Engineering designers often adapt their design structure to the needs of functional requirements independently of the capacity of the designed technical system to offer innovative capacities. Based on the notion of contradiction brought from TRIZ theory (Russian acronym for theory of inventive problem solving), we have developed an approach to reversely build a parametric intelligent structure potentially solving a wide range of inventive problematic situations. The proposed structure relies on an elastic buckling instability. A parametric CAD (Computer-Aided Design) model of the structure was carried out and its behavior is studied with finite element analysis (FEA), driven by a design of experiments (DoE). In this article, a specific method of characterization and multi-objective optimization of the structure is offered. Our objective is to bring a method to allow an engineering designer to solve rapidly and inventively his contradictory requirement in adapting it to the industrial application sought for.

A few years after TRIZ appearance in highly industrialized countries, many experts in Case Based Reasoning pointed out potential similarities between both approaches. Later on, research activities have been conducted and publications appeared on this subject. This paper presents the results of an in depth study of the roots of both approaches, from the point of view of their philosophy and the scope of their relevant action. After several tests and investigations, we arrived to the point that each approach weakens the other if any of the two let the other govern its conduction. The paper discusses this claim and provides some potential directions for new research in this area. Abstract domain Domain of the problem Domain of the problem Construct Abstract domain Abstract domain Domain of the problem Abstract domain Domain of the problem Other domain 1Other domain 2