Function-centered modeling of engineering systems using the goal tree–success tree technique and functional primitives

Most of the complex systems are formed through some hierarchical evolution. Therefore, those systems can be best described through hierarchical frameworks. This paper describes some fundamental attributes of complex physical systems and several hierarchies such as functional, behavioral, goal/condition, and event hierarchies, then presents a function-centered approach to system modeling. Based on the function-centered concept, this paper describes the joint goal tree–success tree (GTST) and the master logic diagram (MLD) as a framework for developing models of complex physical systems. A function-based lexicon for classifying the most common elements of engineering systems for use in the GTST–MLD framework has been proposed. The classification is based on the physical conservation laws that govern the engineering systems. Functional descriptions based on conservation laws provide a simple and rich vocabulary for modeling complex engineering systems.