A number of significant challenges confront effective communication in partially distributed conceptual design teams (PDCDTs), mainly due to the ill-defined and open nature of conceptual design tasks and their associated solution spaces. In contrast to co-located team members who interact face-to-face, communication difficulties among PDCDTs can intensify as a result of the physical separation of team members and their heavy reliance on communication technologies to achieve desired outcomes. Despite advances in these technologies, the ability to convey contextual and paralinguistic cues is still more limited between distant partners in comparison to face-to-face interactions. Thus, team members often experience challenges in establishing and maintaining shared understanding. In addition, partially distributed teams are more vulnerable to in-group dynamics than fully distributed or fully co-located teams. There have been substantial theoretical advances in the field of computer-mediated communication (CMC) that seek to address these challenges. Although CMC theories are hypothetically convincing and generally accepted, actual empirical findings are to some extent either unconvincing or contradictory. Moreover, questions remain about whether CMC theories can hold up in the context of non-equivalent communication technologies. The proliferation of various communication devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops)–not to mention the growing corporate use of fully immersive telepresence technologies–means that a variety of combinations of communication devices can be used. To date, however, the majority of CMC studies have focused on the use of equivalent communication technologies (e.g., laptop to laptop). Given these practical challenges and research gaps, the overall objective of this study was to investigate how to improve shared understanding in PDCDTs. The study encompassed four distinct research threads. Study 1 conceptualized shared understanding in PDCDTs. From Study 1, factors associated with shared understanding were identified, and an input-process-output (IPO) model of shared understanding was developed. Study 2 examined the intra- and inter-sub-group communication patterns among PDCDTs. From Study 2, three different analytical approaches for exploring communication patterns were used to elucidate valuable insights into how interactions within and across sub-groups change with design tasks, as well as how individual roles and interpersonal dynamics affect those interactions. Study 3 utilized the outcomes from Study 1 (IPO model of shared understanding) to develop and validate an instrument to measure shared understanding. Lastly, Study 4 examined how different combinations of non-equivalent communication technologies impacted shared understanding in PDCDTs by using the shared understanding instrument developed from Study 3. Specifically, four types of communication technology conditions were utilized: (1) telepresence to telepresence (two different sizes), (2) telepresence to laptops, (3) telepresence to mobile devices, and (4) laptops to mobile devices. The findings revealed significant impacts of communication technologies on co-located and distant shared understanding, as well as differences between co-located and distant shared understanding for each communication technology condition. In addition, the impacts of shared understanding on different communication technology user groups were identified. Based on these findings, a number of communication technology recommendations, as well as managerial intervention strategies to operate successful PDCDTs, were developed. / Ph. D.

The determination of an aircraft's mass properties is critical during its conceptual design phase. Obtaining reliable mass property information early in the design of an aircraft can prevent design mistakes that can be extremely costly further along in the development process. In this thesis, several methods are presented in order to automatically calculate the mass properties of aircraft structural components and fuel stored in tanks. The first method set forth calculates the mass properties of homogenous solids represented by polyhedral surface geometry. A newly developed method for calculating the mass properties of thin shell objects, given the same type of geometric representation, is derived and explained. A methodology for characterizing the mass properties of fuel in tanks has also been developed. While the concepts therein are not completely original, the synthesis of past research from diverse sources has yielded a new comprehensive approach to fuel mass property analysis during conceptual design. All three of these methods apply to polyhedral geometry, which in many cases is used to approximate NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline) surface geometry. This type of approximate representation is typically available in design software since this geometric format is conducive to graphically rendering three-dimensional geometry. The accuracy of each method is within 10% of analytical values. The methods are highly precise (only affected by floating point error) and therefore can reliably predict relative differences between models, which is much more important during conceptual design than accuracy. Several relevant and useful applications of the presented methods are explored, including a methodology for creating a CG (Center of Gravity) envelope graph. / Master of Science

