Influences of KBE on the aircraft brake industry

A general review has been conducted to describe the situation of the aircraft wheel and brake industry and to describe possible applications of knowledge based engineering (KBE). The latest books and publications available to the authors have been reviewed during the survey to identify the latest thinking on the topic. The paper investigates tools to increase productivity in general, explains the way a KBE tool works, and describes possible KBE applications in the wheel and brake industry as design tools and as diagnostic tools. The relationship of KBE to existing IT systems is considered and put into the context of restructuring process. A case study describes the formulation of rules and the code that can be used with the ICAD software. Possible pitfalls are described. An outlook into future trends is included.