Updated on January 12, 2025

Component

Component is a material object that constitutes a part of an engineering system or its supersystem.

Overview

As a rule, a component is defined as a part that constitutes an engineering system or its supersystem. However, it should be emphasized that there is a significant difference between components understood as parts of devices and those that make up processes.
For both types of systems, components are identified during the component analysis, i.e. the first stage of function analysis.

Component of a device

Component of a device may be:

  • a substance, i.e. an object with a rest mass;
  • a field, an object without a rest mass that transfers interaction between substances, or 
  • a combination of a substance and a field.

Some examples of components can be the following:

  • a substance:
    • a wheel (of a car)
    • a screw
    • air
    • an operator (a person)
  • a field:
    • gravity
    • light (electromagnetic field)
    • electric current
  • a combination of a substance and a field:
    • a light bulb with the light it emits
    • a radio with a sound it emits (acoustic field)
    • a star (a celestial body) with its radiation

Biological objects can also be components, for examaple:

system components:

  • an operator (in the lift to move things),
  • microorganisms (in a bioreactor to produce biogas),
  • a flower (as a decoration to entertain a person),

supersystem components:

  • a pig (for a lifestock trailer),
  • a heart (for a cardioverter),
  • grass (for a lawnmower).

Field in TRIZ

In TRIZ, the concept of a field extends beyond the traditional scientific definition and includes any interaction between system components, not just classical fields like gravity and electromagnetism. The term field is used from a technical perspective to facilitate idea generation. Fields represent various interactions that can occur between substances in a system.

Categorizing fields according to their types has led to the development of MATChEM that is an acronym representing six types of fields:

  • mechanical: interactions that are perceived as mechanical energy, e.g. gravity, friction, centrifugal force, vibrations, etc.
  • acoustic: sound interactions like audible sound, ultrasound, seismic waves, resonance, etc.
  • thermal: temperature related interactions, e.g. heating, cooling, phase changes, etc.
  • chemical: interactions and reactions like oxidation, polymerization, synthesizing, as well as using catalysts or inhibitors, etc.
  • electrical: phenomena based on electricity, e.g. Foucault currents, electrostatic charges, ionization, piezoelectric effects, etc.
  • magnetic: mostly magnetic fields.

The last two letters (EM) also may stand for electromagnetic and refer to phenomena like microwaves, X-rays, light, or color.

Component of a process

A component of a process is an operation.

Operation is a set of functions within a technological process grouped because of certain considerations.

Some examples of process components can be the following:

system: making a dough for a pizza

  • mixing ingredients,
  • kneading the dough,
  • proofing the dough,
  • shaping the dough,
  • rolling and stretching the dough.

system: polymerization in a reactor

  • monomer introduction,
  • catalyst addition,
  • reaction monitoring,
  • polymer formation,
  • mixing,
  • product removal,
  • post-reaction treatment.

system: a fermenter process

  • inoculation (introducing microorganisms),
  • nutrient addition,
  • aeration,
  • mixing or agitation,
  • fermentation,
  • gas management,
  • sampling,
  • harvesting,
  • cleaning and sterilization.
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