QUATRAIN — A design support tool and a data processing sequence supervisor

Abstract

Equipment and systems design is a complex activity involving numerous inter-linked sub-tasks and multiple methods of resolution. However, it is possible to identify a family of activities to formalize where the approaches and the knowledge can be elicitated and, thus, to build new tools embedding the methodological know-how. The expected advantages of such a tool are obvious: reduction of time of design, dissemination of know-how linked to an operation, reinforcement of quality assurance, standardization of the approaches between different teams, etc. In a computerized design support environment, one usually finds data and inter-operating tools (or modules) dedicated to specific tasks. The novelty proposed in this architecture consists in assigning the whole supervision part or the piloting of the activity (sequence of the different design tasks, etc.) to a specific module. This module knows on the one hand, each available tool (or modules) and condition of use (why, with what, how?) and on the other hand, the different standardized procedures validated by experiment allowing to solve certain kinds of problems. To meet these need, Aèrospatiale and Framentec-Cognitech have built the tool called QUATRAIN TM, with the following goals: • • to develop a generic solution, applicable to the whole applications family of design support; • • to develop these process supervision interfaces rapidly, and to offer a methodological structuring framework during the development of the system; • • to offer high-level data management functions (taking into account data dependency, management of releases, exchanges between user management), chronological account of events, connection of tasks; • • to offer the means for including in the tool: expertise rules, methodological approaches (What to do in case of problem? What are the data to be modified? Which parameter to choose? What are the useless/ mandatory steps?, etc.); • • to offer a graphical representation of the design process and of the state of progress through an interactive, easy to set up, easy to use user interface. For this, QUATRAIN uses an original process description language that associates two concepts: • • the description of data and of manipulated tasks that statically defines the graph of every operation to apply in order to produce expected results, thus the dependencies between data; • • the formalization of ‘methodological’ rules that indicates dynamically the succession of operations, the checking points and the needed interactions according to the aim of the tasks in progress and the intermediate obtained results. The first applications built by Aérospatiale and Framentec-Cognitech and other industrial companies confirm its genericity, its ease of learning, its application rapidity and its capacity to be integrated in varied design environments. - ARIANE4 mission analysis (AEROSPATIALE) - ARIANE4 exploitation of flight data (AEROSPATIALE) - Far-end sky study (AEROSPATIALE) - Calculation of large elements structures (FRAMATOME) - Vehicle architecture pre-analysis (GIAT) - Oilfield modelling (ELF) - Dimensioning of electrical networks study (EDF) - Calculation of nuclear power plant cores (CEA). All these applications have in common a willingness to offer to the users the means of dealing with software tools more and more powerful and more and more complex.