Design concept selection

Phase 2. Technology review and design concept selection. This includes... 

Complete the evaluation of the three current design concepts. Select highest potential concept(s) or combination of concepts for further development. 

Warburton, D., Getting Better Results in Design Concept Selection, MD DI, Jan. 2004. 

The latest tw o-phase flow research and design studies have broadened the interpretation of some of the earlier flow patterns and refined some design accuracy for selected situations. The method presented here serves as a fundamental reference source for further studies. It is suggested that the designer compare several design concept results and interpret which best encompasses the design problem under consideration. Some of the latest references are included in the Reference Section. No one reference has a solution to all two-phase flow problems. 

Dimensional Analysis. In the design of rather simple devices or systems, dimensional analysis can be used in conjunction with physical model experimental investigations to gain insight into the performance of a particular design concept. It is usually possible to define the performance of a simple device or system with a certain number of well chosen geometric and performance related variables that describe the device or system. Once these variables have been selected, dimensional analysis can be used to ... 

In this chapter we will study control equipment, controller performance, controller tuning, and general control-systems design concepts. Some of the questions that wc will explore are how do we decide what kind of control valve to use what type of sensor can be used and what are some of the pitfalls that you should be aware of that can give faulty signals what type of controller should we select for a given application and how do we tune the controller. 

Different design concepts have been proposed to match the severe requirements of catalytic combustors. A main classification criterion is based on fuel/air stoichiometry in the catalyst section, which has a dominant effect on the selection of catalytic materials and on the operating characteristics of the combustor. In this section, only configurations based on lean catalytic combustion will be described. The peculiar characteristics of rich catalytic combustion will be described in a separate section. 

Advancements in the area of optical biosensors for nucleic acid determinations have been substantial and many design concepts and surface chemistries have been explored. A practical solution that provides for all of the desired biosensor attributes - reusability, robustness, reliability, selectivity, sensitivity and speed of response - in a single device has not yet been... 

The next task is to prioritize and select a design by filtering through a number of design concepts to the point where just one is pursued for further development. Two techniques are very helpful in this regard Paired Comparison Analysis and Pugh Matrix. You can also use both of these techniques... 

For each concept add up the number of pluses, minuses, and Ss, then record these at the bottom of the matrix. Compare the total number of plusses and minuses to help select the best concepts(s). The comparison row is the total number of plusses minus the total number of minuses for each design concept. 

Conventional Oil Production Facilities Selection and Design Concepts presented by the Petroleum Industry Training Service, CalgaryAlberta, Canada, 1990. 

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