Application-specific UML Profiles for Multidisciplinary Product Data Integration A thesis accepted by the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and Geodesy of the Universität Stuttgart in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Engineering Sciences (Dr.-Ing.) by Dipl.-Ing. Axel Reichwein born in Cologne, Germany Main referee: Priv.Doz. Dr.-Ing. Stephan Rudolph Co-referee: Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Bernd Kröplin Co-referee: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Reinhard Reichel Date of defence: December 6, 2011 Institute of Statics and Dynamics of Aerospace Structures Universität Stuttgart 2011 Contents Acknowledgments 7 Abbreviations 9 Abstract 13 Kurzfassung 15 1 Introduction 17 1.1 Productdataconsistency . 17 1.2 Centralproductmodels ........................... 18 1.3 UML-based product data integration . 25 1.4 Outline ................................... 28 2 Models for product data integration 31 2.1 STEP .................................... 31 2.1.1 Overview .............................. 32 2.1.2 Integration approaches . 35 2.2 Industry sector-specific standards . ..... 38 2.2.1 IAI/IFC............................... 38 2.2.2 ISO15926 ............................. 39 2.3 Ontologies.................................. 39 2.3.1 Ontology representation languages . 40 2.3.2 Integration approaches . 42 2.4 Summary .................................. 43 3 UML-based central product model 45 3.1 Genericmodeling.............................. 45 3.2 Modeling modular components . 46 3.3 UML-based object-oriented modeling . 49 4 Contents 3.3.1 Origins of object-oriented software development . ...... 50 3.3.2 UML for software engineering . 54 3.3.3 UMLspecification ......................... 56 3.3.4 UML modeling concepts . 58 3.4 UML for product data integration . 63 3.5 UML-based integration approaches . 65 3.6 Summary .................................. 67 4 UML profiles for geometric models 69 4.1 UML profile for CATIA-specific geometry . 69 4.1.1 Parts................................. 69 4.1.2 Partparametersandmeasures . 71 4.1.3 Dependencies between parts . 72 4.1.4 Products .............................. 73 4.1.5 Assembly constraints . 75 4.1.6 Dependencies between part instances . 77 4.1.7 PowerCopies ............................ 79 4.1.8 Scripts ............................... 81 4.2 UML profile for SolidWorks-specific geometry . 82 4.2.1 Assemblies ............................. 83 4.2.2 Geometric entities . 84 4.2.3 Mates................................ 87 4.3 UML profile for VRML-specific geometry . 88 4.3.1 Filestructure ............................ 88 4.3.2 Scenegraph............................. 90 4.3.3 Assemblies ............................. 92 4.3.4 VRMLassemblyfilesbasedonCATIA . 94 4.4 Summary .................................. 95 5 UML profiles for dynamic system models 97 5.1 UML profile for Simulink-specific dynamic systems . ...... 98 5.1.1 Simulinkmodel........................... 98 5.1.2 Blocks ............................... 99 5.1.3 Signals ...............................100 5.1.4 Subsystems............................. 101 5.1.5 Case study: slider position controller . 102 5.2 UML profile for SimMechanics-specific multibody systems ........ 105 Contents 5 5.2.1 SimMechanicsmodel. 105 5.2.2 Blocks ...............................107 5.2.3 Connections ............................ 110 5.2.4 SimMechanics model as a Simulink subsystem . 110 5.2.5 Case study: slider-crank mechanism as multibody system . 111 5.3 Summary ..................................113 6 UML profiles for data retrieval and constraint processing 115 6.1 UML profile for Excel-specific spreadsheet data . 115 6.2 UML profile for Matlab R -specific functions . 116 6.3 UML profile for constraint processing . 118 6.4 Summary ..................................121 7 UML model for centralized workflows 123 7.1 UML-based modeling of dependencies . 123 7.2 UML-basedmodelcustomization. 127 7.3 Automatedworkflows. 129 7.4 Software implementation . 130 7.5 Summary ..................................132 8 Testcases 133 8.1 Evaluation of cabin pressure control systems . ....... 133 8.2 Automated design of conveyor system configurations . ....... 140 8.3 Automated evaluation of satellite configurations . .........147 8.4 Generation of aircraft geometries . 154 8.5 Summary ..................................160 9 Conclusion 161 9.1 UML-basedcentralproductmodel . 