Application of Interaction and Functional Coupling Rules in Configuration Design

In this work a procedure to identify and characterize functional couplings, previously proposed by this author, has been applied in configuration design of an expansion container of an automotive cooling system. The procedure is based on axiomatic design theory, function-means structure modelling techniques, the interaction characterization scheme proposed by Pimmler and Eppinger and two functional coupling definitions proposed by this author. The presented case study illustrates the use of the proposed procedure to identify and characterize functional couplings in configuration design. The result of the procedure is a function-means model of the design with interaction and functional coupling relations included in the model. When the functional couplings are known the structure model can be used as an aid for different purposes such as feasibility analysis according to the axiomatic design theory and design task planning.