Reduce Design Risk Research Articles

A bilevel-optimization approach to determine product specifications during the early phases of product development: Increase customer value and reduce design risks

It is crucial to define product specifications (a series of engineering characteristics and their corresponding values) reasonably and scientifically in the early phases of product development. The product specifications should consider multiple decision-making factors (external situations, internal situations, laws and regulations, and other product lifecycle requirements), which requires several cycles of iterations, tradeoffs, and modifications. During this decision-making process, two key challenges must be overcome. The first is how to organize all of the related factors in a manner that adequately assists, clarifies, and expresses the iterative decision-making process. The second is how to abstract this decision-making problem with iterations and tradeoffs into an approximate optimization model. To overcome these two challenges, a bilevel-optimization approach to determine product specifications during the product planning and concept design phases is proposed. First, an iterative decision-making process, which includes customer value-driven product planning based on quality function deployment, design risk-reducing concept design using cost-based concept failure mode effects analysis, and the interactions between the product planning and concept design phases, is constructed to solve the first challenge. Second, a bilevel-optimization model is proposed to determine the best product specifications and product concepts, which clarifies how the tradeoffs between these two phases are reached, solving the second challenge. Subsequently, a case study of developing an integrated washer and dryer machine is used to explain and prove the validity of the proposed bilevel-optimization approach.

The Strategy and Path of Finite Element Analysis in the Design of Auto Parts

<p align="justify">Under the background of helping to realize “made in China 2025”, it is the most challenging task to standardize the implementation of General Principles of Structural Finite Element Analysis for Mechanical Products (GB/T33582-2017). The current changes and progress of the automobile industry are promoting the development of innovation. Infrastructure design, reducing design risks and eliminating artificial subjective factors can shorten the design cycle of the goals to be achieved.</p>

Risk-informed reliability improvement optimization for verification and validation planning based on set covering modeling

Verification and validation plays a crucial role in the new product development process since it is able to assure product performance and eventually determine customer satisfaction. The verification and validation planning assigns a set of verification and validation activities such as computational simulations and physical tests, which are proposed to mitigate the design risks of specific failure modes, to verify and validate that the product conforms to the design objectives. This article formulates the optimal verification and validation planning using set covering, set partition, and set packing concepts. An extended optimization model based on set covering is also formulated, which can well accommodate the requirements including minimizing the overall risk of the product design, meeting pre-specified risk thresholds of specific failure modes, and covering identified critical failure modes. Additional constraints such as the implementation sequences, time gaps of various types of verification and validation activities, and the distinct effectiveness of each verification and validation activity in reducing design risks are considered in the verification and validation planning optimization models. The decay of the improvement effectiveness of a failure mode with multiple verification and validation activities over time is also considered. The application of the proposed mathematical optimization models for product verification and validation planning is illustrated through the product development of a power generation system within a diesel engine.

Managing information flow and design processes to reduce design risks in offsite construction projects

PurposeFollowing the increasing need for faster construction, improved quality and evidence value propositions, offsite construction is increasingly being proffered as a viable contender to “traditional” construction approaches. However, whilst evidence supports the move towards offsite, its uptake has been lower than expected. Whilst the precise reasons for this seem to be influenced by a number of issues, including contextual drivers and market maturity; some project stakeholders also view offsite as carrying greater risks. The purpose of this paper is to report on the quality of information flow, in particular, the impact and influence of this on design risks in offsite construction projects.Design/methodology/approachAn existing design risk framework is used as the point of departure for this research. This is further expanded into a specific model for evaluating offsite construction projects design risks, the rubrics of which were informed by two case studies of offsite construction projects in Australia and the UK analysed with a process-tracing technique. Whilst these cases were geographically separated, the constructs were aligned to uncover fundamental design information requirements and concomitant risks associated with offsite.FindingsThe findings of the research reported in this paper include the crucial information feeding into the design process emanating from the lifecycle of offsite construction projects, namely, design, offsite (manufacturing), handling and transporting, site works and installation and also occupancy. These are contextualised within the four categories, namely, client requirements, project requirements, regulation aspects and social aspects and the final outcomes were summarised into a holistic diagram.Originality/valueGiven that the offsite construction has shifted the working paradigm into assigning a significant level of efforts and emphasis at the front end of the construction projects, the importance of its design process and hence design risks management has gone up significantly in construction projects delivered using this technique. This research and paper contributes significantly to the built environment domain by identifying the crucial aspects along the project lifecycle to be considered to minimise the potential occurrence of design risks and hence increasing the confidence of project stakeholders in adopting offsite construction techniques in their projects.

