Defining a Computer Environment for Process Engineering
October 10th, 1987
Invited paper to the Institution of Chemical Engineers 8th Process Development Technology Conference, London
S F Bush
Summary
The paper identifies Design as the engineering function which will be most profoundly changed by current and projected developments in hardware and software. In hardware the three current classes of computer – the mainframe, multi-user mini and single user micro – are shown as likely to reduce essentially to two – the mainframe and the workstation. For software, the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the form of an Expert System or Designer’s Assistant is seen as the most important new development affecting Engineering.
To understand the potential impact of computing on Design, a design inheritance factor is defined and the concept of parallel as opposed to serial design introduced. The ways in which the projected computing developments will enhance the one and facilitate the other are described.