DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS USED IN COMPUTER TRIALS: A SUPPORTIVE METHOD FOR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

ABSTRACT The study proposes the development of a framework that can take advantage of the Design and Analysis of Computer Experiments (DACE) more efficiently. The need for rapid product development cycles creates a demand for tools that aid in decision making. One of these tools is Computer Aided Engineering which uses the Finite Element Method that requires a long time to be executed. The philosophy of Design of Experiments and the construction of empirical models have been used together with physical simulations. After a theoretical review, two cases were applied to product development and the results were analyzed. A theoretical framework based on the experience gained from the empirical studies conducted was proposed. Despite the existence of many studies on the subject where mathematical and statistical aspects are explored, there is a lack of studies related to practical and operational issues regarding the application of DACE.