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Cet article etudie l’Ode jubilaire pour le six-centieme anniversaire de la mort de Dante, composee par Claudel sur la suggestion de l’italianiste Henry Cochin et publiee dans le Bulletin du jubile du Comite catholique francais. L’Ode est evoquee a deux reprises dans la Revue de litterature comparee de 1921. Double — comme dans la Vita Nova — d’un texte en prose explicatif, ce long dithyrambe en vers libres, nourri de citations de Dante, est esentiellement constitue d’une double prosopopee, celle de Beatrice suivant celle de Dante, sur les themes de l’exil, de l’amour et de la Joie, ce qui en fait un palimpseste du Soulier de Satin. De fait, l’impact autobiographique de l’Ode apparait manifestement au regard des Lettres a Yse contemporaines, et recemment livrees au public. Celebration et comparaison semblent ici ceder le pas a une discrete substitution.

International audience; Depending on the requirements, the design of a product may result in very different solutions. Topological optimization is a mathematical tool that can be used to obtain lighter parts without decreasing their stiffness. As the optimized part shapes are often too complex to be manufacturable, additive manufacturing is generally used. Usually, the topological optimization is performed on a single part. However, for a product, the decreasing of mass and inertia in each individual part has an impact on the loads applied onto all the parts of the system. Moreover, different paths can be used to optimize a product, e.g. optimizing all the parts simultaneously or part after part. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to propose, based on a case study, some optimization principles to find the best optimization path to design an additively manufactured product. In order to do this, the concept of topological optimization loops is first proposed. Then, several optimization paths are compared. In comparison with a usual single topological optimization, the proposed method leads to an additional gain in mass of up to 35% for the case study. Finally, some optimization principles are suggested to choose the most adapted path according to the designer objectives.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies allow to produce functional parts with complex geometries that cannot be manufactured by conventional processes. However, the complexity of the product is increased and causes new constraints in the manufacturing process. Therefore, these new processes lead particularly to new needs in design methods. The objective of this paper is to explore and form an overall view of design methods, especially, robust design (RD) methods. Robust design is defined here as a methodology that enables to design a product with optimal performances and insensitivity to small variations of the inputs of the manufacturing process. In this contribution a state of the art of robust design methods applied to AM will be carried out.

Topological optimization (TO) is commonly used to design a part for additive manufacturing (AM), but rarely for entire systems including several parts. How can be optimized a mechanical system in which each optimized part changes the boundary conditions? A Design method called TOMS (Topological Optimization of a Mechanical System) has been developed to take into account the variation of the boundary conditions when optimizing parts. When the using TOMS method the loops are performed until the optimization converges. The object of this article is to propose a discussion on the quantification of this convergence based on a practical case study.

International audience; The automotive product is increasingly restricted by environmental regulations, including reducing emissions of CO2 and pollutants in exhaust pipes of vehicles. One solution implemented in the automotive industry are plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) that use an electric traction battery. To help vehicle manufacturers in their choice of traction battery from an environmental point of view, a simulation method of environmental impacts generated by the use phase is proposed in this paper. This method takes into account the possible usages of the vehicle and potential developments of electric mix, with the formulation of a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) solved using constraint programming (CP) techniques. The sensitivity of five parameters is investigated: the electricity mix used to charge the battery, the battery mass, electric consumptions, the autonomy in " all-electric mode " , and the share of total travel in " all-electric mode ". Power grid is the most differentiating parameter for global warming and PHEV generates less impact if less used in " all-electric mode " on a high carbon intensity power grid. Lastly, CSP acausal modeling makes it possible to process different simulations with the same model.

Relying on life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate product-service systems (PSSs), and more specifically car sharing systems, involves many challenges. Car sharing services include free-floating car sharing, which enables users to take and leave vehicles anytime and anywhere within a limited service area. This paper proposes a model of a free-floating electric car sharing system in which eight parameters that influence environmental impacts may be identified. Among these parameters are the rate of use of the vehicles, standard trip representative of the service’s actual use, vehicle model used within the service, and electric mix used to charge the vehicles. Adapting the life cycle assessment methodology to the studied system makes it possible to link the studied parameters to the indicator values of the service’s environmental impact. The environmental indicators considered are global warming potential (GWP), photochemical oxidation potential (POCP), eutrophication potential (EP), and abiotic resource depletion potential (ADP). As a result, by using a design of experiments, it is possible to prioritise the eight system parameters according to their influence on the four environmental impact indicators. More specifically, the experiment demonstrates that the electricity mix has a major influence on the GWP and POCP indicators. With regard to the ADP indicator, the vehicle model used in the service is the most influential parameter by far. The use rate and trip type parameters have significant effects on the four environmental indicators. Finally, the experiment also shows that the results heavily rely on the study’s methodological choices.

