Constraint-based design of optimal transport elements

Abstract

An airliner contains thousands of transport elements, such as tubes, hoses, and wires. Transport elements must be designed subject to many constraints. Some are extrinsic, involving factors such as clearance, slope, and stay-out/stayin zones. Others are intrinsic, involving factors such as bend angles and bend radii. A key problem is to design a feasible route that runs from A to B optimally (e.g., as short as possible). We describe an algorithm that allows "sketching" a route in terms of constraints. The user can rapidly explore trade-o.s between multiple optimal routes, making decisions and changes in terms of quantities directly related to engineering considerations. This e.ectively automates a tedious manual design process, potentially saving signi.cant amounts of time and money, as well as producing superior designs.