Conflict-based Method for Conceptual Process Synthesis

The paper presents a new methodology for conflict-based process synthesis. The objective is to handle the multi objective requirements and combinatorial nature of process synthesis from the point of view of the creativity-based approach to the problem solving. The development of the methodology deals with two main questions: how to define and identify the conflicts encountered in the design process; and how to build strategies and procedures to resolve the contradictions and improve the process performance with regard to multiple design objectives. The conflict model is proposed for the representation of the design targets and problems. It is made up of three functional levels to allow the decomposition of design targets and the organization of design knowledge. In the context of conflicts, the design paradigm is formulated for conceptual process synthesis. The method is illustrated through the synthesis of the reactor-separator system.