Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

A Model Of Function-Based Representations, Michael Van Wie, Cari R. Bryant, Matt R. Bohm, Robert B. Stone, Daniel A. Mcadams

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The need to model and to reason about design alternatives throughout the design process demands robust representation schemes of function, behavior, and structure. Function describes the physical effect imposed on an energy or material flow by a design entity without regard for the working principles or physical solutions used to accomplish this effect. Behaviors are the physical events associated with a physical artifact (or hypothesized concept) over time (or simulated time) as perceived by an observer. Structure, the most tangible concept, partitions an artifact into meaningful constituents such as features, Wirk elements, and interfaces in addition to the widely used …