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Sensitivity analyses are frequently used during the design of engineering systems to qualify and quantify the effect of parametric variation in the performance of a system. Two primary types of sensitivity analyses are generally used: local and global. Local analyses, generally involving derivative-based measures, have a significantly lower computational burden than global analyses but only provide measures of sensitivity around a nominal point. Global analyses, generally performed with a Monte Carlo sampling approach, and variation-based measures provide a complete description of sensitivity but incur a large computational burden and require information regarding the distributions of the design parameters in a concept. Local analyses are generally suited to the early stages of design when parametric information is limited, and a large number of concepts must be evaluated (necessitating a light computational burden). Global analyses are more suited to the later stages of design when more information about parametric distributions is available and fewer concepts are under consideration. Current derivative-based local approaches provide a different and incompatible set of measures than a global variation-based analysis. This makes a direct comparison of local to global measures ill posed. To reconcile local and global sensitivity analyses, a hybrid local variation-based sensitivity (HyVar) approach is presented. This approach has a similar computational burden to a local approach but produces measures or percentage contributions. The HyVar approach is directly comparable to global variation-based approaches. In this paper, the HyVar sensitivity analysis method is developed in the context of a functional based behavioral modeling framework. An example application of the method is presented along with a summary of results produced from a more comprehensive example. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4001408]

The biological world provides numerous cases for analogy and inspiration. From simple cases such as hook and latch attachments to articulated-wing flying vehicles, nature provides many sources for ideas. Though biological systems provide a wealth of elegant and ingenious approaches to problem solving, there are challenges that prevent designers from leveraging the full insight of the biological world into the designed world. This paper describes how those challenges can be overcome through functional analogy. Through the creation of a function-based repository, designers can find biomimetic solutions by searching the function for which a solution is needed. A biomimetic function-based repository enables learning, practicing, and researching designers to fully leverage the elegance and insight of the biological world. In this paper, we present the initial efforts of functional modeling biological systems and then transferring the principles of the biological system to an engineered system. Four case studies are presented in this paper. These case studies include a biological solution to a problem found in nature and engineered solutions corresponding to the high-level functionality of the biological solution, i.e., a housefly's winged flight and a flapping wing aircraft. The case studies show that unique creative engineered solutions can be generated through functional analogy with nature. [DOI: 10.1115/1.2992062]

Inaccuracies in the modeling assumptions about the distributional characteristics of the monitored signatures have been shown to cause frequent false positives in vehicle monitoring systems for high-risk aerospace applications. To enable the development of robust fault detection methods, this work explores the deterministic as well as variational characteristics of failure signatures. Specifically, we explore the combined impact of crack damage and manufacturing variation on the vibrational characteristics of beams. The transverse vibration and associated eigenfrequencies of the beams are considered. Two different approaches are used to model beam vibrations with and without crack damage. The first approach uses a finite difference approach to enable the inclusion of both cracks and manufacturing variation. The crack model used with both approaches is based on a localized decrease in the Young's modulus. The second approach uses Myklestad's method to evaluate the effects of cracks and manufacturing variation. Using both beam models, Monte Carlo simulations are used to explore the impacts of manufacturing variation on damaged and undamaged beams. Derivations are presented for both models. Conclusions are presented on the choice of modeling techniques to define crack damage, and its impact on the monitored signal, followed by conclusions about the distributional characteristics of the monitored signatures when exposed to random manufacturing variations. [DOI: 10.1115/1.2188535]

Inaccuracies in the modeling assumptions about the distributional characteristics of the monitored signatures have been shown to cause frequent false positives in vehicle monitoring systems for high-risk aerospace applications. To enable the development of robust fault detection methods, this work explores the deterministic as well as variational characteristics of failure signatures. Specifically, we explore the combined impact of crack damage and manufacturing variation on the vibrational characteristics of turbine blades modeled as pinned-pinned beams. The changes in the transverse vibration and associated eigenfrequencies of the beams are considered. Specifically, a complete variational beam vibration model is developed and presented that allows variations in geometry and material properties to be considered, with and without crack damage. To simplify variational simulation, separation of variables is used for fast simulations. This formulation is presented in detail. To establish a baseline of the effect of geometric variations on the system vibrational response, a complete numerical example is presented that includes damaged beams of ideal geometry and damaged beams with geometric variation. It is shown that changes in fault detection monitoring signals caused by geometric variation are small with those caused by damage and impending failure. Also, when combined, the impact of geometric variation and damage appear to be independent. [DOI: 10.1115/1.2013296]

Engineering design consists of a series of stages during which a number of decisions need to be made by the designer. Since the information available to the designer is limited during initial design stages, to make these decisions and be able to proceed further in the design process, the designer needs to depict the nature, visualize the form, and predict the behavior of the product through the use of aids called models. These models guide these decisions, therefore, the designer needs to ensure the downstream validity of these decisions by constructing models with sufficient accuracy and resolution. Because higher quality and accuracy of information is most often accompanied by a higher cost for a model, determining a satisfactory level of goodness for a model is a fundamental and pervasive question in engineering. Hence, a key aspect of design model construction is deciding whether a model is appropriate for a particular design specification or evaluation, considering accuracy and cost factors. This paper presents an approach for design model construction using utility theory. Since model selection is a design decision, uncertainties in parameters and models are considered by evaluating the confidence in the selection of any model. A method for proceeding in the reverse manner to determine the required goodness of a model is also discussed. We present this research through application to a race car sway bar. [DOI: 10.1115/1.1830048]

