USING SIMILARITY RATIOS FOR FINDING, EVALUATING AND OPTIMIZING PRINCIPLE SOLUTIONS
DS 36: Proceedings DESIGN 2006, the 9th International Design Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Year: 2006
Editor: Marjanovic, D.
Author: Deimel, M.; Franke, H.-J.
Section: THEORY AND RESEARCH METHODS IN DESIGN
Page(s): 9-20
Abstract
The paper shows that similarity ratios support holistically the methodical synthesis of solutions. Partial solutions can be described and selected on the basis of dimensionless characteristics. The usage of ratios simplifies the representation of technical systems because of the reduction of parameters. The characteristics used can be aggregated to ratio relations for the representation of principle solutions. The aggregated ratios are mathematically formalized and thus compressed solution knowledge which is appropriate for dimensioning and comparative calculations. The coupled ratios can be used as fixed solution principles for subsequent design processes, e.g. in design catalogues. The configuration of the dimensionless groups reveals the structural properties of solutions, which enable simplified approaches for variations and optimizations.
Keywords: finding solutions, similarity ratios, Pi theorem