Evaluating Design Alternatives The Role Of Simple Engineering Analysis And Estimation

The best design is achieved, in general, after exploring the widest possible design option space. Because there is a finite time in which to choose from these options, it is common practice to restrict the design space a priori or during the concept generation phase of the process. This on-the-fly exclusionary practice is acute among student engineers because in traditional coursework there is rarely a benefit to increasing the design space before solving a homework problem. In fact, the reverse is true since by narrowing the possible options for solution, an example problem pattern match becomes easier to find. Because design problems are open-ended, however, there is a benefit to a wide solution space. In many ways, design experience manifests itself as a filter that rapidly eliminates unpromising design alternatives. Estimation, order-of-magnitude analysis, and back of the envelope reasoning are also strategies that can be employed to eliminate design alternatives efficiently and methodically. Approximate methods are used to uncover the fundamentals of processes, and can also be used to explore a larger design space, which increases the opportunities for finding a premium design solution.