In many ecodesign problems, finding solutions that complete the design requirements while bettering multiple performances (environmental impacts, costs, etc.) is no trivial task. Design-aid tools using optimization methods are efficient to address these issues but fail to encompass the whole life cycle of products and customer attractiveness aspects. This article describes an original method using CSP optimization and QFD to generate an optimized model of a product during the early design stages. Scores from the QFD matrix are used to weight the sub objectives of the optimization so that the solving is strongly dependent on the customers’ demands. As a consequence, the method allows a better integration of customer needs during the design process. To optimize multiple performances, the variables of the model are used to create impact functions corresponding to environmental impacts, costs, etc. of every life cycle phases of the product's parts. As a result, the optimized model is the one with the best performance scores while answering best the variety of customers’ needs. The methodology is applied to the design of an innovative inflatable dinghy. Results show that the use of QFD generates a fewer improvement of the environmental performance compared to an environmentally focused optimization (10% vs 18%) but it guarantees that the product will better meet customers’ needs. Hence, the product should more likely be accepted and purchased and have a positive impact on the performances of the whole market.

A large part of impacts that will be generated by a system / product during its life cycle are allocated during the earliest stages of the design process. In this paper we propose to trace the evolution of environmental impacts throughout a complex system design process through an industrial case. We follow the stages of a boat design process for maintenance of offshore wind farms. The different architectures sketched throughout the design process are evaluated in order to measure the impact of design decisions on the environmental performance of the system. The problematic of taking into account environmental constraints upstream of the design process abound methods but they often prove inadequate for complex systems whose subsystems interact in complex ways leading to conflicts in the decision of the right parameters. To meet the stakeholders’ needs, that appear (during the design project) in the iterative design process, the initial design is modified to fit the specifications. This iterative path between designers and users leads to uncertainties over the environmental impact of the system. It is then necessary to use smart design support tools allowing a negotiation in definition phase of system specifications. Thus the preliminary design is modified to incorporate changes and contributions occurred during the negotiation phase functional.

International audience; Thanks to the opportunities offered by additive manufacturing (AM) processes, design rules are evolving to lead to lighter and stiffer parts with really more complex shapes than those obtained by conventional processes. Worldwide, new tools of assistance to the design are developed, gathered under the naming “Design for Additive Manufacturing” (DfAM). However, most of the DfAM methods suggested in the literature remain focused on only one component and are not considering the product as a system of components. Moreover, optimizations are mainly limited on reducing the mass or the number of parts, and more rarely on adding some functions.In this article, a new approach is presented to realize a multifunctional optimization of a mechanical system (MS). A methodology is first proposed in order to improve a product by using the AM opportunity. Then, to quantify the improvements of an optimized system, a new design indicator appointed “functional improvement rate” is defined. Finally, a case study, applied to a compressed-air Wobbler engine, is presented to demonstrate the relevance of the methodology and the functional improvement rate. The design adapted to traditional manufacturing is compared to a part-by-part optimized design and a multifunctional optimized design, both adapted to additive manufacturing.

The environmental consequences of mass consumption require to eco-innovate, which means completely rethinking our way of designing, manufacturing and consuming by proposing on the market products and services with a high environmental ambition. In order to help companies in early design phases of eco-innovation, this article investigates the criteria of eco-innovation and tests the understanding of a set of 7 Eco-ideation Stimulation Meso-mechanisms, named ESM. A qualitative experiment based on focus groups and on a case based reasoning approach delivers operable criteria of eco-innovation and redefines at the same time what eco-innovation is. The exhaustive aspect of eco-innovation dimensions to explore covered by the ESM set is confirmed too.

