System Architecture and Design

SE606
REV 2

Homework Reading

Author Year Title

1 Henderson, R., Clark, 1990 Architecture Innovation: The reconfiguration of
K. Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of
Established Firms
2 Gorbea, C., Fricke, E. 2008 The Design of Future Cars in a New Age of
Lindemann, U. Architecture Competition
3 Kannenberg, A. 2009 Why Software Requirements
Saiedian, H. Traceability Remains a Challenge
4 Eriksson, M., Borg, K. 2007 Use Cases for Systems EngineeringAn Approach
Borstler, J. and Empirical Evaluation
5 Pearce & Friedenthal 2013 A Practical Approach for Modelling Submarine
Subsystem Architecture in SysML

Course Reading

Author Year Title

Delgatti, L. 2013 SysML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the
Systems Modeling Language

Homework Assignment (Practicum)

The homework contains two parts. Part one is a reflection paper of one of the reading
assignments. It will be the first chapter in the Homework Practicum. The second part of
the homework is a practicum in which you will model the assigned system using a
SysML tool, and then write a report describing what you learned, the architecting
decisions you made, and why. Be sure to add a conclusion section to the practicum,
reflecting on what you learned through the process.

Homework: Paper Review

Provide a short review of one of the technical papers that were required for the pre-
reading. Your submission should be 3-5 double-spaced pages. The paper should first
review the concepts presented in the paper, and then extend those concepts to your
practice of systems engineering. I recommend you use the first three parts of the Kolb
model for reflective learning (see below).
Kokb, D.A. (1984). Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice-Hall.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ. http://www.learningfromexperience.com/images/uploads/process-of-experiential-learning.pdf.
Last accessed Nov. 29, 2014

The concrete experience is the act of reading the paper, the reflective observation is a
summarization of what the author said in your words. In the abstract conceptualization
step, you explain how you might apply what you learned from the article whether it is
applied to work, home, family, etc. We will not do the last step, but for completeness I
will tell you that is where you actually try what you proposed in the abstract
conceptualization, and explain what happened.

Homework: Practicum, Part 1

Read through the Urban Gondola System (UGS) description found on page 4 of this
document. Your assignment is to model using SysML, the following:

Model the UGS Domain using a bdd.

Model the CONOPS for the UGS using an activity diagram.
Model the external stakeholders (active and passive) using a bdd.
Capture the system requirements using a requirements diagram. It should contain
the system requirements provided. Also include any discovered/derived
requirements you come up with during your assignment.
Model the use cases and activities that elaborate the use cases for the first 2 levels
of decomposition for the UGS. (e.g. 1st level is the gondola system, second level
is the gondola, third level is a subsystem of the gondola e.g. the power
subsystem, or the door subsystem).
Model the gondola subsystem (this is the gondola itself, which transports the
riders not the entire Urban Gondola System) with a domain diagram.
Model the top 2 levels of the logical architecture using both bdd and ibd diagrams
to represent the UGS. (e.g. 1st level is the gondola system, second level is the
gondola, third level is a subsystem of the gondola e.g. the power subsystem, or
the door subsystem).
Model the allocation of requirements to logical architecture for the UGS using a
bdd.
Model the physical architecture for the system for the UGS using a bdd
 Model the allocation of logical architecture to physical architecture for the UGS
using a bdd.
Model a few parametrics in either a parametric diagram or a block definition
diagram for some aspect of the UGS.

Note: I will almost always give you the option to do a different system that has
relevancy to your current workplace. Just check with me at the end of class so we
agree on the scope.

The final report should be written in Microsoft Word (PDF is an acceptable

alternative, but I prefer Word), which includes model snapshots, describing the
model, and the architecture decisions you made. This is a technical report, so it
should have a cover page with the title and your name, a table of contents, and
major section breaks.

Homework Submission: When the entire homework assignment is complete, put the
Final Report and the SysML model file into a zip file and mail it to the instructor. The file
should have the students name in the file name.

Please save the zip file using the following format replace "YourLastName" with your
last name.

YourLastName_SE606.zip

For instance, my homework would be submitted with the following file name:

