TABLE OF CONTENTS Composition is the dimension of the MOSES model space that addresses wholes and parts, based on the notion that a system consists of two or more interacting parts. This chapter discusses common static and dynamic models of composition, including static structures, dynamic interactions, and boundaries.
We start with a common SE scenario, namely a situation in which we want to engineer a commercial aircraft. We will call this our system of interest (SOI). Associated with our SOI are five elements, or types of models, that are commonly defined in the course of engineering the SOI. Before we state what the five are, we discuss the example so that when we introduce the five elements, they will be better understood.
When we are ready to design and build the aircraft, we consider several different perspectives. One is the system as a whole. What characteristics should the aircraft have what passenger capacity, what range, what required take-off and landing distances, what safety features, etc.?
Another perspective is the system as parts: what parts should the aircraft have to achieve the overall characteristics? We assume that we are designing and building a new aircraft early in the twenty-first century and we have several decades of experience available to us, starting with the well-understood operating principle of fixed-wing aircraft. From this we have evolved a common commercial aircraft architecture that reflects the internal domains and supporting domains mentioned previously. A power plant consists of a set of...