The accelerating rhythm of products renewal causes accelerated exploitation of materials and energy. To remedy this, this paper considers upgradability from the point of view of functionality: the goal is to design an upgrade scenario taking into account a multi-criteria assessment: environmental impact-cost-attractiveness for the consumers. An experiment based on the UpMoS tool and data from the past of electronic device simulates different design hypotheses. With a non-systematic integration of known developments and upgrading design tips like recycling, improving “by plug” and oversizing to delay replacing, the results show that upgradability is a present-day opportunity to develop sustainable systems. Environmental gains are in the order of 5%. Others promising design levers to obtain much more positive results are presented in discussion.

International audience; Eco-innovation methodologies and tools are being applied in companies to an increasing extent. None of them, however, are particularly adapted to complex systems industries, where the eco-design requirements are highly specific. These systems are characterized by large size and mass, and relatively long and uncertain life cycles. The associated organization is also complex as there are multiple highly specialized experts, who rarely collaborate, and much less so on environmental aspects. In this paper, an adapted eco-innovation process based on the eco-design strategy wheel is proposed for use with a working group of internal technical experts. A first phase involves generating a high number of potential eco-innovative R&D projects that are then analyzed and assessed using an appropriate multi-criteria grid. Three structured filters enable an informed selection of the most promising projects that will then make up a balanced R&D project portfolio. The whole process has been successfully applied at Alstom Grid on large electrical stations used in the primary aluminium industry.

Pour rester competitives, les entreprises ont besoin d'eco-innover, c'est-a-dire de developper et mettre sur le marche, avec succes, des produits ou services a forte ambition environnementale. L'objectif de cet article est d'apporter de nouvelles connaissances sur les processus d'eco-innovation pour accompagner les entreprises. A cet effet, il est presente une boite a outils inedite de 7 meso Mecanismes de Stimulation d'Eco-ideation (MSE) didactiques, permettant une exploration large et efficace des dimensions systemiques relatives au developpement durable, peu exploitees jusqu'alors et pourtant tres prometteuses. Le cas d'application de l'aspirateur illustre le mecanisme « Innover par les Systemes Produit Service ».

Paul Claudel a eu a plusieurs reprises l’occasion de mediter sur le mystere de la sainte Trinite, meme s’il ne lui a consacre aucune œuvre particuliere. Sa perspective est toujours poetique : il s’agit de savoir comment exprimer par les mots l’inexprimable. Apres avoir examine ses sources theologiques, nous nous arretons sur le rapprochement des deux termes machina et Trinitas, caracteristique de l’usage claudelien de l’oxymore, ainsi que sur d’autres metaphores du registre mecanique, pour degager finalement une poetique plus generale de l’acte createur.

International audience; For many modern products, the use phase is intensive and poses a serious environmental impact because of the energy and resources consumed. This could be resolved by optimizing the product's environmental impact by improving the understanding of the users' relationship with it. In this work, we propose a model that can be used to include the use phase and the eco-oriented strategies in the environmental impact assessment of a product. This model takes into account the changing nature of the interactions between the user and the product over time. An indicator designated mitigation rate is introduced to help model this change. It acknowledges the loss in performance of eco-oriented strategies over time. This work presents the methodology to understand, model, and select among different eco-oriented strategies with different time frames. A case study is also presented, where four alternative models considering different eco-oriented strategies are shown and compared.

The use phase in Life Cycle Analysis is normally calculated considering both an average use and user. This limits the effectiveness of any strategy aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the product use. To tackle this problem, a tool to model use in detail by differentiating user and product contributions is proposed. It can be coupled coherently with existing environmental assessment approaches. Its application is illustrated with a case study (refrigerator). The proposed works is complementary calculation tool to improve the environmental assessment.

International audience; This article aims to present an approach based on a combination of life cycle analysis methods (LCA) and problem solving by constraint satisfaction (CSP). This original approach makes it possible to vary the design of the different dimensions of the functional units of a complex system and thus to make it easier to identify the best architecture along with the best functional definition of the system. Our approach (EcoCSP) presented allows to negotiate performance to move towards an environmental optimum corresponding to a set of acceptable specifications. The EcoCSP approach is implemented to define the functional performance of a green passengers' ferry.

