Session: CIE-25-01 - Graduate Student Poster Symposium

Paper Number: 98105

98105 - Designing for Excess: An Examination of Requirement Excess Potential 

A widely held belief in engineering design is that the best design is the one that satisfies all requirements at the lowest cost. Recent research has begun challenging this notion by arguing that a system’s total lifetime value may be improved by designing for uncertain future requirements, even after considering the additional incurred costs. Excess, the purposeful inclusion of margin beyond what is required for known uncertainties, is the method used in this work for addressing uncertain future requirements. This research will provide evidence that excess can make a system more robust and thereby increase its value. This evidence is drawn from prior studies that suggest excess may be used to increase system value and longevity – justifying the cost necessary to implement said excess. This proposed research will advance the notion of strategic excess (excess added to a single component) by examining its potential impact on historical systems. The analysis conducted in this research will shows that higher degrees of excess in systems can increase overall system value, and that strategic excess in components could improve system performance.  This research will formalize the study on excess by developing a framework for how it should be evaluated using requirements.  By utilizing Machine Learning approaches, I will examine which requirements possess the greatest potential for excess based on specific requirement features.  This will allow designers and engineers to understand which requirements or system components are available for excess and will provide insight on the types of excess that engineers can implement.

Presenting Author: Logan Smith University of Georgia

Presenting Author Biography: Logan obtained his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Georgia <br/>in the summer of 2022. His last year of my undergrad he worked as an <br/>Undergraduate Research Assistant in Dr. Beshoy Morkos’ lab. There he <br/>worked with graduate students on a project sponsored by the USDA, as well <br/>as assisted lab members with their own research topics. He is continuing <br/>working in Dr. Morkos’ lab during my Graduate Program. He is currently a <br/>student member of ASME with research interests in design <br/>simulation (excess, propagation) and mechanical design.

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