Research

Results from scientific and professional research.

Tunnel design

Tunnel design

Sector: Private

Industry: Construction

Domain: Tunnels

Tunnel design.
Tunnel design

Improve tunnel design: Preparation

Describe

Organization. The design and construction of a tunnel involves designers from seven different disciplines. In a tunnel engineering project, they produce seven partial designs of a tunnel, one for each discipline, together forming an integral design. When they find alignment conflicts in the integral design, they resolve them by modifying their partial designs.

Environmental factors. A tunnel engineering project is a tender project. In the preparation phase, the information needed for design is limited. During execution, time and money are limited.

Challenge. The more alignment conflicts in an integral tunnel design, the more effort, time, and money it takes to resolve them.

Formulate

Goal. Increase performance.

Objective. Minimize the number of alignment conflicts in an integral tunnel design.

Benefit. Lower development costs.

Estimate

Worthwhile.

Improve tunnel design: Execution

Identify

Inventory

  • Prepare a tunnel design
    • Manage a meta-model of construction designs
    • Manage a repository of construction designs
  • Produce a tunnel design
    • Produce a partial tunnel design
    • Combine partial tunnel designs into an integral tunnel design

Discover

  • Produce a partial tunnel design
    • Bound a partial tunnel design space by a set of partial tunnel designs
    • Produce a partial tunnel design within a partial tunnel design space

Analyze

Classify

  • Knowledge:
    • Bound a partial tunnel design space by a set of partial tunnel designs
  • Experience:
    • Produce a partial tunnel design within a partial tunnel design space

Compare

  • Stakeholders needs:
    • Bound a partial tunnel design space by a set of partial tunnel designs
    • Produce a partial tunnel design within a partial tunnel design space

Assess

  • Equal advantage:
    • Bound a partial tunnel design space by a set of partial tunnel designs
    • Produce a partial tunnel design within a partial tunnel design space

Make

Acquire

  • System. Manage a meta-model of tunnel designs:
    1. Develop an ontology of tunnel designs
    2. Transform an ontology of tunnel designs into a meta-model of tunnel designs
  • System. Manage a repository of tunnel designs:
    1. Develop a repository of tunnel designs
    2. Implement a meta-model of tunnel designs in a repository of tunnel designs
  • System. Update the standard operating procedure for:
    • Manage a meta-model of tunnel designs
    • Manage a repository of tunnel designs
    • Produce a tunnel design
  • Skills. Train staff in:
    • Manage a meta-model of tunnel designs
    • Manage a repository of tunnel designs
    • Produce a tunnel design
Posted by Pieter van Langen in Research
Aircraft design

Aircraft design

Sector: Private

Industry: Manufacturing

Domain: Series aircraft

Aircraft design.
Aircraft design

Improve aircraft design: Preparation

Describe

Organization. A team of designers is tasked to design an extended version of an aircraft. The team consists of senior designers and junior designers. When confronted with design issues, junior designers tend to slow down if no senior designers look over their shoulders or spar with them.

Environmental factors. Competition with other aircraft manufacturers.

Challenge. Less access to the capabilities of senior designers results in more time necessary to resolve a design issue.

Formulate

Goal. Increase performance.

Objective. Increase access to capabilities for designing an extended version of an aircraft faster.

Benefit. Faster time to market.

Estimate

Worthwhile.

Improve aircraft design: Execution

Identify

Inventory

  • Produce a series aircraft design
    • Retrieve the design rationale of a similar aircraft
    • Reuse the design rationale of a similar aircraft
    • Revise the design rationale for the new aircraft
    • Retain the design rationale of the new aircraft

Analyze

Classify

  • Experience:
    • Produce a series aircraft design

Compare

  • Organization strategy:
    • Produce a series aircraft design

Assess

  • Temporary advantage:
    • Produce a series aircraft design

Make

Anchor

  • System. Update the standard operating procedure for:
    • Produce a series aircraft design
  • Skills. Train junior designers in:
    • Produce a series aircraft design

Background research

Frances Brazier, Pieter van Langen, and Jan Treur (1997). A compositional approach to modelling design rationale. AIEDAM 11, 125-139.

Posted by Pieter van Langen in Research