Une carte des principales formations à silex du sud de la France est en cours de réalisation. Elle propose, à tous les préhistoriens, une base nécessaire au développement d’études interrégionales sur la circulation des silex. Elle est le fruit d’une collaboration entre des acteurs impliqués dans la problématique de caractérisation de la provenance des silex. Elle regroupe les résultats de leurs prospections systématiques ou ciblées dans six régions (Aquitaine, Auvergne, Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrénées, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, Rhône-Alpes). Elle intègre, en plus, le dépouillement d’un grand nombre de documents : i) les principaux articles et thèses traitant des formations à silex du sud de la France ; ii) plus de 200 fiches issues de la base de données du sous-sol BSS du BRGM, qui permettent de visualiser des logs ou des documents scannés ; iii) 529 cartes géologiques à 1/50 000 et leurs notices. La carte est organisée en trois couches de données superposables : une carte des affleurements ou gîtes primaires, une carte des altérites et des formations superficielles remaniées et une carte des formations alluviales. La carte existera dans deux versions numériques aisément actualisables : une version dans un format PDF et une version sous la forme d’un SIG. C’est l’ensemble de la formation contenant le ou les même(s) type(s) de silex qui est prise en compte, le terme de formation désignant un terrain possédant des caractères communs et qui constitue un ensemble cartographiable. Chacune des formations recensées fait l’objet d’une notice simplifiée qui décrit l’encaissant et - le ou les - type(s) de silex présent(s). Ces notices descriptives et explicatives contiennent des photos à toutes les échelles (de la formation à l’échelle microscopique). Des références bibliographiques géologiques et archéologiques complèteront chaque notice. La version définitive de ces notices constituera un atlas. Les archéologues et géologues disposeront ainsi de fiches descriptives pour chaque type de silex et son encaissant. Elles serviront aux diagnoses analytiques (structures, textures et compositions minéralogiques). A map of the main flint bearing formations in the South of France is under construction. It will provide an essential basis to develop interregional studies about flint procurements and travels. It results from collaboration between actors involved in topic flint sourcing. It includes results of their systematic surveys and studies in six regions (Aquitaine, Auvergne, Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrenees, Provence-Alpes - Côte d’Azur, Rhône-Alpes). Moreover, it includes a large number of associated data : i) The main papers and those dealing with flint bearing formations of southern France, ii) more than 200 records from the under-soil database BSS BRGM, which give access to logs or scanned documents iii) 529 geological maps at 1/50 000 and their leaflets. The map is organized in three superimposed layers : a map of outcrops or primary deposits, a map of surficial weathered formation and a revised map of alluvial formations. The map is available in two versions which are easily updatable : a PDF version and an interactive GIS version. In this document, every formation containing the same type (s) (s) of flint is taken into account and forms a mappable entity. Every listed formation is linked to a text which describes the parent rock and/or the type(s) of flint(s). These records contain descriptive and explanatory pictures at different scale (naked eye to microscopic scale). Geological and archaeological references complement every record. The final version will constitute an atlas. Archaeologists and geologists will find description sheets of every type of flint and bearing rock. They will help for analytical diagnoses (structure, texture and mineralogical composition).

International audience; Confronted with the accelerated product obsolescence and the resulting waste of materials, the concept of “optimised/increased/hybridised upgradability” is considered. In the literature, upgradability is used to respond to local technical problems (updating norms, update because of a broken component etc.) or as an end-of-life option. In our view however, it constitutes the heart of a new and promising paradigm of production/consumption. This paper proposes to consider hybrid systems that are called “Upgradable Product Service System (Up-PSS)” combining upgradability with optimised maintenance, with valorisation of end-of-life parts and with the servicisation of the offer. The promises of increasing attractiveness for clients, new businesses for manufacturers and a host of environmental benefits make this new concept highly pertinent compared to known models of production/consumption such as remanufacturable products, easily recyclable products, PSS, optimal maintenance products or basic upgrade products. Moreover, Up-PSS is a new opportunity to switch to offers without ownership transfer that facilitates the implementation of circular economy. In order to shed light on the field of Up-PSS and investigate the boundaries of this new paradigm, three actions are carried out: (1) focus groups with consumers and workshops with two manufacturers (2) on the upgradability of real products and (3) on the changes in business models. Our action research approach resulted in clarifying this new concept of the product by defining key ideas based on three keystones: (i) upgrades should be scheduled according to regular cycles of successive lines of functional improvements to satisfy the following themes of value creation: utilitarian, emotional, ethical, and service-oriented. There should also be specific upgrades chosen from a catalogue; (ii) the effects are strong environmental gains from multiple principles of rationalisation materials use but also by encouraging users to eco-friendly usage of their products; this is formalised by an eco-score to which both users and producers are committed. (iii) The above are accompanied by continuous interaction between clients and manufacturers through a web platform, offers of upgradable systems that would integrate bundles of services resulting in the system's growing attractiveness in the eyes of clients. This in turn would set in motion new modes of contracts, offering manufacturers new and more frequent ways of earning revenue; this would be conditional on setting up an upgradability support service that would be attractive to clients as well as reorganising the value chain with the participation of new partners. This transformation of the value network over time implies developing new development paths for business models to facilitate the transition from current economic models centred on material goods to models that are more service oriented.

