SYSTEMS ENGINEERING DESIGN AND TRADEOFF ANALYSIS WITH RDF GRAPH MODELS

Abstract

As engineering systems become increasingly complex the need for automation arises. This thesis proposes a multi-level framework for design of a home theater system cast as a component-selection design problem. It explores the extent to which the resource description framework (RDF) and Python can be used in a software pipeline for systems engineering design and trade-off analysis. The software pipeline models and visualizes RDF graphs, implements inference rules for the step-by-step selection of design component combinations that satisfy system requirements, identifies non-inferior Pareto-Optimal design solutions, and tracks the size of the RDF graphs during execution of the pipeline. The use of RDF and Python for automation provides a simplified replacement for present-day Semantic Web tools and technologies.