The research was conducted in the light of a training programme which will train a total
of 150 engineers of AVIC I in Cranfield University during a period of 3 years.
Cost has become an essential driver to aircraft design, as well as performances due to
either the limited defence budget or competitive airline market. Consequently, knowing
the possible cost prior to making actual expenditure will help managers to make proper
decisions and allocate resources efficiently, and designers to optimize their work.
Existing aircraft cost estimating models are outdated and mainly based on a database
including both military and civil aircraft with various missions. This research
concentrated on commercial jet aircraft and was to develop a suitable acquisition cost
estimating methodology for conceptual design from a commercial aircraft
manufacturer’s perspective.
The literature reviewing took a comprehensive overview of some widely-applied cost
estimating methods: Analogy, Parametric, Bottom-up, Feature-based costing, Activitybased
costing (ABC), Expert judgement, and etc. Some practical cost models were also
reviewed to learn the application of cost estimating in the aerospace industry. Then,
analogy and parametric approaches were selected to perform the methodology
development considering the limited data available at the conceptual design phase.
An investigation was deployed to identify the actual problems in practice. The results
helped to recognize the needs of industry. Also, the preparation works for development
are presented to understand the environment.
With subjective judgement and statistical techniques, a series of cost estimating
relationships (CERs) were achieved, in which some historic explanatory parameters
remained or were eliminated, and some new ones introduced. Size of aircraft became
another variable besides weight. As to engines, all developed explanatory variables have
been revealed in prior researches. The validation of CERs proves that they can provide
reliable cost estimates with high accuracy and can be applied to conceptual design. In
addition, a case study was conducted using a baseline aircraft defined in the group
design project (GDP) and presents cost forecasting for the proposed aircraft.
At last, discussion and conclusion presents an overview of the research. A framework
for cost estimating system can be educed. Also, the future work is proposed for in-depth
research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:CRANFIELD1/oai:dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk:1826/9587 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Zhao, Tienan |
| Contributors | Fielding, John |
| Publisher | Cranfield University |
| Source Sets | CRANFIELD1 |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or dissertation, Masters, MSc by Research |
| Rights | © Cranfield University 2008. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright owner. |
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