Aircraft systems integration

The aviation industry needs a major paradigm shift. Addressing the challenges related to air traffic demand requires radical new technologies and concepts. These future air transportation concepts are essential to help manage climate change and traffic congestion issues as well as increased safety and security requirements. As the world economy becomes more interconnected, industry players must work together to develop the best possible concepts for future generations.

In this white paper, you will learn how a virtual integrated aircraft (VIA) approach helps accelerate aircraft systems engineering. By implementing a model-based design method, you master the aircraft systems integration complexity, from component to full system.

Model-based design

Modern technologies have the potential to improve engineering processes by implementing a model-based design approach. The process starts with the bill-of-materials (BOM) and manages every change, keeping track of the requirement verification throughout the aircraft subsystems until the integrated system testing processes.

On the systems and structural engineering level, scalable multi-domain engineering tools help you to implement a model-based design approach and capture the complexity of aircraft systems design and development.

Engineering a system is all about understanding how the different physical phenomena affect a product’s functionality under normal and abnormal conditions as well as throughout all operational cycles. The complexity of aircraft systems engineering mandates tools that are truly multi-domain.

Using a model-based design approach, you can realize early aircraft model integration to assess and validate the multiphysics performance of the virtual aircraft systems.

Modeling and simulation for aircraft systems integration

Model-based design with aircraft system simulation closes the loop between the physical and digital world, enabling collaborative engineering processes throughout the extended enterprise of the aviation industry. Tools are available to help the industry initiate the engineering methodology shift for engineers to represent all the physics in an aircraft, such as structural, mechanical, fluid, electrical and thermal, and simulate their dynamic interactions. These tools address the component level up to the system level and can be integrated into a product lifecycle management process.

Model-based design with system simulation is becoming increasingly important in the field of aircraft development. Today, aircraft architecture needs to inherently reflect not only the dynamic interaction and the physical systems but also performance factors, such as fuel economy, safety, emissions and cabin comfort. System simulation allows a product to evolve in the best-possible manner throughout the development timeline.