A computational concept generation method for a modular vehicle fleet design

Modularity for ground vehicle systems has been viewed as a potential solution for the military to meet a variety of changing mission demands without keeping a large inventory of vehicles in a fleet. Defining the module concepts is a significant challenge that impacts the effectiveness of the modularity solution. In this paper, we propose a functional synthesis method to design a set of modules comprising a modular ground vehicle fleet according to overall fleet-level objectives. We start with a functional decomposition of a baseline conventional fleet capable of performing a given fleet mission. We then formulate a functional synthesis problem to draw the boundaries that define modules for a modular fleet having the same mission capability with maximum fleet performance defined by average weight of the fleet performing the required operations and personnel time to reconfigure and maintain the fleet. An example problem is included to illustrate the approach. Results show a trade-off between two fleet-level objectives with respect to the degree of modularity.