DIFFER researcher Torben Beernaert will defend his PhD thesis titled: 'Discovering the potential of dependency structure modelling for fusion systems engineering'.
Summary: Realizing nuclear fusion energy systems is undeniably one of the most aspiring technological projects of our society. However, to achieve this goal, many aspects must be consolidated, many subsystems must be integrated and many people must be united. The complexity spans across various domains, which impairs engineers, physicists and managers from making goal-oriented decisions and plans. Dedicated methods to deal with this complexity in nuclear fusion systems engineering are lacking. This thesis documents the research, development and application of model-based engineering techniques to solve complex, interdependent design problems. We focus on system-centric graph models that formalize dependencies, and use Dependency Structure Matrix (DSM) techniques to reduce their complexity and reveal integration risks. We propose new modelling paradigms, methods and tools to tailor these ideas to various challenges. Modelling efforts connect nuclear fusion products, organizations, decisions, requirements, functions, interfaces and behavior. From multiple test cases, we conclude that model-based systems engineering methods, in particular DSM, have significant benefits for the overall planning and integration of nuclear fusion projects. We can disentangle, structure and even reduce the complexity we are facing.
Promotor: de Baar, Marco R.
Promotor: Etman, L.F.P. (Pascal)
Co-promotor: Classen, Ivo
The defense starts at 4 pm and lasts an hour. Then a break of about 20 minutes, when the committee deliberations take place. At the end, the session is reopened for awarding the doctor's degree.
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