Rapid Cost Estimation for Propulsion on MAVs

Initiatives such as the DoD Design to Cost (DTC) have increased the importance of Life Cycle Costing (LCC) throughout the entire design process. Because decisions made during the concept definition phase can impact the entire program, accurate LCCestimates are crucial. However, in highly technical projects such as Military Aerospace Vehicles, obtaining accurate lifecycle estimates is hindered by the complexity of cost relationships and the need to integrate both cost and engineering data. DuringPhase I, we demonstrated the feasibility of solving this difficulty by creating a prototype tool called PLCC in which complex engineering relationships can be transformed into standardized elements in a WBS. In Phase II , we will expand this prototypeinto a more general and robust tool called Technical Life Cycle Cost tool (TLCC). TLCC will include templates for estimating the development, acquisition, operations, and maintenance cost of Military Aerospace Vehicles (MAV) for a variety of differentvehicle concepts and engines. It will also offer extensive optimization possibilities that will include parameter analysis, cost minimization and tradeoff comparisons. The benefit will be more accurate cost predictions that in turn will provide bettersupport for decision making.