Conceptual design synthesis is part of the conceptual phase of the design process, which focuses on creating alternative, candidate solutions. Conceptual design phase has the greatest influence on the cost and characteristics of the final product; an excellent detailed design based on a poor and inappropriate concept can never compensate for the inadequacy of the concept. Conceptual design is difficult, which currently relies on the designer’s intuition and experience to guide the process. A major issue in conceptual design is that often not many alternative candidate solutions are explored by the designer during the design process. The major reasons for this are the tendency to delimit a design problem area too narrowly and thus not being able to diversify the possible set of design solutions, possible bias towards a limited set of ideas, and time constraints. Many researchers recommended a thorough search of the design space for developing a good solution; this requires generation of a large solution space. Mechanical devices (mechanisms and machines) have fascinated the mankind throughout recorded history. Conceptual design synthesis of mechanical devices is difficult even for humans, and is also difficult to completely automate. In a single state design task, the relation between an input and output are fixed, but in a multiple state design task, the relation is not fixed. Much of the current research has been focused on supporting synthesis of single state devices, in particular where the device has to convert an input motion into an output motion. Synthesis of multiple state device is in contrast rather poorly understood and supported. Complete automation is unlikely to be possible; developing support taking into account the strength of computer and and human is important mechanical device is not adequate the biggest source for understanding of this process, and for its subsequent support, is human designers. The concept of state for a mechanical device is explained in detail by analyzing the existing multiple state mechanical devices. An operating state described by elemental functions (defined by efforts- motions of input and output components) and their associated Understanding and Supporting Conceptual Design Synthesis of Multiple State Mechanical Devices configurations and configuration changes. However, study of current literature indicates that little has been known about the actual processes carried out by designers in synthesizing multiple state devices. The main objectives of this thesis, therefore, are as follows: (1) understand the multiple state device design synthesis process carried out by designers, and (2) develop methods for supporting synthesis of multiple state mechanical devices to enhance the number of solution alternatives generated. Empirical studies are conducted to understand how designers currently carry out multiple state design tasks. Ten designers are given a multiple state design task and asked to generate as many solutions as possible. The designers are asked to think aloud while carrying out their synthesis processes. All these synthesis processes are video recorded, and analyzed to identify what activities are involved in the multiple state design synthesis, what the inputs are to each activity, and what the outcomes are from each activity. It has been found from these studies that design fixation is quite common, and the majority of the designers pursued developing a single solution to the given design task. A generic descriptive model of the multiple state mechanical device design synthesis process, explaining how this is carried by the designers, is developed. Based on this model, a prescriptive model of multiple state design synthesis process, explaining how the multiple state synthesis process should be carried by designers in order to develop a large solution space, is also developed. The prescriptive support, for synthesizing a large solution space for a given multiple state design task, has been evaluated. Eight engineering designers participated in the evaluation procedure, where each designer had to synthesize solutions for two, given multiple state design tasks. Results indicate that use of the prescriptive support, even without the power of a computational implementation, may have been beneficial in helping designers develop feasible solutions in a greater number of cases in a more efficient manner (that is, by considering fewer solution proposals and in similar amounts of time). All the designers who participated in this exercise gave a positive feedback regarding the prescriptive support. However, in none of the design sessions did the designers develop more than one feasible solution. This, along with various other comments from designers, indicates that a faster and more proactive support – implemented on computer – might be more useful in supporting the tasks. The various aspects for a potential computer support are discussed.

National Programme on Micro and Smart Materials and Systems (NPMASS) / A computer-aided technique is developed in this thesis to systematically generate concepts for sensors of a wide variety. A database of building blocks, based on physical laws and effects that capture the transduction rules underlying the working principles of sensors, has been developed to synthesize concepts. The proposed method uses the database to first create a concept-space graph and then selects concepts that correspond to paths in the graph. This is in contrast to and more efficient than existing methods, such as, compositional synthesis and graph-grammar synthesis, where solution paths are laid out first and then a concept-space graph is generated. The research also explores an approach for synthesis of concepts for closed-loop sensors, where a quantity is sensed indirectly after nullifying its effect by using negative feedback. These sensors use negative feedback to increase the dynamic range of operation without compromising the sensitivity and resolution. According to the literature, generation of un-interesting solutions is a major drawback of the building block-based synthesis approaches. In the proposed approach, this shortcoming is mitigated substantially by using some rules. For a number of the concepts generated, in the sensor problems attempted, we found that those concepts were already implemented in existing patents; thus emphasising the usefulness of the concepts produced. The synthesis approach proposed new, feasible sensor concepts, thereby indicating its potential as a stimulator for enhancing creativity of designers. Another important problem is to improve the robustness of designs. Robustness can be achieved by minimizing the side effects. Side effects are defined as unwanted effects that affect the intended working of the sensor. The research presents an algorithm that (a) predicts the potential side effects for the synthesized concepts of sensors; (b) aids in quantifying the magnitude of the side effects, thus helping the designer to predict the significant side effects; and (c) suggests ways to improve the robustness of the design.

