Extended mechatronic systems architecture modeling with SysML for enhanced safety analysis

The synergistic aspect of mechatronic systems leads to numerous linking paths and different types of flows exchanged between the system components. Connection components such as wires and tubes are used to transfer the exchanged flows among components. These interaction components, in addition to increasing system cost and weight, add a supplementary cause of failure in the system since their own failures may lead to system level malfunctions or failures. However, in traditional system architecture modeling, connection components, despite their importance, are not modeled, and thus they are not systematically taken into account in safety analysis.