INCORPORATING FIELD EFFECTS INTO MODULAR ARCHITECTURE METHODS

摘要

Prior research on methods and algorithms to create modules and modular architectures deal with minimizing interactions between modules and increasing the commonality between products. While these approaches are a good start and provide good suggestions for preliminary architecture, these algorithms ignore the fact that some design solutions cannot be placed in regions of high heat, high pressure, high magnetic fields, etc. The exclusion of such field effect constraints often results in architecture clustering algorithms forming impractical solutions. In this paper, we introduce a field based definition of modularity constraints that incorporate these practical embodiment considerations. We demonstrate the method via examples and a detailed case study in medical device industry. We find that the field based module definitions not only bring the constraints of fields to the attention of the designer, but it also enables new creative solutions through movement of the field boundaries over different functions or components. Generally, only the two endpoint set-of-functions need be at different field values, and the intermediary parts or functions connecting them can be in either field. We conclude with a set of architectural guidelines to bridge the gap between current work and practical architectural synthesis considerations.