Much of industry is seeking scope economies, but this requires more complex and flexible product realisation. Modelling technologies have potential to support the life cycle engineering of both Economies of Scope and Scale (EoSS) manufacturing systems. However when companies operate in dynamic environments it is not sufficient to model manufacturing systems in isolation. Rather a holistic modelling methodology is needed which can create structural and behavioural models of dependencies between the manufacturing systems, and the business and engineering environments in which they operate; so that a suitable balance between economies of scope and scale can be achieved. This thesis describes the conception and development of a step wised Extended Modelling Methodology (EMM) which facilitates reasoning, and related decision making, about EoSS manufacturing systems. The EMM was conceived from exploratory research in two SMEs, following which it was applied and case tested in a large manufacturing company. Little academic attention to date has been paid to theorising about the link between ‘Economies of Scope and Scale (EoSS) phenomenon' and ‘manufacturing systems design'. Hence many questions about EoSS manufacturing remain unanswered, such as: (1) academic communities need to know what EoSS actually means and how state-of-the-art modelling can support qualitative and quantitative analysis of EoSS system phenomenon; and (2) industry needs to know how they can benefit from EoSS, what attended costs they might incur, and what best balance between scope and scale economies can be achieved. With these general requirements in mind the thesis reports on the conception and industrial application of the EMM. This has: (A) developed new ideas about EoSS, which can be used to characterise EoSS phenomenon; (B) introduced a new way of visualising architectural aspects of EoSS at multiple-levels of abstraction; and (C) with reference to case studies has illustrated the use of multi-level modelling to enable predictions to be made about EoSS benefits and costs.

<p>U radu je razvijen složeni model vrednovanja i rangiranja varijanti re&scaron;enja koridora infrastrukturnih linijskih objekata. Model karakteri&scaron;e vi&scaron;eakterski i vi&scaron;ekriterijumski pristup. Model je baziran na kriterijumima vrednovanja koji su razvrstani u pravilnu hijerarhiju i čija je relevantnost verifikovana naučnim metodama. Metoda vrednovanja odabrana je inteligentnim pristupom uz pomoć drveta odlučivanja. Model predviđa i analizu osetljivosti odabranog optimalnog re&scaron;enja na promenu težina pojedinih (ili svih) kriterijuma vrednovanja. Naučni doprinos istraživanja ogleda se u primeni AHP metode koja je u Srbiji po prvi put primenjena kao podr&scaron;ka odabiru optimalnog re&scaron;enja koridora infrastrukturnih objekata kao i prikazanoj integraciji sa drugim metodama (stakeholder analiza, anketa, deskriptivna statistika, faktorska analiza).</p> / <p>In this paper a complex model evaluation and ranking of alternative solutions of linear infrastructure corridor structure characterized multi-actor and multi-criteria approach, which is based on the evaluation criteria whose relevance was verified by scientific methods and are sorted in the correct hierarchy. Valuation method chosen is an intelligent approach using the tree decision. The model predicts, and a sensitivity analysis of the selected optimal solution to weight change some (or all) of evaluation criteria. The scientific contribution of the research is the application of AHP method that is in Serbia for the first time applied to support the selection of the optimal solutions corridor infrastructure as shown integration with other methods (stakeholder analysis, survey, descriptive statistics, factor analysis)</p>

