Digital Transformation in Aircraft Design and Certification: Ontology Design Patterns for Modeling Regulatory Guidance Material Documentation

Aircraft design is regulated by federal law and must comply with complex regulatory documentation. The complexity of the certification process has resulted in a growing interest in digital transformation, for which models are often used to provide explicit structure. Ontological modeling is one of the most promising approaches for the digital transformation of regulatory documentation. This paper presents a novel approach to ontology development that applies ontology design patterns to construct a knowledge representation of regulatory documentation, with a focus on guidance material. The approach includes five main processes: (i) the selection of a regulatory document; (ii) the use of a natural language processing tool; (iii) a contextual analysis; (iv) the identification of patterns in the natural language; and (v) the development and implementation of ontology design patterns. The modeling approach is demonstrated using the ARP4754B: Guidelines for Development of Civil Aircraft and Systems guidance material document and is validated with a use case AC21.101-1B—Establishing the Certification Basis of Changed Aeronautical Products guidance material document. The modeling approach is then verified against an established set of regulatory documentation modeling requirements. The systematic ontological modeling approach presented in this paper enables digital transformation of regulatory documentation, a necessary step for a more efficient and effective certification process.