Cloutier_SE606.zip
The Urban Gondola System
The Problem Reduce urban transportation
congestion
Cities are becoming more and more congested. Automobile traffic,
buses, and pedestrian clog the surface of our cities. There is a desire to
reduce the amount of surface traffic, or make it easier to move across
the city when it is congested. The town council is investigating the
concept of urban gondolas.
The Urban Gondoala
While gondola lifts are traditionally used for ski resort purposes, in
recent years they are finding increased usage in urban environments
as seen in the installations of the Metrocable (Medelln), Portland Aerial
Tram, Metrocable (Caracas) and Cable Areo (Manizales). The
Metrocable systems in Medellin and Caracas are fully integrated with
the public transit network which
provides passengers the ability to
seamlessly transfer to the local
metro lines. London, UK,
built Emirates Air Line (cable
car) for the 2012 Summer
Olympics.
In terms of urban gondola systems
for the future, TransLink in Metro
Vancouver has proposed to build a
gondola up Burnaby Mountain to Simon Fraser University in an
announcement in September, 2010.[6]
In late 2012, a widespread aerial gondola system was proposed
for Austin, Texas in an effort to expand mass transit options in the
rapidly growing city.
Two families of aerial cableways
Aerial tramways are cable transport systems with one or two vehicles
moving back and forth on a fixed track (examples: Portland, New York).
The vehicles are generally large, varying in passenger capacity from 30
to 200.
Gondolas are systems equipped with cabins moving along on a
unidirectional loop. The gondola cabins are small, with each commonly
able to accommodate between 4 and 40 people. Systems of this kind
generally have a declutching 2 mechanism, which allows one car to be
slowed or stopped in a station without any impact on the overall flow of
cabins on the loop.
The cableway stations include boarding and disembarking buildings
and structures. Estimated costs of building a gondola comes in at
between $3 million and $12 million per mile, comparing favorably
against $400 million per mile for subway systems and $36 million per
mile for light rail systems.

System Specifications
The system shall provide public transportation services
The system shall be capable of continuous operation
The system shall accept multiple gondolas, spaced at least 10 m
apart
The system shall be capable of operating at speeds up to 18km/h
(11 mph)
The system shall be capable of moving up to 6000 people per
hour per direction
The customer wait time for a pod shall not exceed 1M
The system shall provide the passengers a silent, comfortable
journey with panoramic views
The system gondolas shall not operate higher than 5 meters
above the ground
The system shall have 5 boarding stations to enable riders to
board and exit the gondolas
The gondolas shall slow to a walking speed to enable riders to
enter or exit without having to stop the gondolas forward motion
Each gondola shall be self-powered with a solar roof
The gondolas shall have a battery backup
The gondolas power subsystem shall automatically keep the
back-up battery charged when there is sufficient daylight
All power for the gondola shall be provided by the gondola power
subsystem
 Concept of Operations for an
Urban Gondola
System
Svein and Anine want to try the new urban
gondola that has been built in Oslo instead
of riding the bus. They arrive at the ground
station, pay the fare, and step onto the
enclosed gondola as it is moving. They
take their seat, along with several other
riders that board just behind them. As the
gondola rises above the roadways, they
notice the automobile traffic moving just
below them. As they approach the first elevated stop, several riders depart, leaving just
Svien and Anine to proceed to their final destination. Once they get to the end of the line,
they stand and exit their gondola. They climb down the stairs and depart the elevated
station.

During Svien and Anines ride across Oslo, the OUGS (Oslo Urban Gondola System)
provides continuous service between the hours of 06:00 and midnight (24:00). Each
gondola has its own power system which contains solar panels on the roof, and a back-
up battery. This power opens and closes the doors, provides lighting for the gondola, and
any other electric services necessary.

CABLE EVOLUTION
The first documentation of cable dates back to 250
BC. For hundreds of years, rope propelled transit was
used to move people and goods, such as minerals and
ores.
Major cable innovations occurred in the 1800s with such inventions as the steel cable and
the detachable grip. During this time period, cable was largely used for industrial
purposes.

Cable was first adapted for human transit in the form of cable cars, with cities such as
San Francisco and Chicago pioneering this mode. As transit technology shifted to electric
power, these systems became largely obsolete. At this point, around the 1930s and 40s,
cable, for the movement of people, shifted to the recreational market, where it continued
to grow and innovate until the last few decades.

While the use of cable does not ever fully shift from one market to the next (it is still used
for industry and recreation) in the recent years there has been a noticeable growth of the
technology within the urban market.

Elements of Urban Gondola Systems

THE STATIONS
Minimum two stations are necessary for a ropeway system as one is situated at the
starting point and one at the end of it. Considering the technical aspects, typically a
ropeway has no motor, no service brake, and no control panel in the vehicle because they
are mounted directly in the station buildings.

Depending on the area characteristics, there is a wider choice of types of stations like the
long, short, middle and the HCL station each characterized by different features.

The Short Station The Long Station

THE DRIVE SYSTEM
Depending on the requirements of the installation, the drive system can be installed at the
bottom or top station, designed as overhead or underground drive and used as drive or
drive-tensioning station. It is composed of the drive, the service brake, safety brake and
the gearbox.

The DIRECT DRIVE, an exclusive offer from LEITNER ropeways, is an in-house

development and it is the worlds only ropeway drive system that can be operated without
gearbox. The drive is directly connected with the bullwheel; the gearless drive system
stands out from the crowd due to its almost noiseless operation and extremely low
maintenance requirements and operating costs.
The Drive System The Direct Drive

THE LINE
The line is the part of a ropeway that is affected by topographical conditions, therefore it
is very important to develop highly adoptable products that provide passengers with
comfortable and safe rides.