During the design and development of new products, design engineers use many techniques to generate and define new and 'good' concepts. Inherent in this search for solutions is the conscious and unconscious reliance on prior experience and knowledge, or design-by-analogy. In this paper, a quantitative metric for design-by-analogy is developed. This metric is based on the functional similarity of products. By using this product-similarity metric, designers are able to formalize and quantify design-by-analogy techniques during concept and layout design. The methods, as developed in this paper, allow a designer with limited experience to develop sophisticated solutions that enhance the overall design of a new product. Also, a designer's current design-by-analogy vocabulary can be extended beyond his or her immediate experience, providing access and contributions to new domains by discovering different products with common functions. The similarity metric and its application are clarified and validated through a case study. The case study is the original design of a pickup winder. [DOI: 10.1115/1.1475317] Keywords: Design-by-Analogy, Product Similarity, Functional Analysis, Customer Needs, Novel Product Design

In this work, we show that bioinspired function-sharing can be effectively leveraged in engineering design by abstracting and emulating the product architecture of biological systems that exhibit function-sharing. Systems that leverage function-sharing enable multiple functions to be performed by a single structure. Billions of years of evolution have led to the development of function-sharing adaptations in biological systems. Currently, engineers leverage biological function-sharing by imitating serendipitously encountered biological structures. As a result, utilizing bioinspired function-sharing remains limited to some specific engineering problems. To overcome this limitation, we propose the reduced function-means tree as a tool to simultaneously abstract both biological adaptations and their associated product architecture. The tool uses information from an existing bioinspired design abstraction tool and an existing product architecture representation tool. A demonstration study illustrates the tool's ability to abstract the product architectural interactions of function-sharing biological systems. The abstracted product architectural interactions are then shown to facilitate problem-driven bioinspiration of function-sharing. The availability of a problem-driven approach may reduce the need to imitate biological structures to leverage biological function-sharing in engineering design. This work is a step forward in analyzing biological product architectures to inspire engineering design. The future work will focus on validating the proposed tool by performing user studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the development planning of a new product, designers and entrepreneurs rely on the prediction of product performance to make business investment and design strategy decisions. Moore's law and the logistic S-curve model help make such predictions but suffer several drawbacks. In this paper, Lotka-Volterra equations are used to describe the interaction between a product (system technology) and the components and elements (component technologies) that are combined to form the product. The equations are simplified by a relationship table and maturation evaluation in a two-step process. The performance data of the system and its components over time are modeled by simplified Lotka-Volterra equations. The methods developed here allow designers, entrepreneurs, and policy makers to predict the performances of a product and its components quantitatively using the simplified Lotka-Volterra equations. The methods also shed light on the extent of performance impact from a specific module (component technology) on a product (system technology), which is valuable for identifying the key features of a product and for making outsourcing decisions. Smartphones are used as an example to demonstrate the two-step simplification process. The Lotka-Volterra model of technology evolution is validated by a case study of passenger airplanes and turbofan aero-engines. The case study shows that the data fitting and predictive performances of Lotka-Volterra equations exceed those of extant models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Origami is a traditional art form that realizes three-dimensional shapes by folding paper sheets. Origami designers use mathematical theorems to support their design efforts. These theorems require a condition of a flat fold on folded sheets. When working with paper, the paper is essentially zero thickness and folds flat. Thus, to access the power of flat-foldability theorems for origami-inspire design, nonzero thickness stiff sheet crease patterns must still be flat foldable. For nonzero thickness sheets as would be used in practical engineering applications, special fold designs are required to allow an effectively flat fold. In this issue of ASME Applied Mechanics Reviews, Lang and co-authors present a review of fold design techniques to enable effectively flat folding of nonzero thickness sheets. In this discussion, the impact of the author's work is highlighted. As well, the contributions of the authors work is situated in the context of origami-inspired systems design. The integration of their work into a systems construct clarifies and motivates the need for further origami-inspired design research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern product design methodologies, designers are increasingly required to combine elements spanning multiple engineering domains, thus blurring the boundaries between engineering disciplines. Functional modeling with the Functional Basis provides the basic tools required to integrate system models at the conceptual level; however, there is a lack of unified rules to address the structure of functional models. This article covers the development of a signal grammar for functional modeling with a Functional Basis. At the conceptual level, signal flows represent the information vital to a proper system operation. Signal flows are explored through their Functional Basis lexicon and primary/ carrier flow relationships. A grammar, consisting of morphology and syntax, is presented and applied to a set of electromechanical, component-based building block examples. To further demonstrate the application of signals in functional modeling, an electromechanical product is explored functionally with the application of the signal grammar. [DOI: 10.1115/1.2885185]