International audience; Usage ecodrifts, which refer to non-optimal use of a product by the users, create additional environmental impact generators: energy overconsumption (real-time impacts) and abnormal wear and tear of parts of the product (delayed impacts). The goal of our study was to develop a method for identifying and quantifying UEDs of products that have a high environmental impact use phase. In this paper, we studied the case of different usages of a vacuum cleaner and their environmental consequences. We first conducted a survey to gather information on how people use the product. Then, we conducted experimentations to measure the consequences of the usages. We also explored how the testers responded to feedback inviting them to adopt a more sustainable behaviour. Results show that most of the users do not use the product optimally and cause additional environmental impact. Several usage ecodrifts were identified, causing both abnormal energy overconsumption and wear and tear of the product. The calculations show that Delayed Environmental Impacts, because their consequence is the early replacement of the whole product, are of much greater importance than Real-time Environmental Impacts.

International audience

This study refers the western part of the “Gers department” which covers the Adour valley, its tributaries (Izaute, Midour and Douze) and the Gélise valley. A geological study was carried out from 2010 to 2012. It allowed us to collect 290 alluvial siliceous pebbles from the Plio-Pleistocene sediments. At the same time, 132 flint artefacts from prehistoric sources in the Gers (Upper Palaeolithic) were collected. Petrographic, sedimentological and palaeontological studies were carried out. They allowed us to distinguish 19 lithological types:- 1 related to the Cenozoic formation;- 2 associated with Flysch deposits from the Pyrenean orogenic belt;- 10 attributed to the Senonian age (from the Coniacian to the Campanian);- 6 imputed to the Upper Maastrichtian with Lepidorbitoides.Then these types were brought together into six groups that show their stratigraphic positions and their palaeogeographic environments at different time periods.- 0.2 % of the alluvial pebbles were related to the Pyrenean Flysch;- 45 % were of Upper Maastrichtian age (Lepidorbitoides);- 54 % were of Senonian age (Coniacian to Middle Maastrichtian).The artefacts collected in the same region show a very similar proportion of siliceous pebbles (49 % of Maastrichtian with Lepidorbitoides).The result of this study is that, up to now, the western part of the Lannemezan Plateau includes alluvial areas of Plio-Pleistocene age, containing a large amount of flint pebbles of Upper Cretaceous age (Senonian and Maastrichtian). The gathering of this siliceous raw material by Palaeolithic communities is obvious. The identification of a new lithic raw material located in the southern Aquitaine Basin will have to be taken into account, while former interpretations probably have to be amended.

The European directive ELV (End of Life of Vehicle) 2000/53/EC means that today's car manufacturers must make sure that vehicles put on the market in 2006 (and in 2015 respectively) respect the reuse and recovery objectives of 85% in mass (95% respectively) and more particularly a recycling objective of 80% (85% respectively). These objectives ( JOCE, 2000 ) will be checked according to a procedure regulated by the Certification Directive (2005/64/EC). This will oblige car manufacturers in particular to present a Certification Report for each vehicle. The Certification Directive gives requirements as to the objectives to be achieved, but imposes no method by which to achieve them. Each car manufacturer has to identify which vehicle, amongst all those in the same range, is the worst recycling case (this case is called the Vehicle of Reference – Vref); its certification results in a de facto certification of all the other models in that particular range. In this article we propose a method based on an Impact of Module on Recycling Rate (I.M.M.R.) indicator enables us to establish rules for identifying the Vref. This method, which is based on a modular approach of the car, allows to highlighting the reasons for the variation of recyclability rates between different versions of a vehicle. In order to test this method in real conditions, we have developed a strong partnership with Peugeot Citroen SA, a French car manufacturer interested in actively contributing to the ecodesign of more sustainable systems. This method was also applied to a vehicle range (Peugeot 308) and its use compared to that of more traditional approaches to identifying the Vref. The method allows for an intelligent, speedy and reliable identification of Vref. Beyond its use for justification vis-a-vis the End of Life Products directive (ELV, WEEE), this method can also be used more pro-actively as a way of evaluating the impacts of an innovation on the recyclability rate of products.