Unlocking the potential of early contractor involvement in reducing design risks in commercial building refurbishment projects – a Western Australian perspective

ABSTRACTThe commercial refurbishment sector is widely gaining popularity, particularly in industries such as the Western Australian construction industry in order to effectively house commercial businesses and operations. Unfortunately, commercial refurbishments have long been characterised by its added complexity, risk and uncertainty facing the management and delivery of such projects. The uncertainties are largely attributed to the segregated relationship between design and construction processes. Among a multitude of options in procuring refurbishment projects, the early contractor involvement (ECI) emerged as a procurement route that bridges this typical gap between design and construction, promotes a collaborative design process and offers opportunity for risk mitigation and certainty of delivery. Whilst appearing as a worthy candidate to procure refurbishment of commercial buildings, anecdotal evidence have indicted the potential of ECI to reduce design risks through synergising the contractor’s construction expertise into the design process. In light of this, the paper aims to report the findings from a recent research project conducted in Western Australia on this topic through case study approach. The findings revealed the specific points and activities during design of commercial building refurbishment where the contributions of the contractor are optimum in reducing design risks. This is captured in the resultant process map specifically developed for this type of projects under the ECI scheme. The process map is expected to further support project teams at the early design stage of a commercial building refurbishment projects to devise a robust strategy to fully benefit from procuring their project through ECI.

A Precision Data Acquisition and Control Platform for 200°C+ High Temperature Environments

Abstract In recent years there has been an increasing selection of commercially available electronic components specified for very high temperature (200°C+) operation, driven by the needs of harsh-environment applications such as oil and gas exploration/production, aerospace, heavy industrial, and automotive. However, there remains a significant technical challenge to integrate these components into reliable, high performance systems. In this paper we present a complete reference platform implementation of a precision multichannel sensor data acquisition and control system rated to 200°C. The design offers a complete sensors-to-bits solution using a low power 16-bit, 600kSPS SAR ADC and an ARM® Cortex®-M0 based microcontroller. The signal chain is optimized for precision performance and accurate measurements while maintaining low power and a small footprint. The reference platform is available off the shelf, including hardware design files, processor firmware source code, and PC software for data logging and display, offering design engineers a rapid development tool for prototyping and a faster path to production for even complex harsh-environment applications, reducing design risk and evaluation time.

Diging simulation of a narrow trench

In this paper, we realized digging process simulation for a narrow trench using special equipment located at a mini excavator. These types of machines digging perform the longitudinal direction to the direction of travel, making trenches with widths of 0.4 m and depths of 3.5 -7.0 m. These are necessary for the location of underground cables or draining water in agriculture. For Parametric modelling of parts included in ensemble has used software from Siemens NX 7.5, we produce sketches of each piece, using following commands: Sketch, Profile (Line), Arc, Circle, Quick Trim Quick Extend, Constraints. Depending on the layout of each piece can also use other commands such as: Chamfer, Rotate, Mirror Curve, Offset Curve, etc. After completion of sketch and dimensioning commands was: Extrude, Revolve, and at this stage the play may various modifications such as drilling, removal of certain volumes of piece showing various forms or change the appearance of surfaces (thread cutting, bevelling). This paper was realized with this parametric modelling software because presents major advantages including: control over the design, making design speed and increasing productivity; increasing product quality, reducing design risk recovery and time work, less human effort and reduced financial resources throughout the process.

Correct use of Membrane Elements in Structural Analysis

Structural analysis of consumer electronic devices such as phones and tablets involves Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Dynamic loading conditions such as device dropping and bending dictate accurate FEA models to reduce design risk in many areas. The solid elements typically used in structural analysis do not have integration points on the surface. The outer surface is of most interest because that is where the cracks start. Analysts employ a post processing trick through using membranes to bring accurate stress/strain results to the surface. This paper explains numerical issues with implementation of membranes and recommends a methodology for accurate structural analysis.

Reducing Design Risk for a Nearshore Breakwater in the Orkney Islands

Reducing Design Risk for a Nearshore Breakwater in the Orkney Islands

A Patterns System to Coordinate Mobile Collaborative Applications

Advances in wireless communication technologies and mobile computing devices open new possibilities to carry out computer-supported mobile collaborative work. However this opportunity brings also a number of challenges to designers, since collaborative applications supporting mobile activities involve requirements which are not present in stationary collaboration scenarios. For example, mobile collaborative applications should not use centralized components because it jeopardizes the autonomy required by mobile workers. In order to help designers to deal with these new requirements, this article presents a patterns system focused on the coordination support required for mobile collaborative work. Such patterns represent reusable designs that help reduce design risks, cost and time. The article also presents three mobile collaborative applications in which proposed patterns were included in their respective designs.

Channel Tunnel Rail Link section 1: ground engineering

Some of the most innovative engineering design on the first section of the £5·2 billion Channel Tunnel Rail Link related to groundworks—ranging from dynamic analysis of trackbeds and pile slabs to dry soil mixing techniques and 3D groundwater modelling. This paper provides a brief overview of the geotechnical engineering work on section 1 and explains how the need to reduce design risk to a minimum resulted in valuable new industry guidance.

Channel Tunnel Rail Link section 1: ground engineering

Some of the most innovative engineering design on the first section of the £5·2 billion Channel Tunnel Rail Link related to groundworks—ranging from dynamic analysis of trackbeds and pile slabs to dry soil mixing techniques and 3D groundwater modelling. This paper provides a brief overview of the geotechnical engineering work on section 1 and explains how the need to reduce design risk to a minimum resulted in valuable new industry guidance.

2.8.4 Applying SE and CASE Tool to the Jamming System

AbstractThis paper presents the design concept for the phased array T/R (transmit/receive) jamming system collecting the electromagnetic wave, finding the direction and position from the sources, and transmitting high power to the Radar. This system will be added to a stand‐off jamming system in near future. We introduce systems engineering technique to the jamming system in order to scrutinize the behaviour of the system. And using CASE tool, RDD.Com, we provide a good way to design the system in terms of requirement analysis, system architecture and the system verification. Finally we show that SE approach can be a good solution to reduce design risks for a smaller system and technically complex system.

Designing under pressure

Despite healthy high street sales, extreme competition in consumer electronics has made risk-reduction the new design mantra. The problem is market overcrowding. PC, laptop and games console companies; camera makers; software firms; mobile phone and PDA players; telecom and broadcast service providers; as well as the traditional giants like Sony and Philips, are all jostling for market share. And generic brands-the Coca-Colas of this world-may also soon join the fray in the handheld sector as that fragments into new directions. This article discusses the actions being taken by consumer electronics companies to ensure their share of the market and reduce design risks further.

SOFTWARE TOOL FOR AUTOMATED FAILURE MODES AND EFFECTS ANALYSIS (FMEA) OF HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS

Offshore, marine, aircraft and other complex engineering systems operate in harsh environmental and operational conditions and must meet stringent requirements of reliability, safety and maintainability. To reduce the high cost of development of new systems in these fields improved design management techniques and a vast array of computer aided techniques are applied during design and testing stages. Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is generally used in the above industries to reduce design risks. At present FMEA cannot be carried out automatically. Although various FMEA software tools exist, they basically provide data management for a manual analysis. It is generally recognised that failure analyses are usually carried out after the system has been designed, and often after it has been manufactured. If any fundamental design flaws or safety risks in the system are identified at this stage then modifications to the hardware are often costly. The software tool for automated FMEA is based on qualitative modelling of generalised information flow (energy, information or mass) in a system, recognising that the primary functions of mechanical, electrical, thermal and/or hydraulic systems (or their combination) as well as modem neuromechanic systems (also called mechatronic systems in the mechanical domain) are the generation, transmission and conversion of energy. The paper explains some underlying principles of software operation and provides a description of the software

Codesign of embedded systems: status and trends

Ever increasing embedded system design complexity combined with a very tight time-to-market window has revolutionized the embedded-system design process. The concurrent design of hardware and software has displaced traditional sequential design. Further, hardware and software design now begins before the system architecture (or even the specification) is finalised. System architects, customers, and marketing departments develop requirement definitions and system specifications together. System architects define a system architecture consisting of cooperating system functions that form the basis of concurrent hardware and software design. Interface design requires the participation of both hardware and software developers. The next step integrates and tests hardware and software-this phase consists of many individual steps. Reusing components taken from previous designs or acquired from outside the design group is a main design goal to improve productivity and reduce design risk. It is argued that new methodologies and AD tools support an integrated hardware software codesign process.

The EISCAT Svalbard radar: A case study in modern incoherent scatter radar system design

The EISCAT (European incoherent scatter) Svalbard radar (ESR) was officially inaugurated on August 22, 1996. This event marked the successful completion on schedule of the first phase of the EISCAT Svalbard radar project. In contrast to previous incoherent scatter radars, the ESR system design was adapted to make use of commercial off‐the‐shelf TV transmitter hardware, thereby reducing design risk, lead times, and cost to a minimum. Commercial hardware is also used in the digital signal processing system. Control and monitoring are performed by distributed, networked VME systems. Thanks to modern reflector antenna design methods and extreme efforts to reduce the receiver noise contribution, the system noise temperature is only 70 K, thus making the ESR about 30% faster than the much more powerful EISCAT UHF radar in F region experiments! Once the transmitter power is increased to 1 MW, it will become about 2–3 times faster than the UHF radar. State‐of‐the‐art exciter and receiver hardware has been developed in‐house to accommodate the special requirements introduced by operating the radar at the exceptionally high duty cycle of 25%. The RF waveform is generated by a system based on four switchable direct digital synthesizers. Continuous monitoring of the transmitted RF waveform by the receiver system allows removal of klystron‐induced spurious Doppler effects from the data. Intermediate‐frequency sampling at 7.5 MHz is employed, followed by fully digital channel separation, signal detection, and postdetection filtering in six parallel receiver channels. Radar codes for both E and F layer observation have been designed and perfected. So far, more than 40 hours of good quality ionospheric data have been collected and analyzed in terms of plasma parameters. While the tragic loss of the Cluster mission suddenly changed the plans and dispositions of a majority of the ESR user community, the radar has still been in high demand since its inauguration. It is now being operated by EISCAT staff on a campaign basis, to provide ground‐based support data for a number of other magnetospheric satellites, notably Polar and FAST, and will be opened to the EISCAT user community for special program operations later in 1997.