Model refinement decisions using the process performance indicator

Abstract

Model refinement is crucial to managing complexity in the design of complex engineered systems, particularly in the context of integrated product and materials design. In order to manage complexity, a systematic approach for model refinement is presented in this article. The approach is based on a value-of-information-based process performance indicator (PPI). The systematic approach and indicator can also be used to make refinement decision using multiple models when, for example, models are refined through model replacement. Both are particularly well-suited for integrated product and materials design, and other scenarios where perfect knowledge of the true system behavior and error-bounds is not available throughout the entire design space. In this article, the proposed approach is applied to model refinement for designing multifunctional blast resistant panels (BRPs). It is shown that the proposed approach based on the PPI is useful for model refinement particularly when accuracy of the prediction or the associated error bounds is not known.

Keywords:

• value-of-information
• process design
• complexity management
• model refinement
• blast resistant panels
• lightweight design

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support and assistance given to us by The NSF I/UCRC Center for Computational Materials Design, a joint venture between The Pennsylvania State University and Georgia Institute of Technology.