The algorithm for inventive problems solving (abbr.: ARIZ) is the most universal and powerful step-by-step TRIZ method for the solving of all kinds of problems, starting with the analysis of the problem and the system resources and concluding with the evaluation of all possible solutions. It is normally used if the 40 Inventive Principles or Standards don’t provide a satisfactory result. ARIZ helps the user to:

• analyse a problem,
• recognise technical contradictions,
• formulate the ideal final result,
• identify the physical contradictions on which the problem is based and then to resolve them.

These main procedures in ARIZ will be further demonstrated by an example. The full ARIZ process comprises 9 stages with around 70 steps.
 

Example:

Initial Situation
The first stage when using ARIZ is to analyse the initial situation and to formulate the problem. In the manufacture of seamless tubes, a hot cylindrical billet (tube) is pierced by a pointed forming tool (piercing plug). The tube is supported and rotated by rollers. After the insertion of the piercing plug into the hot tube, it often starts to wander inside the tube. The problem is aggravated as the length of the tubes is increased, up to a value of 6 m or more. How can the wandering of the plug be eliminated?

Formulation of the Technical Contradiction
The technical contradiction is as follows: with the increasing length of the tube (desired result), the support for the piercing plug decreases. As a result, the accuracy in the manufacture and dimensioning of the tube decreases (undesired effect). At this stage, an effort to resolve the technical contradiction with the help of the Contradiction Table or the system of Standards could be made.

Formulation of the Ideal Final Result
The Ideal Final Result (IFR) for the problem solution would be like this: an infinitely long tube supports and guides the piercing plug precisely into its centre. The technical contradiction is amplified by such a formulation. The IFR is targeting now the perfect solution. Every technical contradiction has definite physical reasons, which are described in the following stage.

Formulation of the Physical Contradiction
To accomplish the IFR, the tube has to have two mutually exclusive physical properties: on the one hand it has to be hard to support itself and the piercing plug, and on the other hand it has to be soft to allow the piercing plug to penetrate into its centre.

This represents a physical contradiction. To resolve it, ARIZ uses the Separation Principles for resolving physical contradictions, the Class 5 Standards as well as a database of more than 1000 physical, chemical and geometrical effects.
 

Separation Principles: One of the simplest methods for resolving physical contradictions is to separate the controversial properties either in time or space, using the Separation Principles. The tube has to be hard, particularly on the outside, but soft on the inside. All that now has to be done is to search the database for a physical effect that can influence the hardness of the steel.

Utilisation of System Resources: Before “external” means are applied, it is always favourable to first thoroughly analyse the system’s “internal” resources (substance, fields, time, space, information, function) and use them wherever possible to solve the problem. Such an analysis is one of the most important stages in ARIZ.

Resolving of the Physical Contradiction
The hardness of the material is a function of the temperature. As the tube is heated anyway to allow the piercing plug to penetrate it, all the system requires is a suitable distribution of the heat: cold on the outside and hot towards the centre. This can easily be achieved by spraying the tube with cold water. The piercing plug now automatically takes the easiest route – towards the warmest and therefore softest point in the tube, i.e. exactly in the middle.
 

Author: Dr. Pavel Livotov