161 9.2 Results....................................164 9.3 Outlook ...................................167 A Tables of correspondence between modeling concepts 171 Bibliography 175 - Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Stephan Rudolph for giving me the opportunity to learn, grow, and explore. The achievement of this work was greatly influenced by his vision and the work environment he set up in our research group. His passionate interest in research and his constant energetic enthusiasm were always very motivating and allowed me to start this thesis with great confidence. Obviously, the initial fun and excitement was quickly replaced by challenging questions and headaches. But Dr. Stephan Rudolph’s guidance and open-mindedness as well as the numerous interac- tions with the group members were very helpful in overcoming many difficulties. In addition, I would like to extend my thanks to my committee members Prof. Bernd Kröplin and Prof. Reinhard Reichel for their valuable support and interest. Among the group members, I would especially like to express my gratitude to Dr. Pe- ter Hertkorn with whom I worked closely. His expertise in computer science and his readiness to share it without presumption were extremely beneficial. I also thank other group members including Michael Bölling, Peter Arnold, Johannes Gross, Marc Eheim and Martin Motzer for contributing to a very friendly group atmosphere in which we could not only discuss serious academic topics but also enjoy entertaining philosophical debates over lunch. Finally, I am grateful to my parents for their continuous support and for believing in me throughout the many challenges. - Abbreviations AEC Architecture, Engineering and Construction AFDX Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet AOCS Attitude and Orbit Control System AP Application Protocol API Application Programming Interface ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange BOM Bill of Materials CAD Computer-Aided Design CAE Computer-Aided Engineering CAN Controller Area Network CC Conformance Classes CCP Cut Copy and Paste CIMsteel Computer Integrated Manufacturing of Constructional Steelwork CIS/2 CIMsteel Integration Standard Version2 COMBINE Computer Models for the Building Industry in Europe CPIOM Core Processing Input/Output Module DAML DARPA Agent Markup Language DL Description Logics FM Facility Management HVAC Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning IDE Integrated Development Environment IFC Industry Foundation Classes 10 Abbreviations IMA Integrated Modular Avionics ISO International Organization for Standardization IGES Initial Graphics Exchange Specification KIF Knowledge Interchange Format MDA Model Driven Architecture MOF Meta Object Facility OCL Object Constraint Language OCSM Outflow Valve Control and Sensor Module OIL Ontology Interchange Language OMG Object Management Group ORVD Outflow Relief Valve Dumps OWL Web Ontology Language PDM Product Data Management PID Proportional-Integral-Derivative PIM Platform Independent Model PLM Product Lifecycle Management PPT Pulsed Plasma Thruster PSM Platform Specific Model QVT Query/View/Transformation RDF Resource Description Framework RDFS RDF Schema SDAI Standard Data Access Interface SPG Solution Path Generator SysML Systems Modeling Language SWRL Semantic Web Rule Language STEP Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data UML Unified Modeling Language URL Unified Resource Locator Abbreviations 11 VB Visual Basic VBS Visual Basic Script VBA Visual Basic Application VRML Virtual Reality Modeling Language W3C World Wide Web Consortium XMI XML Metadata Interchange XML Extensible Markup Language Abstract This thesis examines the suitability of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) to establish a central product model for multidisciplinary product data integration. Computer-aided product design involves the use of specialized discipline-specific software applications in order to model and simulate various product aspects. Dependencies between models are thereby frequent as the same product information often appears redundantly in various engineering models. In addition, dependencies exist due to relationships between distinct features of various models. As a result, model modifications frequently require the up- date of dependent models. Data consistency between models is achieved automatically through model-to-model data exchange software. The use of a central product model enables to reduce the required number of data exchange connections. Central product models store product information which is spread across several models and achieve data consistency through data exchange connections between themselves and specific models as in a hub-and-spoke network. Central product models are especially useful for automatic data consistency in design scenarios which include a high number of inter-model dependencies and model modifications. The integration of geometry and therefrom derived models such as structural analy- sis or computational fluid dynamics models has already been successfully addressed in numerous central product models. However, the multidisciplinary integration of more di- verse models, such as geometric, software, controller and