Designing A System of Systems

DESIGning a system of systems

At any given moment, approximately 8,000 commercial planes soar through the skies. Daily, more than 30,000 flights, carrying a staggering two million passengers, embark on their journeys. Despite this extensive air traffic, incidents of commercial plane crashes are infrequent, emphasizing the safety and routine nature of air travel.

This commendable safety record is not arbitrary; rather, it is the result of meticulous planning and engineering dedicated to crafting secure vehicles. Let’s dissect the intricacies of aircraft design to appreciate the thoughtful processes that contribute to this exceptional track record.

Aircraft design

Initially, we define our mission statement, outlining our objectives: speed, altitude, passenger and cargo capacity, range, takeoff/landing locations, size, efficiency, and cost targets. Additionally, a risk matrix might be deployed to identify the failure modes and effects and mitigating actions will be required for those items with the highest scores. This mission statement serves as the foundation for establishing design requirements—a comprehensive list necessary to fulfill our mission.

Engineers leverage these requirements to deconstruct the overall design into manageable elements, strategically moving toward a solution that aligns with the established criteria. The vehicle is systematically segmented into various systems, analogous to how medical professionals specialize in specific fields around the bodies functional systems. This specialization allows engineers to cultivate deeper domain expertise in their respective areas, further increasing the chance of a successful design.

Illustrative examples of aircraft systems could include:

• Fuel System
• Hydraulic System
• Electrical Power System
• Flight Controls
• Landing gear
• Structural System
• Engine Bleed Air System
• Environmental Controls System
• Propulsion System
• Software
• Avionics
• Ice Protection System

As each engineering team embarks on designing their specific system within the established criteria, it’s crucial for them to maintain synchronization with other teams to avoid the creation of systems that do not seamlessly interface. Without this cohesion, issues such as electrical wires intersecting critical structures, hydraulic tubes conflicting with fuel tubes, and unexpected locations for flight control actuators may arise. The vehicle’s weight could surge as the structures team adjusts thickness to accommodate additional pass-throughs, contributing to stress risers due to the lack of coordination.

The most severe consequence of isolated team design efforts would be a non-functional vehicle, unable to meet any of the designated design requirements. Each system must be developed within the broader context and through close collaboration. For instance, the hydraulic system relies on the propulsion system to generate hydraulic power, and similarly, the electrical system relies on coordinated efforts with other systems. The flight control system depends on the structures team to ensure the correct load and stiffness for proper kinematics.

Designing a vehicle meant to ensure safety at 30,000 feet is a substantial undertaking. It necessitates unwavering dedication, specialized expertise, meticulous coordination, and a significant investment of time and effort. Expecting a fully functional vehicle by randomly assembling raw materials, even with an infinite amount of time and iteration, carries nearly zero probability of achieving a complex and operational system.

systems of the human body

Similar to the aircraft mentioned earlier, our body operates as an intricately interconnected set of systems that depend on each other. The proper functioning of any individual system is contingent on the seamless interaction with others. Our body encompasses:

• Circulatory system/cardiovascular system
• Digestive system/excretory system
• endocrine system
• integumentary system/exocrine system
• immune system/lymphatic system
• muscular system
• nervous system
• urinary system/renal system
• reproductive system
• respiratory system
• skeletal system

The intricate network of interconnected systems shaping our bodies exhibits striking parallels to the designed vehicle mentioned earlier. Consequently, it presents compelling evidence of intentional design.

It poses a considerable challenge to assert that these systems emerged merely by having the right ingredients and an extended period, devoid of any guided process or design. Even assuming evolution from a single-celled organism, substantial hurdles emerge.

The cell itself comprises interdependent systems, each playing a vital role in the overall cellular function, including the essential process of splitting and reproduction. Even with all the necessary raw materials concentrated in one location, they must somehow synchronize to form the intricate system we recognize as cellular life. This challenges the second law of thermodynamics, which asserts that the entropy of an isolated system undergoing spontaneous evolution cannot decrease over time. In essence, it contradicts the scientific law that systems do not tend to become more organized with time; instead, the prevailing trend is toward the dispersion of energy and systems dissolving into chaos and disorder.

test

To ensure the credibility of the aircraft design prior to human flight, extensive testing, numerous iterations, and revisions are indispensable. The design undergoes refinement until critical issues are identified and addressed. Without this rigorous process, the probable outcome would be a disastrous failure.

Likewise, the prospect of all essential life systems in the human body spontaneously and simultaneously forming, operating harmoniously for the first time without failure, and allowing for an evolutionary refinement process seems remarkably implausible. An unguided process appears predisposed to failure, even with an abundance of time, energy, and iterative attempts.

The human body exhibits a level of complexity that appears to be purposefully designed. Present-day engineers, despite their advanced capabilities, would find it challenging to reverse engineer the intricate details of the human body. Our current understanding only scratches the surface of the body’s astonishing intricacies. Even when focusing solely on the observable mechanical functions visible to the naked eye, the evidence supporting intentional design is undeniably compelling.

In conclusion, the remarkable intricacies of the human body suggest a level of design that surpasses our current comprehension. As we delve deeper into our understanding, the awe-inspiring complexity of the body becomes increasingly apparent, reinforcing the notion of intentional design.