For the shift to more-electric aircraft systems, the system specific design paradigm has to be dissolved and the allocation of functions has to be reconsidered. Including more degrees of freedom within the architecture design process for aircraft systems could lead to beneficial architecture concepts. However, new methods for conceptual systems design are required, to cope with the significantly increasing number of potential architecture variations to be evaluated.
Within this paper, the GENESYS methodology enabling the design and evaluation of numerous architecture variations will proposed. The methodology consists of several modules, each dedicated to a specific process step of conceptual aircraft system design. Initially, a method for the design-independent analysis of the aircraft level functions and the identification of requirements for the aircraft systems will be illustrated. Thereupon, numerous architecture variations for the systems are generated within a systematic and non-constraining design space exploration. A method for rapid preliminary system safety assessments is proposed, to identify the architecture variations proven to comply with the postulated safety requirements. The feasible architecture variations are then evaluated based on their cumulated system mass and their impact on the technical dispatch reliability. Concluding the design process, the most advantageous architecture variation is selected.
A case study is used to provide an exemplary application of the methodology. As subject matter, the design of innovative flight controls and power system architectures for a regional aircraft will be presented.