A Flexible and Robust Approach for Preliminary Engineering Design Based on Designer's Preference

This study proposes a new set-based design approach for preliminary engineering design that intrinsically contains various sources of uncertainties. The goal is to achieve design flexibility and robustness while capturing designer's preference. The proposed design approach includes three computational methods: (1) set representation method to specify the varying degree of desirability of a ranged set of design solutions and performance requirements, thereby enabling the manipulation of uncertain design solutions and requirements based on designer's preference structure; (2) set propagation method to obtain performance possibilities achievable by uncertain design solutions, thus exploring a broader design possibilities; (3) set narrowing method to generate a ranged set of feasible solutions (i.e., robust and flexible solution set) instead of single point solution that satisfies changing sets of performance requirements by eliminating infeasible and inferior subsets of solutions, thus allowing designs to be readily adapted to changing conditions. Finally, the proposed design approach is illustrated with a successful implementation of real industrial design problem (i.e., vehicle side-door structure design) in the simulation-based design environment.