SPI2 System Examples

Two illustrative examples of SPI2 systems:

Underhood Spatial Packaging of an Automotive System

One industry-relevant SPI2 application is the underhood spatial packaging of an automotive thermal management system, as shown in Fig. 1 below. The automotive engine system and related thermal management components present a complex challenge for minimizing package volume while delivering the required vehicle capability and performance. Design goals for this system may include packing and routing (PR) for thermal management for minimizing the interconnect hose lengths, underhood bounding box volume, and the number of connections while satisfying physics-based (device temperature, hydraulic pressure loss, EMI, mechanical stress, rotational power transmission constraints, etc.) and other geometric constraints. The problem elements include the engine components, the required cooling system components (heat exchangers, pumps, radiators, cooling fans, particle filters, cabin heat generation unit, etc.), and the cooling hose network.

Figure 1: Underhood of an automotive thermal management system.

Aircraft system

Figure 2 below shows the underskin cut-away diagram of an aircraft. This is a very challenging spatial packaging problem that requires intensive human effort to accomplish. A typical aircraft has hundreds of heterogeneous components of complex shapes that are interconnected with ducts, pipes, and wiring to transport hydraulic and electrical power, control signals, coolant fluid and other media. All SPI2 problem elements are tightly constrained in an irregular 3D volume, and spatial arrangement decisions influence how components and the overall system behave (e.g., heat transfer, mechanical vibration frequencies, electromagnetic interference). This highly nonlinear spatial packaging problem is governed by coupled physical phenomena that involve interfaces through both the interconnects and through spatial proximity. The complex sets of design decisions (packing, routing, sizing, control, etc.), physics and design interactions, as well as competing design tradeoffs results in a very difficult to navigate design space that involves topological, discrete, and continuous decisions.

Figure 2: Cut-away diagram of the underskin of a fighter jet.