9525991 Kohout Analysis of cost and realistic cost/benefit analyses in the product design phase must involve determining the affordability of a design that has never before been manufactured and making technical and business decisions based on incomplete, uncertain data. This project will develop a systematic accounting including incomplete or conflicting information, constraints, and consequences during engineering design and planning for advanced jet propulsion systems. A new methodology focusing on the use of fuzzy logic theory will be developed to supplement existing parametric and probabilistic tools to perform realistic and appropriate cost and benefits assessments at the component level through the system level. The use of fuzzy attributes for cost models and affordability applications addresses the problem of the limited or unavailable empirical data, for example in new materials characterization or new manufacturing processes. The use of verbal descriptors parallels the knowledge-gathering exercise and will provide the ability to assign different levels of accuracy, precision, or certainty to each element such as cost, material input, or processing condition. A proof-of-concept manufacturing process trade study will be carried out for an existing turbine engine component, such as one made with gamma titanium, with a limited manufacturing base. Demonstration of the new methodology and its validation with empirical data will be done using data taken in an existing jet engine manufacturing environment in collaboration with an industrial partner. The results of this research could allow the development of software tools for integrated product and process design that can be used when a designer has only incomplete or uncertain information.
