A System Architecture for the Digital Thread in Commercial Airplane Design

A Digital Thread for Airplane Design (DTAD) is a high-impact opportunity to deliver competitive value from shortening product development times and allowing further refinements in product performance. This thesis presents first a study based on historical records, of the economic benefits from a DTA...

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Main Author: Herrero, Javier
Other Authors: Cameron, Bruce G.
Format: Thesis
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2022
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/143229
https://orcid.org/ 0000-0001-7583-9562
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author Herrero, Javier
author2 Cameron, Bruce G.
author_facet Cameron, Bruce G.
Herrero, Javier
author_sort Herrero, Javier
collection MIT
description A Digital Thread for Airplane Design (DTAD) is a high-impact opportunity to deliver competitive value from shortening product development times and allowing further refinements in product performance. This thesis presents first a study based on historical records, of the economic benefits from a DTAD which were found to be a significant fraction of the forecasted total program development cost. After a comparative analysis of previously implemented architectures, a qualitative selection method was used to rate them against a baseline composed of the most advanced features present in each implementation. An innovative concept for the DTAD was constructed, based on the pattern called “microservices” distributed deployment, an evolved version of the SOA (serviceoriented architecture) concept. Key features of the architecture proposed, are high Cloud compatibility, robust deployability of MBE-tools (model-based engineering), loose coupling of services, and data modeling based on knowledge graphs. Next, an innovative design for the API (application programable interface), backbone of the DTAD, is proposed based on the key paradigm of the Task Based Organization of Objects (TaBOO), for a configuration control capability that emulates contemporary version-control practices in software development. Finally, a prototype DTAD was implemented with positive results, to demonstrate the validity of the concept by using it in a simulation of a simplified trade study, typical of the conceptual design stage in airplane programs.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1432292022-06-16T03:04:07Z A System Architecture for the Digital Thread in Commercial Airplane Design Herrero, Javier Cameron, Bruce G. System Design and Management Program. A Digital Thread for Airplane Design (DTAD) is a high-impact opportunity to deliver competitive value from shortening product development times and allowing further refinements in product performance. This thesis presents first a study based on historical records, of the economic benefits from a DTAD which were found to be a significant fraction of the forecasted total program development cost. After a comparative analysis of previously implemented architectures, a qualitative selection method was used to rate them against a baseline composed of the most advanced features present in each implementation. An innovative concept for the DTAD was constructed, based on the pattern called “microservices” distributed deployment, an evolved version of the SOA (serviceoriented architecture) concept. Key features of the architecture proposed, are high Cloud compatibility, robust deployability of MBE-tools (model-based engineering), loose coupling of services, and data modeling based on knowledge graphs. Next, an innovative design for the API (application programable interface), backbone of the DTAD, is proposed based on the key paradigm of the Task Based Organization of Objects (TaBOO), for a configuration control capability that emulates contemporary version-control practices in software development. Finally, a prototype DTAD was implemented with positive results, to demonstrate the validity of the concept by using it in a simulation of a simplified trade study, typical of the conceptual design stage in airplane programs. S.M. 2022-06-15T13:05:12Z 2022-06-15T13:05:12Z 2022-02 2022-03-16T20:15:59.998Z Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/143229 https://orcid.org/ 0000-0001-7583-9562 In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted Copyright retained by author(s) https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Herrero, Javier
A System Architecture for the Digital Thread in Commercial Airplane Design
title A System Architecture for the Digital Thread in Commercial Airplane Design
title_full A System Architecture for the Digital Thread in Commercial Airplane Design
title_fullStr A System Architecture for the Digital Thread in Commercial Airplane Design
title_full_unstemmed A System Architecture for the Digital Thread in Commercial Airplane Design
title_short A System Architecture for the Digital Thread in Commercial Airplane Design
title_sort system architecture for the digital thread in commercial airplane design
url https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/143229
https://orcid.org/ 0000-0001-7583-9562
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