Sensitivity Analysis

Every design has a goal, most have many. We always want a design to be less expensive, usually smaller, lighter, easier to use etc... But each design project includes more variables than you could ever hope to change. Which ones have the most impact on your design and which are negligible? Formal sensitivity analysis lets us quickly and efficiently tests the sensitivity of a design to all sorts of variables.

As a simple example consider the cantilevered spring. Classical mechanics without sensitivity analysis tells us that the stiffness of that spring increases much more quickly by changing its thickness than by changing width. Now imagine complex molded plastic parts. In addition to wall thickness, you've got ribs inside. You could change the number of ribs, their size, shape, location etc... Trying to figure out which of these will give the largest gain for the least amount of plastic would be next to impossible by hand. Sensitivity analysis studies can be used to see which of these variables increases the stiffness most quickly.

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