Assessment of similarities between model behaviour and actual product from economic and technical perspectives

This paper assesses the proximity of the degree of similarity between the behaviour of a model and the actual product from technical and economic criteria. The methodology is best illustrated by using the example of a power boat and a sail boat model. The first portion deals with technical aspects, using the cybernetic theory of similarities ‐ classification of the relationship between the model and the actual product (isomorphic or homomorphic). Since the similarity was assessed in the field of aerodynamics, the Bernoulli equation was used to derive the conditions of isomorphism for flow in the actual object. This defines the boat model from the technical point of view. The objectives of the experiment in this study were two‐fold. The first objective is to identify the formula for the deduction of the technical and economic criteria of the product model (in this case, a sail boat). The second objective is to use factorial design for identification of the parameters that affect the decisions about the choice of the model (homomorphic vs. isomorphic).