Functional representation and reasoning about the F/A-18 aircraft fuel system

Functional reasoning, a subfield of model-based reasoning, is discussed. This approach uses abstractions of a device´s purpose to index behaviors that achieve that purpose. Functional modeling, a variation on this method, also uses simulation as a core reasoning strategy. The complex causal knowledge of a device along functional lines is decomposed, then a causal story of how the device will operate in a particular situation given stated boundary conditions is composed. The application of the functional approach to modeling the fuel system of a F/A-18 aircraft is described. The representation of the F/A-18 fuel system includes 89 component devices, 92 functions, 118 behaviors, and 181 state variables.<>