Modern aerospace systems are the pinnacle of complex technology integration. However, the cost of developing these systems in terms of design time, testing, and financial investment has grown significantly over the past half-decade. Furthermore, system complexity and the resulting cost of development has far outpaced the methodologies and techniques used in their design. This discrepancy has resulted in the time-consuming iterative design-build-test-redesign development cycle that is prevalent in complex systems design today. Solution architects and domain experts work in their respective development segment, rarely sharing information beyond pre-defined interface points. Such a disconnected, iterative process cannot capture all relevant service scenarios and parameters to identify and assess conflicting performance targets, resulting in the development of an inferior final product.
The issue at hand requires a new approach to the design and manufacturability of complex systems – an approach that relies on virtual experimentation and verification in place of physical prototyping. Such an approach requires tool suites capable of – at minimum – defining transparent system requirements and enabling traceability, capturing sufficient component fidelity, modeling complex system interactions, fulfilling crucial verification and validation tasks, and infusing the impact of both manufacturability and procurement concerns early into the design process. This facilitates cross-domain collaboration between disciplines, allowing for the early identification of project risks and optimization potential.
Using trade-off and concept analyses, engineers can quickly evaluate more alternatives with automated simulations and full traceability towards requirements. Throughout the development program, all stakeholders can immediately access the project status and monitor risks and potential profitability of the product. The early integration of cost, performance and manufacturing models in the design process allows management to continuously improve the overall quality of the product and reduce the risk of costly late design changes.
