An Engineering Systems Introduction to Axiomatic Design

TLDR: In this article, the application of Axiomatic Design to large complex systems is discussed, including quantitative measures of life cycle properties, design of cyber-physical systems, and design of hetero-functional networks.

Abstract: Since its first publication in 1978, Axiomatic Design has developed to become one of the more commonly applied engineering design theories in the academic literature and industrial practice. In parallel, model-based systems engineering (MBSE) has developed from industrial origins in the aerospace, communications, and defense sectors. As the scope of humanity’s engineering efforts grows to include evermore complex engineering systems, the engineering design methodologies that guide these efforts must also develop. These two, now well-established but independently developed, engineering design methodologies now appear well poised to support the synthesis, analysis, and resynthesis of large complex engineering systems. As the first chapter in this book on the application of Axiomatic Design to large complex systems, it introduces the fundamentals of Axiomatic Design within the context of engineering systems and as a conceptual foundation for subsequent chapters. It also relates Axiomatic Design’s key concepts and terminology to those found in current MBSE techniques including SysML. The chapter concludes with applications in which Axiomatic Design has served to advance the development of engineering systems including quantitative measures of life cycle properties, design of cyber-physical systems, and design of hetero-functional networks.