Application of value-driven design to commercial aero-engine systems

This paper explains how Value-Driven Design provides a framework to enhance the systems engineering processes for the design of large systems. It goes on to show that by employing economics in decision making, Value-Driven Design enables rational decisions to be made in terms of the optimum business and technical solution at every level of engineering design. This paper demonstrates the application of Value-Driven Design to an aircraft propulsion system through two case studies, which were conducted through workshops within Rolls-Royce. Surplus Value Theory was utilized to provide a metric that can trade-off component designs with changes in continuous and discrete design variables. Illustrative results are presented to demonstrate how the methodology and modeling approach can be used to evaluate designs and select the best value solution