This month, ASME’s Journal of Mechanical Design published a technical paper I wrote as part of my mechanical engineering master’s research.
This peer-reviewed paper is about error propagation through design models. The formula typically used to analytically propagate error is based on a first-order Taylor series expansion, and consequently, it can be wrong by one or more orders of magnitude for nonlinear systems. Using a higher-order Taylor series does improve the accuracy of the approximation, but this comes at higher and higher computational cost. This paper presents a technique for error propagation that achieves higher-order accuracy but without the additional higher-order cost. This is accomplished by predicting the Taylor series truncation error and applying a “correction factor” to the lower-order model.
Title | Efficient Propagation of Error Through System Models for Functions Common in Engineering |
Abstract | System modeling can help designers make and verify design decisions early in the design process if the model’s accuracy can be determined. The formula typically… more |
Journal | Journal of Mechanical Design |
Publication Date | January 4, 2012 |
Volume | 134 |
Issue | 1 |
Publication URL | http://link.aip.org/link/?JMD/134/014501 |
Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/1.4005444 |