Digital Thread in Aerospace

Challenges

Aerospace organizations have been among the earliest and most active adopters of systems engineering, applying it to projects from airliners to extra-planetary spacecrafts. These projects require long-term, multi-partner development of complex products and these products must function with high reliability in harsh and unforgiving environments. These conditions primarily drives the need for a Digital Thread and Digital Twin.

The role of MBSE

Two factors have made MBSE especially relevant to the aerospace domain. First, the cost and complexity of real flight testing, especially in spacecraft, has driven the field to concepts like the “Digital Twin” where computer modeling and simulation of the system replaces much of the traditional prototyping. Second, more and more of the products rely on remote piloting or autonomous operation, which means that they are components in larger systems with ground stations, guidance and communication satellites, and other system elements that must all be modeled to predict system performance.

How Intercax can help?

Syndeia can help make the “Digital Twin”, a confederation of diverse models, a reality by connecting PLM, ALM, CAD, requirements and simulation models. These same connections facilitate design reviews, by enabling rapid navigation through the Total System Model, and fault diagnosis, by identifying chains of causation between requirements, function and structure.

Key parameters, like system mass from the Master Equipment List, or power budget by operating state, must be monitored continuously throughout the development process. SysML parametrics can be used to setup a wide array of such analyses and requirement verifications. Our SysML parametric solvers (ParaMagic, Melody, Solvea, ParaSolver) provide advanced capabilities to execute such analyses and trade studies directly from the system model as it evolves.

Intercax has helped train over 4000 new users in MBSE and SysML, with special emphasis on hands-on mastery of modeling and simulation. Organizations that need to sustain their MBSE capabilities over multi-year projects can rely on Intercax’s long-term leadership in the field for a solid partnership.

RESOURCES

Many of Intercax’s blogs and tech notes have used aerospace examples, especially the application of Syndeia to a UAV system. See the listing below. A space mission-specific example is described in the tech note on modeling “The Martian”, based on the book and movie.

Technote: Modeling the Martian

Martian Survival Model:

Blog posts: