6.5.1 A collaborative process based on systems engineering and mechatronics methods

Abstract

The laws of physics bring into play geometric dimensions and directions. Consequently, systems engineering can in no way ignore the reciprocal effects of choices concerning the system's geometry and architecture on expected performance (electromagnetic phenomena, heat propagation and pressure loss, for example, are recurring issues in systems engineering projects). Such challenges elicit the need to define which processes and methods would permit to concurrently design a system's architecture, its geometry, and the three‐dimensional layout of its constituent parts. The purpose of this report is to present elements of an answer to this need. They were provided by a systems engineering methodology based on system architecture and three‐dimensional models as well as functional models. Based on modeling and simulation techniques, this methodology was developed and applied as part of the O2M research project sponsored by the competitiveness clusters System@tic and Moveo (two French agencies promoting applied research projects that bring together research laboratories, large industrial groups, and small and medium‐sized organizations).

Leveraging tradeoff, bridging the gap among disciplines

“…In 2012, after taking our vision for systems engineering to the domain of multiphysics, we presented collaborative, agile processes that were guided by requirements and traceability (Caron, 2012). Encouraged by our results and by the industry's welcoming of our work, we are now focusing on the following stages of our research roadmap: knowledge sharing, evolutions management, and the analysis of their impacts on the values of both the sizing parameters and the parameters to be sized.…”