Development of a Hybridization-Aware Digital Integrated Systems Model for a Baseline Aircraft Inner Fixed Structure
Abstract
As aerospace systems become more multidisciplinary, conceptual design increasingly depends on coordinated treatment of tightly coupled structural, thermal, aerodynamic, maintenance, and certification considerations. Traditional document-based workflows make this coordination difficult to manage and update consistently. This work presents this workflow using the conceptual design of a commercial nacelle’s Inner Fixed Structure (IFS) as an example, using the Requirements-Functional-Logical-Physical (RFLP) process within a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) framework implemented in Cameo MagicDraw. The paper develops a baseline IFS digital systems model spanning stakeholder requirements, requirement normalization, activity-based behavior, logical architecture, physical architecture, and cross-layer traceability. The resulting model is hybridization-aware in that it is structured to support early identification of likely change-impact pathways, new interfacing needs, and additional thermal, electrical, and certification considerations associated with future hybridized propulsion concepts. Results demonstrate the baseline model as a technical design document and scalable reference architecture, improving clarity in subsystem definition and supporting a unified representation of multidisciplinary design considerations. The work therefore contributes a subsystem-level, traceability-first MBSE case study and establishes a baseline model prepared for later hybridization-oriented extension.
Miranda Stockhausen
PhD Student and Graduate Research Assistant
Miranda is a PhD Student in the Aerospace Engineering department at the University of Michigan.
Barath G.R.
Research Assistant
Barath G.R. is a research assistant at the IDEAS lab at U-M, working on a model-based systems engineering project.
