A model-driven approach to multidisciplinary collaborative simulation for virtual product development

Abstract

. A model-driven approach to multidisciplinary collaborative simulation for virtual product development. Advanced Engineering Informatics, Elsevier, 2010, 24 (2) Abstract:The design and development of complex artifacts and systems is shifting towards a distributed and collaborative paradigm. The simulation environments for such a paradigm, therefore, need to take into account the cooperation between design teams, i.e. supporting multidisciplinary simulation in a distributed environment. However, current simulation tools cannot fulfil this requirement as they have been developed to solve the specific problems from different disciplines. Although it's already possible to per-form multidisciplinary simulations by using several tools together, it is very difficult to implement it when these tools are distributed on the Internet. A solution which can support the integration of distributed simulation models at run-time is presented, involving a computational infrastructure and a high-level modelling approach. Specifically, the infrastructure is constructed by a novel combination of two distributed computing techniques to implement the synchronization of distributed models, as well as to ensure the interoperability at run-time. In addition, a model-driven approach is developed to bridge the high-level model of a simulation system and the infrastructure which implements this model. The solution is evaluated by making a comparison with other approaches, as well as by developing a prototype tool. It's shown in the evaluation that (1) it is viable to develop multidisciplinary simulations in a distributed environment using this solution; (2) the model-driven approach allows designers to focus only on the high-level structure of a design without getting concerned with the details of the infrastructure.

Truncation error calculation based on Richardson extrapolation for variable-step collaborative simulation

“…The challenges for collaborative simulation include the multidisciplinary modeling, collaborative interaction, time-synchronized running and simulation platform, where a variety of disciplinary simulation tools are handled dynamically in a distributed environment [4]. Some researches have been done with focuses on the model-driven modeling approach [5,6], the distributed interaction mechanisms between simulation models [7], and the development of collaborative simulation platform [8,9]. Essentially, distributed collaborative simulation can be viewed as a process of parallelly solving equations of subsystems and synchronously exchanging run-time data with an appropriate time step.…”

A Software Architecture for Simulation and Visualisation based on the Functional Mock-up Interface and Web Technologies

“…This means that some of the code needed to realise the simulator can be automatically generated from abstract models of the complete system. The works of Zhang et al (2010) and Wang and Zhang (2012) are not directly applicable to virtual prototyping. They focus on the structured development of a simulator in a waterfallapproach.…”

“…They also give a comprehensive historic overview, which is worth reading. Zhang et al (2010) take a model-driven approach to system-level modelling, and the development of a modular simulator. This means that some of the code needed to realise the simulator can be automatically generated from abstract models of the complete system.…”

A Run-time Infrastructure based on Service-Distributed Architecture

“…S.C. Tang proposed an extended HLA multilayer federation integration architecture (MLFIA), which, combined with SOA and HLA, forms a four-layer collaborative simulation platform structure that effectively integrates the model's resources [23]. The integration of HLA and SOA was proposed by H.M. Zhang to achieve better interoperability and reusability among heterogeneous simulation components in a distributed environment [24] [25]. In 2008, the IEEE modified the HLA1516-2000 standard, updating it for the next-generation HLA Evolved standard.…”