Test Environments in Engineering Design: A conceptual study
DS 85-1: Proceedings of NordDesign 2016, Volume 1, Trondheim, Norway, 10th - 12th August 2016
Year: 2016
Editor: Boks, Casper; Sigurjonsson, Johannes; Steinert, Martin; Vis, Carlijn; Wulvik, Andreas
Author: Tronvoll, Sigmund A.; Elverum, Christer W.; Welo, Torgeir
Series: NordDESIGN
Institution: NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology- Department of Engineering Design and Materials
Section: Human Interaction Prototyping
Page(s): 134-143
ISBN: 978-1-904670-80-3
Abstract
Experimenting with solutions and technologies plays an important role in designing innovative products at a fast pace. A number of researchers have investigated the use of prototypes as means for experimentation in engineering design. This paper is taking a broader perspective, considering the fact that a prototype test includes both models of the product (prototype) and models of the real environment (test environment), and investigates how these models are entangled. Using concepts from Theory of Experimentation and Design of Experiments, a conceptual framework for decomposing and describing the prototype and the test environment is proposed. The applicability of the framework is then demonstrated through three select cases from design activities around the development of a flood protection system.
Keywords: test design, engineering design, prototyping, prototype, design of experiments