A preliminary design embodiment analysis through the graph theory implementation

Abstract

The work presented in this article underlines the embodiment design phase aiming at the determination of different possible architectures of a system according to the energy vision combined with the graph theory. Indeed, the embodiment design phase presents the difficulty of organizing the design alternatives. This difficulty is due to the fact that the various components of the system are not yet fully defined, and there are many arrangement possibilities. In this context, we seek to structure a methodology for the preliminary definition of the technical system architecture, while respecting the TRIZ law of completeness of the system parts. We consider the availability of the transmission elements of the principal energy flow (functional flow). The modeling of the system will concern the flow ensuring the positioning of the system principal component called (contact flow). The modeling of an optimal system composed of the main elements (converter, transmitter, operator, and reference) with a graph ensures the possibility to propose various architectures based on the combinations of these components. The proposed approach consists of three principal phases: appropriate graph-system model association, inappropriate solutions elimination, full system definition, and decision making. An illustration of the methodology is carried out on a wind system example.