Aircraft Systems Conceptual Design An object-oriented approach from <element> to <aircraft>

Abstract: Aircraft Conceptual Design (ACD) is facing new challenges on the way to enhanced fidelity level required of the nowadays complex system design. Namely the integration of models and simulations of different fidelity levels to enhance the analysis capability while maintaining a streamlined, transparent, and low cost working process is required.In this thesis, the use of object-oriented Knowledge-Based Engineering (KBE) methods to enable an early integration of simulation models within the ACD phase are presented. Careful investigations of modelling and simulation approaches of multi-domain systems are carried out before, and their use in the ACD phase is examined regarding the efficiency between spend effort and result in accuracy. Enabling the named topics, a central, parametric information model approach is presented. By the extended use of XML, XSD and XSLT, domain-specific models can be translated from this dataset, supporting a direct CAD and automated simulations integration.Modelling systems as graph networks is a simple approach for unified modelling within the conceptual design stage. Based on this theory, the similarity of different modelling approaches like Dependency Structure Matrix (DSM), MDDSM, or Channel-Agency Networks is shown. Using object-oriented programming, all these and more aspects such as e.g. Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) can be globally handled as one graph set.Based on the outcomes of the theoretical part, the development of a ACD framework is described. Backed by a central XML-based namespace, this framework integrates a complete CAD environment to ensure an appropriate environment for the geometric domain modelling. Furthermore, the use of KBE for automated simulation model integration is exemplified by a whole aircraft simulation including the hydraulic aircraft flight control system (FCS).