Reusable workflows for virtual testing of multidisciplinary products in system models

Abstract

Developing increasingly complex multidisciplinary products in short development cycles is one major challenge in today’s product development. Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approaches are well suited to address this challenge. With MBSE, products are virtually represented in central system models. For the efficient verification of customer requirements and to avoid exhaustive physical testing with prototypes, virtual domain models (e.g. FE-models) are integrated into the system model. To perform a virtual test, domain models need to be executed in a sequence, so-called workflows.Current workflows link several product system levels in one workflow and are often only valid for one specific system architecture. As the number of requirements and system complexity increases, these workflows become also more complex. The effort for creating new comprehensible workflows is currently high and the reusability cannot be ensured. To solve these deficits, a method for the systematic formalization of reusable workflows in system models as well as their structured integration is presented. Behavior diagrams in the modelling language SysML are used to control the execution order of the domain models of different purposes and fidelities. Modular sub-workflows are developed for each system level. These sub-workflows can be reused and combined modularly to form larger workflows. The approach shows a high potential to easily build and organize workflows in reusable libraries thereby supporting automated virtual testing in product development. To demonstrate the approach, workflows for bearing lifetime calculation and shaft fatigue testing of a wind turbine drive train as well as their integration into the SysML system model are presented.