Aircraft Design Capabilities for a System-of-Systems Approach (eVTOL and Seaplane Design)

A System-of-Systems (SoS) approach is characterized by a strong cooperation between multiple constituent systems to achieve the desired objectives; the performance of an SoS will therefore be dependent on the performance of its constituent systems. However, due to the large number of stakeholders involved in a general SoS scenario, it is not the case that designing and optimizing the constituent systems’ performance with respect to their local design variables will lead to the optimal performance of the given SoS. The aim of the present work is to describe how the design and optimization of two aerial platforms, an all-electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing vehicle and a multi-role hybrid-electric seaplane, will be carried out for a multimodal mobility scenario, accounting not only for the performance-based design requirements but also for needs of all the relevant actors identified in the scope of the proposed use case, illustrating their effects on the architecting of the multidisciplinary design process. This research demonstrates how a structured methodology for the integration of needs and requirements from multiple perspectives can improve the efficiency of the design process, strengthening the connection between the vehicle level and the System-of-Systems level.