Design Information Management of an On-Line Electric Vehicle Using Axiomatic Design

Axiomatic design is utilized to identify the design characteristics of an On-Line Electric Vehicle and to manage the design information. The On-Line Electric Vehicle, which is being developed at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, is a different concept of an electric vehicle from conventional electric vehicles which use the electric power of a charged battery(s). It is operated by an electric power supplied by the contactless power transmission technique between the roadway side and the vehicle. In other words, the power is transmitted based on the principle of an electric transformer. The On-Line Electric Vehicle can overcome the limitations of conventional electric vehicles such as the weight of the battery and driving distance problems. Because designers have little experience and knowledge about the On-Line Electric Vehicle in the developmental stage, an appropriate design guide is needed. The axiomatic approach is employed for the design process. Functional requirements (FRs) and design parameters (DPs) are identified, and the design matrices are defined. The entire design process is decomposed into a hierarchy and the FRS and DPs are defined based on the rule that is recommended in the axiomatic approach when using the Independence Axiom. An appropriate design guide for the On-Line Electric Vehicle is proposed based on the design information and the design guide makes the designers manage the design process of the vehicle more efficiently and systematically.