Our society is increasingly concerned by environmental issues. Remanufacturing is a process which allows decreasing and rationalising the quantities of materials used by recuperating parts of products at the end of the use phase, subjecting them to renewal treatments and then inserting them into new products, therefore prolonging their exploitation (over the long term). Remanufacturing is seen in literature as an end-of-life option for certain components/modules and this may give guidelines for some design improvements for a quick and easy disassembly. The approach developed in this work aims to integrate the potentials of remanufacturing as early as possible in the design process in order to reap the greatest benefits in both economic and environmental dimensions. This project includes a study of the designs of modular architecture, Reverse Supply Chain processes and also of the problem of dimensioning cycles for multiple use and upgrading possibilities (or functional enrichment). This article details the third study on upgrade cycles: it shows (1) the benefits of a method which simulates the upgrade cycles in terms of attractiveness and risk (2) the value of such a tool for guiding a more rigorous company strategy It illustrates also through an experiment conducted with an industrial leader in franking machines. This paper concludes towards upgradable systems more compatible with sustainable development.

Archaeological investigations undertaken along a proposed highway together with the compilation of available geological and pedological data made it possible to give a first overview of the distribution of Pleistocene aeolian deposits in south- west France. A chronological framework for deposition has been obtained using both radiocarbon (n ¼ 24) and luminescence (n ¼ 26) dating. It shows that aeolian transport was very active during the Late Pleniglacial, between 15 and � 23 ka, leading to sand emplacement over a 13 000-m 2 area at the centre of the basin. The Pleniglacial coversands are typified by extensive fields of small transverse to barchanoid ridges giving way to sandsheets to the east. Subsequent aeolian phases, at ca. 12 ka (Younger Dryas) and 0.8-0.2 ka (Little Ice Age), correspond to the formation of more localized and higher, mainly parabolic dunes. At the southern and eastern margins of the coversand area, aeolian dust accumulated to form loess deposits, the thickness of which reaches � 3 m on the plateaus. Luminescence dates together with interglacial-ranking palaeoluvisols between the loess units clearly indicate that these accumulations built up during the last two glacial-interglacial cycles. The chronology of sand and loess deposition thus appears to be consistent with that already documented for northern Europe. This suggests that it was driven by global climate changes in the northern hemisphere. The relatively thin aeolian deposits (and particularly loess) in south-west France is thought to reflect both a supply-limited system and a moister climate than in more northern and continental regions. Copyright # 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Remanufacturing end-of-life products requires setting up an economically and environmentally viable reverse logistics channel for supplying reusable used modules to the production chain. This paper introduces a framework to allow generating and assessing different reverse logistics channel structures. The framework is then applied to a product remanufacturing case. We analyze the current reverse logistics channel structure and propose alternative structures with less environmental impact and higher economic benefits.

International audience; The tendency towards a homogenous mode of development modelled on that of Western countries means that sustainable development has become increasingly urgent. It is necessary to thoroughly redefine products and their expected performances in such a way that the consequences are compatible with sustainable development. In the domain of product design, this means that it is no longer sufficient to use assessment tools “after the fact” to check the impact of products whose functional unit (FU) was defined prior to production; it is now necessary to rethink the definition of the FU itself. This article aims to present an approach based on a combination of life cycle analysis methods and problem-solving by constraint satisfaction. This original approach makes it possible to vary the design of the different dimensions of the FUs of a complex system and thus to make it easier to identify the best architecture along with the best functional definition of the system. In this study, the EcoCSP approach is applied to define the functional performances of an ecological passenger ferry. The complexity of couplings between subsystems and the sheer number of those subsystems mean that the designer has to use “intelligent” tools. These simulate a great number of scenarios and help him/her to fine-tune the system and make the right technological choices with regard to the right functional specifications.