Dealing with Evolving Constraints In Design Systems for Net Zero (DECIDE for Net Zero)

英国于2021年10月发布的净零战略反映了避免气候灾难所需行动的紧迫性。其中概述的净零旅程涉及所有部门的经济和减排，其中航空业的具体挑战是一个值得注意的因素。目前，全球航空业占总排放量的2%，其中90%来自飞机运营，随着航空运输的增长，这一比例将逐步增长。为了应对这种技术和政策的快速变化，提供了机遇和挑战，但是当今实践中的标准设计系统和流程不够灵活，无法支持当前对能够适应这些快速变化的未来需求的新颖设计的需求。目前的解决方案是基于现有的技术水平，在早期就被锁定，并围绕该技术进行优化，因此在整个使用寿命（航空航天的使用寿命为数十年）中，升级和增强的机会有限。但要实现净零排放，就需要迅速做出彻底改变。需要敏捷和适应性强的设计系统来帮助开发解决方案，这些解决方案可以很容易地升级为使用先进的技术。这里的关键是需要约束来允许找到基线解决方案，但是在围绕该基线进行优化时，约束会成为未来增强的障碍。为了允许未来的变化而不需要重新设计，需要新的能力。特别是映射和测量设计空间以及随后能够动态更改约束的能力被认为是该领域进展的核心需求。需要映射和度量能力来理解约束在这个时间点上是如何影响设计的，并且需要处理不断变化的约束的能力来理解设计如何随着新技术的进步或政策的变化而变化。由此产生的四个研究问题是：1。动态设计空间的导航：如何在设计模型中表示约束，以便能够导航不断变化的设计空间，识别驱动或限制设计的约束，并量化它们对设计的影响？随着时间的推移而发展的约束：如何允许约束随着时间的推移而发展，以及它们随着时间的推移对设计解决方案的影响，包括确定需求/约束的优先级的能力？解决方案路径的度量和评估：对于维护一组与时间历史相关联的解决方案以供进一步开发使用，什么样的度量标准是合适的？4. 保持设计选项的开放性：如何保持设计选项的开放性，以及如何研究长期的技术变化/政策变化或移除？在decision for Net Zero中，约束将被允许演变，就像设计的每个部分一样。在这样做的过程中，设计环境本身也会进化，为产品进化创造新的健身景观。与当今尽可能优化的标准做法相反，这里的目标是产生多样化的解决方案，即使有些可能会失败，也会有许多个体能够在重大中断中幸存下来。这大大超越了当前稳健设计的概念。这种约束的变化需要一种全新的设计系统架构，使用依赖于时间历史的遗传学。设计空间的几何类比将允许创新的设计工具以更有意义的方式支持设计空间的探索，最新的生物启发方法将允许探索产品如何在不断变化的约束环境中进化。有了这种能力，就可以开发出稳健的基线设计，以最快的速度过渡到净零，例如，更模块化的机身，可以接受氢或电力推进系统和能源供应的即插即用解决方案，这些解决方案易于成本有效地维护。

The UK Net Zero Strategy published in October 2021 reflects the urgency of action needed to avoid climate catastrophe. The net zero journey outlined therein addresses economy and emissions reduction in all sectors, with the specific challenge in aviation a notable element. Global aviation is currently responsible for 2% of emissions with 90% currently from aircraft operations, and this will grow progressively as air transportation grows. In response to this technology and policy are changing rapidly offering both opportunity and challenge, but the standard design systems and processes in practice today are insufficiently agile to support the current need for novel designs that can adapt to these rapidly changing future needs. With current approaches solutions get locked in early based on the available technology level, and optimised around that technology, and consequently have limited opportunity for upgrade and enhancement through operational life, which in the case of aerospace is decades. But delivery of net zero demands radical change quickly. Agile and adaptable design systems are needed to help develop solutions that can be easily upgraded to use advanced technology as it emerges.The key here is that constraints are needed to to allow a baseline solution to be found, but in then optimising around this baseline the constraints become a barrier to future enhancements. To allow future variation without redesign needs new capability. In particular capability to map and measure a design space and to subsequently be able to dynamically change the constraints was found to be a core need for progress in this area. The mapping and measurement capability is needed to understand how constraints are influencing the design at this point in time, and the capability to deal with changing constraints to allow understanding of how the design could change with new technology advance or policy changes. The four research questions emerging from this are therefore:1. Navigation of Dynamic Design Spaces: How can constraints be represented in a design model such that a changing design space can be navigated and the constraints driving or limiting the design can be identified, and their influence on the design quantified?2. Evolving Constraints over time: How can constraints be allowed to evolve over time and their influence on the design solutions over time captured, including ability to prioritise requirements/constraints?3. Measurement and Evaluation of Solution Paths: What metrics are appropriate for maintaining a set of time-history linked solutions open to further development? 4. Keeping Design Options Open: How can design options be kept open, and how cantechnology changes/policy changes or removal over a long time period be studied?In DECIDE for Net Zero constraints will be permitted to evolve just as every part of the design can. In doing this the design context itself will evolve, creating new fitness landscapes for product evolution. Contrary to standard practice today which is to optimise as far as possible, the aim here is to generate a diverse population of solutions that will have many individuals that survive major disruptions even if some may fail. This is moving significantly beyond current concepts of robust design. This variation of constraints requires a completely novel design system architecture using time history dependent genetics. Geometric analogies for design spaces will allow innovative design tools to support exploration of design spaces in a more meaningful way and the latest bio-inspired methodologies will allow exploration of how products evolve in the context of ever-changing constraints. With this capability robust baseline designs can be developed that will enable the fastest transition to net zero, for example a more modular airframe that can accept plug and play solutions for hydrogen or electric propulsion systems and energy supply which are easy to cost effective to maintain.