Comparative Data Analysis of Legacy Concurrent Engineering Studies

Abstract

To date, DLR has carried out more than 70 Concurrent Engineering (CE) studies in its Concurrent Engineering Facility (CEF). The vast archive of engineering model data generated during these studies offers the potential for obtaining a valuable insight into tendencies and correlations between engineering parameters which arise within the initial conceptual phase of space mission design. In many cases, the integration of Version Control Systems (VCS) has allowed access to a fine-grained log of the timebased evolution of a study model on a change-by-change basis. However, due to the continuous variation in software packages and versions employed in the CEF over the years, it is currently difficult to make direct comparisons between the results of different CE studies. Additionally, as interpretation of the engineering model generally requires examining the accompanying natural-language documentation, a certain level of manual processing is unavoidable. One area of interest for usage of such insights is the evaluation of Multidisciplinary Design Optimisation (MDO) methods, which requires some understanding of the progression of CE studies following a given CE process. Other potential derived benefits are improved methods for preemptive prediction of design feasibility and for generation of initial design inputs, as well as improvements to the design process itself. The aim of this project is to develop a basis for semi-automated comparative analysis of legacy CE study data models by investigating a subset of DLR CE studies and associated engineering parameters and - where possible - to identify tendencies and correlations