A Model-Based Systems Engineering Approach to e-VTOL Aircraft and Airspace Infrastructure Design for Urban Air Mobility

This paper serves to contribute to Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) by following the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook framework for a Systems Engineering (SE) design approach to an Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (e-VTOL) aircraft and the incorporating airspace infrastructure. The focus of this study is, by using the MBSE model created, to capture the technical requirements definition and design intent of the vehicle and airspace inclusive of community specific knowledge derived from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) NextGen Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Concept of Operations (ConOps) version 1.0. The stakeholder requirements derived from the FAA UAM NextGen ConOps will form the bedrock for the aircraft infrastructure requirements from which the flight mission requirements are derived. From these requirements, the profile of a notional flight mission is provided. Additionally, from the flight mission requirements, a design solution can be proposed and examined to ensure it meets the original stakeholder needs. The vehicle and associated airspace environment are modeled using an MBSE dedicated platform, Cameo Systems Modeler, in a language called SysML. The resulting MBSE model created can demonstrate the traceability between top-level system requirements down to the subcomponent-level design. In the conclusive study of the sub-system behavioral relationships, the analysis and validation of the proposed design solution can support model reliability