ME 519/516: COMPLEX SYSTEM DESIGN
DESIGN PROJECT ASSIGNMENT
SPRING 2007
The
design project is to solve the design problem described in “Designing an external
fuel tank for the space shuttle”, authored by Timothy Simpson, Michael Yukish, and Irem Tumer. The problem involves improving the design of the
external fuel tank with the objective of improving NASA’s Return on Investment
(ROI) by resizing the external fuel tank. The models provided in Section II
include those for structural and aerodynamic analyses, as well as for cost. In
addition, the optimization problem is formulated and provided in Section III.
You
are expected to work on this problem in teams. The approach we want you to take
is to solve the design (optimization) problem using Excel, and then repeat the
process using ATSV. ATSV will be described during the first half of Lecture 6
on April 19th by Dr. Simpson, and be installed on your computers. An
excel worksheet is provided to help you solve the optimization problem. The
ATSV software and the problem specific files are provided for use in this
class.
A. The
purpose of this design project is for you to assess the utility of ATSV as a
visualization tool during a design optimization problem. Describe how you used
Excel to solve the problem. Describe how you used ATSV to solve the problem. In
addition to describing the problem approach and solution, you are expected to
address the following questions:
1. Where you able to find equally good solutions
using the Excel Spreadsheet and ATSV?
2. Which version of the problem was easier to solve:
Excel or ATSV? Why?
3. To what extent did you feel that you understood
the problem using:
Excel: 1-5 scale where 1=little to none
vs. 5 = excellent
ATSV: same scale
4. How useful were the visualization capabilities
within ATSV? (1-5 scale)
5. What capabilities did you find most useful within
ATSV?
6. Are there capabilities that you wished ATSV as you
tried to solve the problem?
7. Did you feel that you received adequate training
before using ATSV? (1-5 scale)
8. Was the problem described clearly enough for you
to be able to solve it? (1-5 scale)
9. Are there other applications beyond optimization
where you think ATSV would be helpful?
10. Any suggestions to improve this process?
B. In
addition, we want you to formulate and describe the collaborative design
approach you have chosen for this design project. How did you split the team? Did
you solve the problem during sessions with everyone involved, or separately?
Did you work on the problem concurrently? How long did each of the sessions
take? How would you improve the process?
C.
Finally, refer back to the research project you have done for this course, and
include a discussion of whether the topic you have researched and the approach
you have devised would have helped this design process, and how.
Your
final report should include sections addressing A, B, C above, as well as an introduction
describing the problem and the background, the results of the design problem,
and conclusions. A powerpoint
presentation of the project will be required as part of the final grade.