478 - preliminary design report template

Preliminary Design Report

Naval Unmanned Refueling Drone (NURD)

Version 1.0 – Revised 4/11/2023

Authors:

Eric Aglubat

Daniel Beering

Anel Correa

Stephen McCaskil-Patel

MAE 478 Preliminary Design Report Template

Executive Summary

Half a page to one page summary (NOT an introduction!). Include specific information about your

system, such as mass/performance characteristics.

Updated 4/11/20231


Table of Contents

Update TOC below (“right click” on TOC)

Executive Summary.........................................................................................................1

1. Introduction..............................................................................................................3

1.1. Project scope.....................................................................................................3

1.2. Top level requirements/mission concept............................................................3

2. System preliminary design.....................................................................................3

2.1. System overview................................................................................................3

2.2. System design methodology..............................................................................4

2.3. Trade studies and baseline selection.................................................................4

2.4. System development cost..................................................................................4

3. Subsystem 1 preliminary design............................................................................5

3.1. Subsystem 1 requirements................................................................................5

3.2. Subsystem 1 overview.......................................................................................5

3.3. Subsystem 1 design methodology.....................................................................5

3.4. Trade studies and subsystem baseline selection..............................................5

3.5. Subsystem 1 development cost.........................................................................5

4. Subsystem 2 preliminary design............................................................................6

5. Conclusion...............................................................................................................6

5.1. Summary............................................................................................................6

5.2. Next phase WBS................................................................................................6

6. Appendices...............................................................................................................6

6.1. Individual contributions.......................................................................................6

7. References................................................................................................................6

Updated 4/11/20232


Project Title

Use the information italicized to guide you in preparing the document. Remove italicized notes

before submission. This outline is only a proposed outline and can/should be tailored for each

project. This report MUST NOT EXCEED 30 PAGES ALL INCLUSIVE.

1. Introduction

1.1. Project scope

The NURD is an attempt to provide the United States Navy (or other comparable

institution) with a dedicated, unmanned aerial refueling asset that is capable of operating

from current Nimitz-Class aircraft carriers. Currently, the only method for naval aerial

refueling is equipping F-18 fighter aircraft with multiple external tanks, and having it

adopt an air-to-air refueling role. The development of the NURD will enable these

assets to be deployed elsewhere, providing an overall increase in both refueling

efficiency, as well as combat sortie efficiency.

1.2. Top level requirements/mission concept

Present top level “customer” requirements and mission concept (if appropriate).

2. System preliminary design

2.1. System overview

Should include a description (& figure/picture) of the baseline design, a definition of the system

and subsystems. A functional block diagram, a system block diagram, etc. should be included

here if it provides additional useful information. The design should be communicated via 3-view

drawing/solid model with important dimensions shown.

Include a summary of the key performance metrics (e.g. mass, thrust, L/D, etc. as appropriate for

your project).

Include multiple views if needed with main dimensions shown. Rendering MUST be from solid

modeling package

Figure 1. System physical layout

include subsystems, components, etc.

Figure 2. System definition

Updated 4/11/20233


Table 1. System performance and characteristics

List key system characteristics and performance data. If curves/plots better convey the

information, use them.

Updated 4/11/20234


Table 2. System mass distribution

Include comparison between SRR required values (top down) and bottom up estimates. See

AIAA standard for details. Example:

Basic mass Growth

allowance

Estimated Required

(SRD)

Margin

Subsystem 1 Basic +

growth

Est. – req.

Subsystem 2

…

Total allocated Sum of above

System level

margin

Total Allocated +

margin

Include a description of the main interfaces.

2.2. System design methodology

Present the methodology used to develop the design. Make sure to include:

Assumptions (to make sure that your approach is adequate)

Process description: flowchart(s) can be particularly helpful for this; include a description

of the relationships between inputs & outputs. If the approach follows that of a particular

reference, provide only a short summary of the process.

If process is that of SRR (and properly described in SRD), just reference it and provide

broad outline only.

2.3. Trade studies and baseline selection

Present the results obtained by the application of the process of Sect. 2.2. Show the main trade

studies which led you to decide on the baseline design of Sect. 2.1. Focus here ONLY on the

trades conducted at the system level, if any.

2.4. System development cost

This section presents the “business case” for your project, as discussed in class. It addresses

either

Updated 4/11/20235


the cost of the development for a prototype or one-of-a-kind (i.e. how much should you

charge your customer for this product),

or the business of commercializing your product (i.e. development costs, break-even

point, etc. or life cycle cost of your commercial product).

Present the projected costs associated with your “one-of-a-kind” design. This should include your

costs (operating as a company) + a reasonable profit so that the grand total would be what you

would charge your customer for the development of the system. This cost includes cost elements

from the subsystems as well as the cost of integrating the subsystems and performing V&V, up to

the delivery of a complete functional product to the customer.

In the case where your project deals with the development of an “aerospace commodity”, i.e. a

system where the quantity is not known a priori but rather the objective is to sell as many

products as possible, estimate your overall development costs and production costs based on an

estimated/targeted quantity. An example of product in that category would be a commercial

transport aircraft. See Chapter 6 for details.

3. Subsystem 1 preliminary design

3.1. Subsystem 1 requirements

Outline the subsystem requirements used to design the subsystem. These should come from the

SRD or from system analyses conducted since.

3.2. Subsystem 1 overview

Same as 2.1 applied to subsystem 1 but including only the essential elements.

3.3. Subsystem 1 design methodology

Same as 2.2 applied to subsystem 1 and including only the essential elements.

3.4. Trade studies and subsystem baseline selection

Same as 2.3 applied to subsystem 1 and including only the essential elements.

3.5. Subsystem 1 development cost

Same as 2.4 applied to subsystem 1 and including only the essential elements. Keep profit &

other system level items in Sect. 2.4.

Updated 4/11/20236


4. Subsystem 2 preliminary design

5. Conclusion

5.1. Summary

Provide a summary of the information contained in the report and a brief overview of the status of

the project w.r.t. initial design objectives

5.2. Next phase WBS

Based on Sect. 5.1, outline your proposed Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), i.e. list of tasks, for

the next phase (MAE 479): what needs to be completed/revised, etc.

6. Appendices

6.1. Individual contributions

Each team member should summarize his/her contribution to the team project. This contribution

should address both the role played within the team (in terms of leadership role, task definition,

etc.) and the specific technical contributions (include a description of which subsystem(s) you

were responsible for, what engineering analysis you conducted in the support of the design

project, and any other technical contribution).

7. References

Updated 4/11/20237

478 - preliminary design report template

Documents