Exploring Robust Decisions in the Design of Coupled Engineered Systems

Engineered systems can be characterized by the inherent uncertainties and interactions in the system. To effectively design such engineered systems while improving the quality of design decisions, we contend that addressing the inherent interactions and uncertainties is critical. By addressing interactions, we incorporate the ability to account for the influence of one design decision over another in the decision-making process. Through uncertainty management, we design decisions that are relatively insensitive to uncertainty. In this article, we identify various elements required for designing engineered systems and address some key elements: (i) decision identification and classification, (ii) modeling decisions and their interactions, (iii) managing the effect of uncertainties in decisions, and (iv) solution space exploration. We utilize these key elements in the formulation and exploration of design problems using three design examples: (i) design of a fender, (ii) design of a gearbox, and (iii) design of a composite structure. As a contribution, we offer a generic method that enables designers to design engineered systems when interactions and uncertainties are prevalent in design decisions.