A GRAPH-BASED APPROACH TO CHECK A PRODUCT FUNCTIONAL NET
DS 36: Proceedings DESIGN 2006, the 9th International Design Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Year: 2006
Editor: Marjanovic, D.
Author: Rizzuti, S.; De Napoli, L.; Rocco, C.
Section: THEORY AND RESEARCH METHODS IN DESIGN
Page(s): 111-118
Abstract
In the conceptual design, a product can be viewed as a functional net, defined in the classic active verb-object way, by mean of functional elements and links associated to the flow of energy, material and signals and link of force. In order to assure the validity of the links at different levels, in the paper the graph theory is employed to check the suitability of a functional net, treated as a collection of sub graphs, each defined on a type of link. In order to verify the functional net it is necessary to identify each subnet, characterized by the same kind of link, and check each one using a set of formal relations that represent the feature of each link. Based on these relations a set of controls have been implemented for each subnet.
Keywords: design process, functional net, graph theory, doubt based system