Validation of design methods: lessons from medicine

This paper discusses the validation of design methods. The challenges and opportunities in validation are illustrated by drawing an analogy to medical research and development. Specific validation practices such as clinical studies and use of models of human disease are discussed, including specific ways to adapt them to engineering design. The implications are explored for three active areas of design research: robust design, axiomatic design, and design decision making. It is argued that medical research and development has highly-developed, well-documented validation methods and that many specific practices such as natural experiments and model-based evaluations can profitably be adapted for use in engineering design research.     

Application of a systematic design methodology: an engineering case study

The basic steps of a design process have been reviewed and applied to seek an optimum solution for an industrial design problem. The problem was about a mechanical swivel-joint in a sea-current-metering system for underwater marine use. It was expensive ($200) and not functioning properly because of rattling and high friction between parts. The objective was to design another joint of better performance and lower cost, if possible. Ten steps were defined and carefully followed to solve the problem. This led to the design and production of a good quality swivel-joint as far as performance, appearance and other aspects were concerned and the cost reduced by 40%. This design method, in addition to yielding good results, is suitable for the organization of the activities of new designers and design students.     

Putting the design into mechanical CAD: a company methodology

This paper outlines the application of a design methodology within a small-batch, marine engineering company that maximized the current capabilities of the company's CAD facilities. This methodology is assessed in relation to a systematic information flow for engineering desingn. The paper subsequently details pilot work that acted as a company benchmark for the proposed methodology. Some associated organizational issues are also outlined.     

A new method for estimating missing values for a genetic algorithm used in robust design

This article presents an improved genetic algorithm (GA), which finds solutions to problems of robust design in multivariate systems with many control and noise factors. Since some values of responses of the system might not have been obtained from the robust design experiment, but may be needed in the search process, the GA uses response surface methodology (RSM) to estimate those values. In all test cases, the GA delivered solutions that adequately adjusted the mean of the responses to their corresponding target values and with low variability. The GA found more solutions than the previous versions of the GA, which makes it easier to find a solution that may meet the trade-off among variance reduction, mean adjustment and economic considerations. Moreover, RSM is a good method for estimating the mean and variance of the outputs of highly non-linear systems, which makes the new GA appropriate for optimizing such systems.     

产品可适应设计评价的信息熵方法

随着用户对产品的功能、质量、成本、个性化以及环境友好性等方面的需求日益提升,制造企业必须更加即时、高效地响应不断变化的市场需求.可适应设计作为一种新型的设计范式,可通过设计过程的综合优化来满足产品生命周期内用户、制造企业和社会的需求,以提升经济效益和环境效益等.为了提高产品设计的可适应性,需对可适应性进行量化的科学表达...     

Robust parameter design using a supersaturated design for a response surface model

Recently, the application of response surface methodology (RSM) to robust parameter design has attracted a great deal of attention. In some cases, experiments are very expensive and may require a great deal of time to perform. Central composite designs (CCDs) and Box and Behnken designs (BBDs), which are commonly used for RSM, may lead to an unacceptably large number of experimental runs. In this paper, a supersaturated design for RSM is constructed and its application to robust parameter design is proposed. A response surface model is fitted using data from the designed experiment and a stepwise variable selection. An illustrative example is presented to show that the proposed method considerably reduces the number of experimental runs, as compared with CCDs and BBDs. Numerical experiments are also conducted in which type I and II error rates are evaluated. The results imply that the proposed method may be effective for finding the effects (i.e. main effects, two‐factor interactions, and pure quadratic effects) of active factors under the ‘effect sparsity’ assumption. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changing our view on design evaluation meetings methodology: a study of software technical review meetings

By contrast to design meetings, design evaluation meetings (DEMs) have generally been considered as situations in which, according to DEM methodologies, design activities are quite marginal. In a study of DEMs in software development, i.e. in technical review meetings following a particular review methodology, we showed: (i) the occurrence of design activities as part of an argumentation process; (ii) the relative importance of cognitive synchronisation as a prerequisite for evaluation; (iii) the important role played in evaluation by argumentation that makes explicit the underlying design rationale (DR). On the basis of our results, we discuss the potential for using DR methodologies in this kind of meetings.     

A comprehensive tool for developing new human-centred and social inclusion-oriented design strategies and guidelines

While Human-Centred Design is by the time considered a consolidated design methodology, emerging social inclusion-oriented theories need to be more comprehended in order to understand their potential applications in the development of new design solutions. This sort of discrepancy often generates contradictory phenomena: solutions developed using such approaches cannot be considered, at the same time, fully human-centred and social inclusion-oriented. The purpose of this article is to describe a new comprehensive tool, conceived both for designers and researchers, able to develop human-centred and social inclusion-oriented design strategies and guidelines. The tool, which is called ‘HSDT’ (Human-Social Design Tool), is an easy-to-use methodological instrument useful to identify focused results oriented toward Human-Centred Design and Social Inclusion. Using logical sequences, it allows to develop new conceptual definitions for both design and non-design subjects into new human-centred and social inclusion-oriented records. Theoretical foundations, methodological approaches, development stages and applications in design and non-design areas are presented and discussed to demonstrate real benefits resulting from the introduction of a new type of interdisciplinary tool and, later, the opportunity for designers and researchers to adopt new problem-solving approaches to bridging the gaps within Design literature.     

基于TRIZ理论的采矿方法创新设计

针对传统采矿方法设计中出现的不足,将TRIZ理论引入采矿方法的创新设计中,在对实际问题分析的基础上,确定了技术和物理矛盾,并运用TRIZ理论的创新原理所提供的思路与线索,对采矿方法进行了创新设计.以广西某矿山的采矿方法设计为实例,详细介绍了TRIZ理论在采矿方法设计中的应用流程,高效率地解决了采矿方法选择中的创新性设计难题,充分表明了TRIZ理论应用于采矿领域进行创新设计的可行性和高效性,为拓宽和创新传统工程领域的设计思路提供了新的工具,将会有广阔的应用前景.     

深埋盾构隧道结构抗震设计方法评价

分析评价了反应位移法、反应加速度法应用于深埋盾构隧道结构抗震设计的差异。采用平面弹性理论的复变函数方法,提出了深埋结构的土体弹簧的解析解法,可以应用于反应位移法。设定某地质条件下的深埋典型盾构隧道结构为基准模型,用反应位移法、反应加速度法和动力时程法计算基准模型的结构刚度变化时的结构内力和变形,评价前两种方法的适用性。结果表明：反应加速度法的结果一般比反应位移法更接近动力时程法;反应位移法的结果一般是偏于安全的;反应加速度法不适用于结构刚度较小时的情况。