Designing concurrently and hierarchically coupled engineered systems

Abstract

Decision support problems (DSPs) are used to model design decisions. In this article, a decision classification scheme, the multilevel decision scenario matrix (MDSM), is presented. The concept of horizontal and vertical coupling for modelling concurrent and hierarchical decisions is illustrated. The elements of the MDSM are used to develop design processes involving decision interactions, which are crucial for designing engineered systems. To demonstrate the method, the design of a one-stage reduction gearbox is presented. The contributions in this work include the MDSM classification scheme, the appropriate mathematics, and a method to couple concurrent and hierarchical decisions and address uncertainty by accepting the incompleteness and inaccuracy of the models.

KEYWORDS:

• Coupled decisions
• multilevel decision scenario matrix
• hierarchy and concurrency in design decisions

Acknowledgements

Gehendra Sharma acknowledges the financial support from the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems at the Mississippi State University, Starkville. He is thankful to his academic mentors, Professor Janet K. Allen and Professor Farrokh Mistree, who acknowledge financial support from the John and Mary Moore Chair and the L.A. Comp Chair at the University of Oklahoma, Norman.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability

The data used in the preparation of this article are included in the article itself.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University of Oklahoma, L.A. Comp Chair [grant number 122-763300]; University of Oklahoma, John and Mary Moore Chair [grant number 122-794800].