Data Management in a Collaborative Design Architecture, Part B: Remote Processing and Analysis of Simulation Data

Abstract

The design process of many technical products, such as aircraft, is inherently collaborative, involving multiple experts and teams working on the same product. Central data management systems (DMS) facilitate this collaborative process by tracking product development versions and sharing the current state of the product with all team members. However, large simulation files generated during the design process can become a bottleneck, as transferring these files from the DMS to the user can be very time-consuming. This paper presents an extension of a DMS designed to address the challenges of handling large simulation data files, specifically using the HDF5 file format. The DMS incorporates a remote processor based on the GTlab framework to execute predefined actions on the HDF5 files, thereby moving computation to the data and avoiding extensive data transfers. This system is applied to the collaborative design of an axial compressor component of an aircraft engine, showcasing the process from 2D preliminary design to full 3D geometry generation and high-fidelity flow simulations.