Optimizing the DaVinci framework to optimize decision-making

1. Challenge: The United States Air Force needed an enterprise solution that provided physics-based, high fidelity models that could support rapid analysis and rapid design to improve the quality of early USAF aerospace system acquisition decisions.

2. Solution: DaVinci is designed around a unified life-cycle engineering model encompassing multi-fidelity analysis for a wide range of applications. At its core, DaVinci provides next generation modeling capability for functional analysis, alternative design evaluation, tradespace exploration, and acquisition planning.

The DaVinci framework provides a systems-engineering-approach-based application to allow designers, engineers, and users to develop an enterprise-acquisition-systems engineering design, synthesis, analysis, integration, & optimization system. It allows USAF to develop & transition maintainable, extensible, validated, scalable, and productive Computationally Based Engineering (CBE) tools for accomplishing aerospace conceptual design and systems lifecycle modeling.

The solution was based on open enterprise architecture and product strategies focusing on designing DaVinci based upon representation state transfer (REST) principals, dynamic federated computing, metadata management, and business process management. We provide the design and development of business process and orchestration using Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) methodologies and are building a networked and secure enclave for the DaVinci enterprise infrastructure.

3. Results: The process and architecture support, the development of robust designs from concept sketches, rapid prototypes, carry-over parts or scans, incorporating manufacturing feasibility using both surface modeling (NURBS, Bezier) and solid modeling software techniques for hyper sonic and space vehicles. The final solution provides distributed-object techniques to develop DaVinci framework components that achieve speeds in excess of 10,000 transactions per second in a hyper-computing environment. This exceeded requirements – going above and beyond the required capabilities.