Automated Multi-Component Design Constraint Validation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Large-scale capital projects, such as power plants and offshore oil platforms, face challenges in validating multi-component design constraints due to their complexity and the need for manual verification, which is costly and prone to errors, especially when multiple teams with conflicting requirements are involved.
Innovation Solution
A rules-based system that uses an application programming interface to receive design change data from 3D design systems, applies metadata-defined design constraints between components, and determines compliance with these constraints, storing results in a database to ensure that design changes meet prescribed requirements without impacting the performance of 3D design programs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual verification of multi-component design constraints is performed, then design compliance can be checked, but the process is costly and prone to errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical verification process with an automated computer-based system that uses algorithms to validate design constraints. The system automatically retrieves component data, applies constraint rules, and generates validation results, eliminating the need for manual checking while improving both speed and accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The design system performs self-validation by automatically checking its own design constraints without external manual intervention. The system retrieves its own component data, applies the constraint rules, and validates compliance autonomously, reducing dependency on manual verification processes.
2Productivity
If multiple teams work on different aspects of the design, then project complexity is managed, but constraint synchronization problems arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the validation system continuously monitors design changes from multiple teams and automatically checks for constraint violations. When conflicts are detected, the system provides immediate feedback to the relevant teams, enabling rapid resolution while maintaining constraint consistency across the entire project.
Solution Approach 2:
The validation system serves as a universal platform that handles constraint checking for all teams working on different aspects of the project. It provides a common framework that can validate various types of constraints (spatial, functional, operational) across multiple components and teams, ensuring consistent application of design rules throughout the project.
3Reliability
If design constraints are rechecked after each modification, then compliance is ensured, but the cost becomes prohibitively high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic validation where the system automatically checks design constraints at scheduled intervals or at specific trigger points in the design process, rather than after every single modification. This approach maintains compliance assurance while reducing the frequency and cost of validation activities to manageable levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary validation checks automatically as design changes are made, identifying potential constraint violations early in the process. This allows teams to address issues before they become problems, reducing the need for costly rework and extensive revalidation later in the project.
Data Source
AI summary
A system, method, and executable program code are used to design a capital project having a plurality of components. An application programming interface receives, from one or more 3D design systems, design change data for a checked component in the plurality of components. One or more rules each provide a design constraint between the checked component and at least one other functionally-related reference component, the functional relationship being defined by an end user for the design of the specific capital project. A computing processor applies each of the rules to produce a determination whether the checked component satisfies the design constraint of the applied rule. Finally, data indicative of each such determination are stored in a database, for eventual transmission to one or more of the 3D design systems.