulation and Analogy Evaluation in Biologically Inspired Design

2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Helms ◽  
Ashok K. Goel
Keyword(s):  
Design Problem ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
Biologically Inspired ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
In Situ Observations ◽  
Box Method ◽  
Biologically Inspired Design ◽  
Search Design

Searching for biological analogies appropriate for design problems is a core process of biologically inspired design (BID). Through in situ observations of student BIDs, we discovered that student designers struggle with two issues that bookend the problem of search: design problem formulation, which generates the set of conditions to be used for search; and evaluation of the appropriateness of the retrieved analogies, which depends both on problem formulation and the retrieved analogy. We describe a method for problem formulation and analogy evaluation in BID that we call the Four-Box method. We show that the Four-Box method can be rapidly and accurately used by designers for both problem formulation and analogy evaluation, and that designers find the method valuable for the intended tasks.

Enhancing Design Problem Formulation Skills for Engineering Design Students

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Dinar ◽  
Jami J. Shah
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
Assessment Methods ◽  
Web Tool ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Course Work ◽  
Design Students

Problem formulation is an essential design skill for which assessment methods have been less commonly developed. In order to evaluate the progress of a group of graduate students in mechanical engineering design in regard with the problem formulation skill, they were asked to work on three design problems using the Problem Formulator web tool during their course work. Changes in a set of measures elicited from this data were examined in addition to sketches, simulations, and working prototypes. Inventories of requirements and issues, as well as concepts derived from morphological charts were created to assess designers’ skills and outcomes.

scholarly journals Design for the Marketing Mix: The Past, Present, and Future of Market-Driven Engineering Design

2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Donndelinger ◽  
Scott M. Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
Marketing Mix ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Product Price ◽  
Engineering Design Problem ◽  
Utility Models ◽  
Problem Formulations

Abstract The four Ps of the marketing mix (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) serve as a framework for characterizing the marketing decisions made during the product development process. In this paper, we describe how the last 40 years of engineering design research has increasingly incorporated representations of preference as a means of addressing the decisions that come with each “P.” We argue that this incorporation began with problem formulations based on Product only, with surrogates of preference posed as objectives (such as minimizing weight, minimizing part count) representing a firm's desire for offering a mix of products while reducing cost and maximizing profit. As the complexity of problem formulations progressed, researchers began representing preferences of the designer (using decision theory techniques) and of the customer (often in the form of random utility models). The Design for Market Systems special session was created specifically in the Design Automation Conference for advancing our understanding of design in the content of a market, extending from the decision-based design framework introduced by Hazelrigg. Since then, researchers have explored the engineering design problem formulation challenges associated with the marketing decisions of Price, Place, and Promotion. This paper highlights the advancements of the design community in each of the Ps and shows how the marketing decisions of Place and Promotion extend from the central hub of considering Price in an engineering design problem. We also highlight the exciting research opportunities that exist as the community considers more complicated, and interconnected, problem formulations that encompass the entirety of the Marketing Mix.

Design Through Common Graph Representations

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Offer Shai
Keyword(s):  
Design Problem ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Graph Representation ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Graph Representations ◽  
Knowledge Transformation ◽  
A New Technique ◽  
Design Case Study ◽  
Original Domain

Current paper introduces a new technique that enables to solve design problems through their discrete mathematical models called – graph representations. When different engineering fields are represented by the same (common) graph representation, channels for knowledge transformation are paved between these fields. Current paper employs these knowledge transformation channels for design, by transforming a design problem into a design problem in another (secondary) engineering domain. Then, a search is performed in the secondary domain for existent solution. Once such solution is found, it is transformed back to the original domain through the same graph representation based channel. The paper provides a thorough design case study demonstrating the idea behind the proposed technique.

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