A knowledge-based and extensible aircraft conceptual design environment

Design knowledge and experience are the bases to carry out aircraft conceptual design tasks due to the high complexity and integration of the tasks during this phase. When carrying out the same task, different designers may need individual strategies to fulfill their own demands. A knowledge-based and extensible method in building aircraft conceptual design systems is studied considering the above requirements. Based on the theory, a knowledge-based aircraft conceptual design environment, called knowledge-based and extensible aircraft conceptual design environment (KEACDE) with open architecture, is built as to enable designers to wrap add-on extensions and make their own aircraft conceptual design systems. The architecture, characteristics and other design and development aspects of KEACDE are discussed. A civil airplane conceptual design system (CACDS) is achieved using KEACDE. Finally, a civil airplane design case is presented to demonstrate the usability and effectiveness of this environment.