The lines are formed by a variable number of components, for example the towers, the
roller batteries and the rope itself.

The towers
The towers are built in a robust manner as they have to bear the weight of the vehicles
with passengers. The towers need a transverse construction so that the cabins can travel
on both sides of the tower. Support towers are made of steel in a tubular construction.
These designs are useful especially in inaccessible area, where they are divided into small
pieces and transported by helicopter and reassembled on site.

The special towers are towers of a height of over 30 m constructed as two or more legs
tubular towers or lattice towers.

The roller batteries

The roller batteries function as the correct guiding of the carrying hauling rope along the
line. They are composed of rollers. The quantity of rollers depends on the load that the
rope is carrying. Every roller is made of the base body, the rubber ring and the side board.

The Roller Batteries

The rope
Steel wire ropes lent their name to the ropeway systems. Ropes are made of strands that
are twisted around the center of the rope core. Specialized companies are responsible for
the creation and the application on site of the rope.

CORNERING
Most aerial cable systems can make turns, although it is difficult, or near impossible, for
fixed grip technologies such as aerial trams and pulsed gondolas. (Fixed grip systems,
particularly pulsed gondolas systems do sometimes make slight turns along specially
designed towers.)

This is not the case for detachable grip gondolas (MDG, BDG, 3S) where turns can be
achieved with either turning towers or, more commonly, turning stations.
Turning

Turning in Stations
At turning stations, cabins are transfered from one cable loop to
another. It is this connection of straight loop segments that
together form the turn. In the stations, cabins detach from one
loop and are automatically carried through to the next. This
concept is illustrated on the left, where each cable loop is a blue
and stations are orange. The black arrows indicate the direction
of the cabins.

The method of moving from one cable loop to another originally

involved having two bullwheels per loop, one at each end,
which also meant two in each station. (For example, a three-
station, one turn system would have two cable loops and four
bullwheels.) This set up, as you may imagine, can get rather
complicated twice the mechanics means twice the space needed for each station and
twice the parts to buy and fix.

THE GONDOLAS
The vehicles are the part of all ropeway systems that passengers experience more
intensively. The vehicles vary from the fixed-grip 2-seater to the detachable 8-seater chair
to cabins for aerial tramways or funicular ropeways up to 200 passengers.
The grip
There are two types of grips that can be perfectly adjusted to various system-specific
requirements, the fixed and detachable grips; the force of the grips is generated by
parallel coil springs.

Detachable grips have the moving grip jaw allowing the direct opening and closing of the
grip that in normal position remains closed.

Fixed grips have a long history therefore they are very secure and reliable. The grip
structure is composed of two drop- forged main parts joined together and tighten on the
rope permanently.

The Fixed Grip The Detachable Grip

CONTROL SYSTEM
The control system monitors the security of the installation and its passengers. The
control panel provides real-time data and information necessary for the operation of the
ropeways installation. This enables the machine operator to immediately regulate the
service if necessary.

Drive Technologies

The perfect interplay between the motor, the converter and the mechanical parts is a
fundamental element to guarantee high passenger comfort. Intelligent drive solutions are
required to ensure the smooth and reliable movement of the rope under any operation and
load circumstances. Through the drive technology it is possible to control the speed and
the conduct of the installation when it moves and when it stops. Through the control
algorithms, motor powers-ranging from a few Kw to large drivers in the area of 2-4 MW
are adjusted precisely and powerfully to the requirements of the mechanical system.

References
http://popupcity.net/urban-gondolas-the-future-of-public-transport/
http://gondolaproject.com/conceptual-cpt-designs/
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2013/04/golden-age-gondolas-might-be-just-
around-corner/5220/
http://wcfgoldmine.com/gondolacomp.pdf
http://streets.mn/2013/02/07/transit-in-the-sky/
http://www.minnpost.com/minnesota-blog-cabin/2013/02/transit-solution-sky
http://gondolatransport.com
http://mashable.com/2013/07/03/urban-gondolas/
http://gondolaproject.com/learn-the-basics-what-is-cable-propelled-transit/
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/11/austin-gondola/
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/13/business/skypods-gondolas-urban-transport/
http://app.lta.gov.sg/ltaacademy/doc/13Sep013-
Bergerhoff_RoleOfRopewaysToUrbanMobility.pdf
http://www.strmtg.equipement.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/cableways_MEDDLT_december2011.pd
f
http://fieldnotes.norr.com/issue_1/urban_solutions.html
http://en.leitner-ropeways.com/Infocenter/Elements-of-Ropeways