O objetivo desse trabalho foi desenvolver um equipamento destinado a proporcionar a realização de exercícios terapêuticos, baseado numa abordagem sistemática de desenvolvimento de projeto orientado pelo usuário e obter um protótipo funcional. Por meio das técnicas de metodologia de projeto e dos fundamentos gerais de elementos de máquinas desenvolveram-se a fase do projeto conceitual, com interface ao projeto informacional de Souza (2016), e do projeto preliminar direcionado ao desenvolvimento de um protótipo funcional destinado à sustentação e movimentação dos membros superiores de indivíduos com disfunções motoras nos nestes membros. Devido a um conjunto de fatores provenientes dos mais diversos segmentos da sociedade, há uma demanda crescente com relação à atuação das diversas áreas da engenharia, que possam fornecer soluções tecnicamente viáveis e ainda, com um grau de personalização em massa destinadas às aplicações na área da saúde. A área de conhecimento denominada \"Tecnologia Assistiva\" (TA) inserida na área da saúde, atua principalmente no desenvolvimento de órteses, próteses e auxílio à mobilidade, desenhando fronteiras com questões de acessibilidade, com uso e adequação de produtos, bem como na atuação de áreas de habilitação e reabilitação promovendo qualidade de vida e inclusão social de indivíduos com algum tipo de deficiência ou mobilidade reduzida. Nesse trabalho, o uso de ferramentas de metodologia de projeto durante as discussões sobre o projeto informacional e a implementação do projeto conceitual, ambos de caráter interdisciplinar, permitiu estabelecer a interface entre decisões técnicas de engenharia e os requisitos do usuário. O usuário intermediário, responsável pela prescrição e avaliação do protótipo foi representado por uma amostra de terapeutas ocupacionais, que acompanharam o processo de desenvolvimento do projeto até a validação do protótipo funcional. Os resultados obtidos nesse trabalho foram: obtenção de uma lista de requisitos do usuário, que convertida em um conjunto de características técnicas permitiu o desenvolvimento do projeto orientado pelo usuário (Terapeutas Ocupacionais) e construção de um protótipo funcional. O equipamento de apoio aos exercícios terapêuticos proposto apresenta graus de inovação, quando comparado à equipamentos comerciais e patentes, principalmente: adequação à diferentes mobiliários em ambiente hospitalar e doméstico (camas, cadeiras, mesas); melhor processo de compactação do equipamento para armazenagem e transporte, feito por uma única pessoa; exercícios com os membros superiores: uni e bilateral e abertura completa dos membros superior no plano coronal por meio de guias lineares. / This work presented the development of an apparatus whose objective is allow the therapeutic exercises, based on a systematic approach user-oriented design development, and fabricate a functional prototype. Based on design methodology and machine elements theory it was developed the conceptual and the preliminary design phase, based on the informational design phase of Souza (2016), to develop a functional prototype aimed to provide support and movement of the upper limbs of people with motor dysfunction in these members. Due to a range of factors from the various segments of society, there is increasing demand related to the performance of various areas of engineering, that can provide technically feasible solutions and with a degree of mass customization intended for applications in the health area. The knowledge area of \"Assistive Technology\" (AT) is inserted in the health area and acts mainly in the development of prostheses, orthoses and aid mobility, by drawing borders with accessibility issues, using and adjusting products, in addition to acting in habilitation and rehabilitation areas, which promote quality of life and social inclusion of individuals with a disability or reduced mobility. In this work, the use of design methodology tools during the discussion on the informational design and implementation of conceptual design, both interdisciplinary, revealed the interface between technical engineering decisions and user requirements. The intermediate user, responsible for evaluating the prototype was represented by sample occupational therapists, which prescribes and follows up the use of the mechanisms and/or equipment to end users. The main result of this work was a better definition of the user requirements that allowed obtaining design parameters focusing on occupational therapists as well as the development of a functional prototype. The main technical characteristics obtained through of the interactive and iterative processes along the informational, conceptual and preliminary design phases both prototype validation were: compaction of the device (related to storage and use for one or both arms of the user). Besides, the equipment allows possibility of adaptation to different furniture and environments: hospital, clinics, small treatment rooms, domestic bed, and chairs and use; rehabilitation exercises with positions of the upper limbs: uni- and bilateral and total movement of the upper limbs on coronal plane based on linear guides.

The present thesis deals with the analysis of Environmental Control System (ECS) as a part of the aircraft conceptual design. The research focuses on developing methods for modelling, simulation and optimization of current and future cooling technologies suitable for aircraft applications. The work started with a pre-study in order to establish the suitability of different cooling technologies for ECS application. Therefore, five technologies namely, Bootstrap (BS), Reverse-Bootstrap (RBS), vapour cycle system (VCS), magnetic cooling (MC) and thermo-electric cooling (EC), were assessed from a theoretical point of view by the method of benchmarking. This resulted into the selection of three most suitable technologies that were further modelled and simulated in Dymola. In order to compare the optimum designs for each technology, the models were optimized using the modeFRONTIER software. The comparison was performed based on the optimum ratio of maximum power of cooling and minimum fuel penalty. The results showed that VCS has the “best” performances compared to BS and RBS. In addition to the active technologies, passive cooling methods such as liquid cooling by means of jet-fuel and poly-alpha-olefin were considered to address high heat transfer rates. In order to apply the cooling technologies in the ECS, concept system architectures were formulated using the functional analysis. This led to the identification of basic functions, components and sub-systems interaction. Based on the comparison carried out previously and the functional analysis, two ECS architectures were developed. Design optimization procedure was applied further in order to assess each concept and also to study the differences between the two concept architectures. The results depict the complex interaction of different key parameters of the architectures and their influence on the outcome. The study culminated with a proposed methodology for formulation of systems architecture using information from the optimization results and a robust functional analysis method. To sum up, the thesis proposes a simulation-based optimization method that allows inclusion of ECS system in aircraft conceptual design phase. The study also proves the complexity of the conceptual design stage for ECS architectures which highly influences the design of the combat aircraft.

