System Model Sensitivity Testing for Equipment Change Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Complex systems, such as aircraft, face challenges in verifying how changes to individual equipment or subsystems impact system performance and safety due to numerous and unpredictable interactions, leading to increased testing costs and risks of missed deviations in system requirements.
Innovation Solution
A method and software test bench that simulate changes in equipment parameters to determine their sensitivity to system parameters, using weights and metrics to assess compliance with system thresholds, reducing the need for extensive real-world testing and identifying critical interactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all system requirements are tested whenever there is any equipment change, then system safety and performance verification is improved, but cost and schedule burden increases enormously
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the system requirements into different categories based on their sensitivity to equipment changes. By calculating sensitivity metrics for each requirement-equipment pair, the system identifies and separates critical requirements that need thorough testing from non-critical ones that can be excluded, thereby reducing unnecessary testing while maintaining safety verification for important aspects.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces sensitivity as a new parameter to characterize the relationship between equipment changes and system requirements. By calculating and using sensitivity metrics, the system dynamically determines which requirements need testing based on the specific equipment change being made, rather than following a fixed comprehensive testing approach.
2Loss of time
If only known system requirements are tested, then testing cost is reduced, but risk of missing deviations in system performance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where sensitivity metrics are calculated based on the specific equipment change being made. This feedback information guides the selection of which system requirements to test, ensuring that requirements potentially affected by the change are identified and tested, while reducing testing for requirements unlikely to be affected.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary sensitivity analysis before actual testing to identify which system requirements are likely to be affected by the equipment change. This preliminary action allows the testing process to focus only on relevant requirements, reducing testing time while maintaining verification of critical performance aspects.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive testing is performed to identify all equipment-system relationships, then system verification accuracy is improved, but device complexity and testing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces sensitivity metrics as a new parameter to quantify the relationship between equipment changes and system requirements. By calculating and utilizing these sensitivity values, the system can accurately identify which requirements are affected by specific equipment changes, achieving high verification accuracy without needing to test all possible relationships.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different testing depths to different system requirements based on their sensitivity to equipment changes. Critical requirements with high sensitivity receive thorough testing, while non-critical requirements with low sensitivity receive minimal or no testing. This localized approach to testing quality maintains verification accuracy for important aspects while reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of testing a system model is disclosed. The system model includes a system parameter and three or more equipment models, each equipment model includes an equipment parameter which models a parameter of a respective equipment. The method includes (a) making a series of changes of the equipment parameter of one of the equipment models so that the equipment parameter of the one of the equipment models adopts a series of test values of the equipment parameter; (b) operating the system model to determine a series of test values of the system parameter, each test value of the system parameter is determined in accordance with a respective one of the test values of the equipment parameter; (c) determining a weight of the selected one of the equipment models, the weight of the one of the equipment models indicates a sensitivity of the system parameter to the series of changes in the equipment parameter of the one of the equipment models; and (d) outputting the weight of the one of the equipment models.