Review of the Computer Science and Engineering Solutions for Model Sharing and Model Co-Simulation

The process of developing, parameterizing, validating, and maintaining models occurs within a wide variety of tools, and requires significant time and resources. To maximize model utilization, models are often shared between various toolsets and experts. One common example is sharing aircraft engine models with airframers. The functionality of a given model may be utilized and shared with a secondary model, or multiple models may run collaboratively through co-simulation. There are many technical challenges associated with model sharing and co-simulation. For example, data communication between models and tools must be accurate and reliable, and the model usage must be well-documented and perspicuous for a user. This requires clear communication and understanding between computer scientists and engineers. Most often, models are developed by engineers, whereas the tools used to share the models are developed by computer scientists. Computer scientists often struggle with implementing methods for exchanging data between models while simultaneously maintaining the usability that engineers desire, and engineers often struggle with utilizing the tools that computer scientists have developed. In the process of developing tools and interfaces for model sharing and co-simulation, much is lost in the communication between computer scientists and engineers. This paper seeks to ease the communication barrier associated with model sharing and model co-simulation by clearly and simply discussing some of the commonly associated challenges and solutions, and then providing clear and concise implementation examples.