COMPLEX MULTIDISCIPLINARY SYSTEMS DECOMPOSITION FOR AEROSPACE VEHICLE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION

Abstract

Although, the Aerospace and Defense (A&D) industry is a significant contributor to the United States’ economy, national prestige and national security, it experiences significant cost and schedule overruns. This problem is related to the differences between technology acquisition assessments and aerospace vehicle conceptual design. Acquisition assessments evaluate broad sets of alternatives with mostly qualitative techniques, while conceptual design tools evaluate narrow set of alternatives with multidisciplinary tools. In order for these two fields to communicate effectively, a common platform for both concerns is desired. This research is an original contribution to a three-part solution to this problem. It discusses the decomposition step of an innovation technology and sizing tool generation framework. It identifies complex multidisciplinary system definitions as a bridge between acquisition and conceptual design. It establishes complex multidisciplinary building blocks that can be used to build synthesis systems as well as technology portfolios. It also describes a Graphical User Interface Designed to aid in decomposition process. Finally, it demonstrates an application of the methodology to a relevant acquisition and conceptual design problem posed by the US Air Force.