<p>Development of modern aircraft has become more and more expensive and time consuming. In order to minimize the development cost, an improvement of the conceptual design phase is needed. The desired goal of the project is to enhance the functionality of an in house produced framework conducted at the department of machine design, consisting of parametric models representing a large variety of aircraft concepts.</p><p>The first part of the work consists of the construction of geometric aircraft control surfaces such as flaps, aileron, rudder and elevator parametrically in CATIA V5.</p><p>The second part of the work involves designing and simulating an Inverse dynamic model in Dymola software.</p><p>An Excel interface has been developed between CATIA and Dymola. Parameters can be varied in the interface as per user specification; these values are sent to CATIA or Dymola and vice versa. The constructed concept model of control surfaces has been tested for different aircraft shapes and layout. The simulation has been done in Dymola for the control surfaces.</p>

Nowadays, computers are extensively used in engineering modeling and simulation fields in many different ways, one of which is in chemical engineering. Simulation and modeling of a chemical process plant and the sizing of the equipment with the assistance of computers, is of special interests to process engineers and investors. This is due to the ability of high speed computers, which make millions of mathematical calculations in less than a second associated with the new powerful software that make the engineering calculations more reliable and precise by making very fast iterations in thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer calculations. This combination of new technological hardware and developed software enables process engineers to deal with simulation, design, optimization, control, analysis etc. of complex plants, e.g. refinery and petrochemical plants, reliably and satisfactorily. The main chemical process simulators used for static and dynamic simulations are ASPEN PLUS, ASPEN HYSYS, PRO II, and CHEMCAD. The basic design concepts of all simulators are the same and one can fairly use all simulators if one is expert in any of them. Hydrogenation process is an example of the complex plants, to which a special attention is made by process designers and manufacturers. This process is used for upgrading of hydrocarbon feeds containing sulfur, nitrogen and/or other unsaturated hydrocarbon compounds. In oil and gas refineries, the product of steam cracking cuts, which is valuable, may be contaminated by these unwanted components and thus there is a need to remove those pollutants in downstream of the process. Hydrogenation is also used to increase the octane number of gasoline and gas oil. Sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen compounds and other unsaturated hydrocarbons are undesired components causing environmental issues, production of by-products, poisoning the catalysts and corrosion of the equipment. The unsaturated C=C double bonds in dioleffinic and alkenyl aromatics compounds, on the other hand, cause unwanted polymerization reactions due to having the functionality equal to or greater than 2. Hydrogenation process of the undesired components will remove those impurities and/or increase the octane number of aforementioned hydrocarbons. This process is sometimes referred to as “hydrotreating”; however, “upgrader” is a general word and is, of course, of more interest. In this thesis, a hydrogenation process plant was designed on the basis of the chemistry of hydrocarbons, hydrogenation reaction mechanism, detailed study of thermodynamics and kinetics and then a steady-state simulation and design of the process is carried out by ASPEN HYSYS 2006 followed by design evaluation and some modifications and conclusions. Hydrogenation reaction has a complicated mechanism. It has been subjected to hot and controversial debates over decades. Many kinetic data are available, which contradict one another. Among them, some of the experimental researches utilize good assumptions in order to simplify the mechanism so that a “Kinetic Reaction” modeling can be employed. This thesis takes the benefit of such research works and applies some conditions to approve the validity of those assumptions. On the basis of this detailed study of reaction modeling and kinetic data, a hydrogenation plant was designed to produce and purify over 98 million kilograms of different products; e.g. Benzene, Toluene, Iso-octane etc. with fairly high purity.