Functional Architecture Optimisation in a Model-Based Approach

Abstract

The high modularity and complexity of avionics systems make it difficult to use document-based methods to deal correctly and effectively with the systems design and validation. Yet model-based approaches are nowadays widely deployed to improve systems architecture design quality. While vast design space is encountered in the early stage of system design, it helps that the optimisation process is integrated in the Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) to aid with trade-off analysis and automation of system architecture design. The objective is to improve system performance and reliability while respecting constraints such as weight, cost and energy consumption. European Component Oriented Architecture (ECOA) attracts architects’ attention for its top-down and bottom-up characteristic which allows both functional analysis and the reuse of existing modules. Indeed, ECOA is component-based and enables the modularity of the system. Nowadays, a wide system is hardly ever developed by a single contractor, the principle of modularity of ECOA eases then the modeling of such a system with several stakeholders.