Last December 21th was the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
This fighter jet is well known thanks to Top Gun movie, and after reading some good articles on this anniversary, I just asked myself
What if... the F_14 had been designed using 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA ?
Of course, the first obvious answer to this anachronistic question is that the complete Digital Mock-up of this fabulous plane could have been designed in CATIA. As it's the case for most of nowadays fighter jets.
For instance, starting from the initial sketches...
...allowing the creation of external surfaces...
.
.. studying several alternatives...
to all the mechanical parts and assemblies.
All of this using the Relational Design approach I have already described in previous posts.
and checking all these assemblies and parts while replaying mechanical system kinematics (the F-14 Tomcat was a variable sweep wing fighter jet)
But such a marvelous and complex fighter is (sorry... was) a (very) complex system
(a little anecdote: the F-14 Tomcat was the first airplane using a microprocessor.)
3DEXPERIENCE CATIA is magic and provides now customers with CATIA Magic, a best-in-class Model-based System Engineering and System of Systems Engineering Solution.
Dassault Systèmes has also developed a new methodology named Cyber MagicGrid (an extension of MagicGrid methodology) which aim is to cover the overall development of the system and bridge the gap between system architects, product designers and engineers.
Hereunder are then some (very simple) illustrations of what could have been done using the MBSE approach for System Engineering of the F-14 Tomcat thanks to CATIA 3DEXPERIENCE (if this platform was available more than 50 years ago...).
Problem domain
This is the layer where the goal is to understand the operational use of the future system by all the stakeholders. The "description" of all those "missions" can be performed in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform
either in 2D
- or by creating life-like real-time 3D experiences
Solution Domain
The solution layer is where the goal is to architect the solution that federates the disciplines: mechanical,
electrical, fluid, electronics and software.
Thanks to the missions defined in the problem layer, requirements of the future fighter jet system can be described in detail without any ambiguity. Keeping the links from the needs to the solutions of course.
The detail design of the solution is achieved by each of the disciplines, where the goal is to provide a specification for the implementation.
Implementation domain
This is the layer where all the assets that compose the solution are developed (Digital Mock-up, software, virtual factory, etc...).
A modern fighter jet is a system of systems. Thanks to all these assets, it's possible to check sub-systems integration (such as the engine for instance), both logically and physically.
Thanks to all these assets, it's also possible then to check the relationship and the integration of the the future system into its environment. For instance
- Relationship with the humans (the pilot and co-pilot, but also mechanics in our case here)
- Integration on existing aircraft carriers, in the hangar or on elevators for instance.
Of course, all the different versions of the fighter jet that will be developed during the operational life of this this system should have been managed in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Even the one that will not be produced, such as the Super Tomcat.
And all the assets, all the experiences that have been developed to validate one version can be reused
- to validate new versions of the fighter jet system
- and of course to validate brand new fighter jet system, such as the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which will appear in the coming Top Gun: Maverick movie (in theater this year)
All the content used here is freely inspired by CVN-69 Eisenhower, CVN-74 John C. Stennis, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Boeing, Grumman F-14 Tomcat and EA-6 Prowler.
