EXPLORING POTENTIALS FOR CONSERVATIONAL REASONING USING TOPOLOGIC RULES OF FUNCTION STRUCTURE GRAPHS
Chiradeep Sen, Joshua David Summers, Gregory M. Mocko · 2011
This paper explores the possibility of supporting automated function-based reasoning in the conceptual design phase, specifically, reasoning needed to perform physics-based concept validation. Eleven atomic tasks of topologic reasoning, divided in two categories, connectedness and derivation, are identified that could be used to check graph-based function structures against conservation laws using only the count and types of flows attached to the functions. This reasoning is illustrated by simulating the sequential actions of a designer developing a new mechanical device. The algorithms are validated by implementing them in a function modeling software that first allows the designer to construct a function model and then detects violations of conservation laws in the model appropriately.