A method of accumulation and adaptation of design knowledge

Systematic accumulation and various adaptations of knowledge are critical issues in the knowledge management field, where the complexity of dynamic application domains and the uncertainty of future maintainability are main problems. In order to increase the flexibility of the knowledge structure for accumulation and adaptation, a non-hierarchical knowledge structure is needed. A new design knowledge expression method called design DNA is proposed in this study. Design DNA facilitates the rearrangement of design knowledge, promotes the flexibility of knowledge structure, and evolves the creative knowledge from similar design. Design DNA is based on layout-oriented domain knowledge and function-oriented domain knowledge, which enables generating new design knowledge resulting in new part geometries for given constraints on the part functions. Design DNA is applied to the design knowledge of passenger car parts as an example and shows systematic accumulation and various adaptations of design knowledge.