Infrastructure System Simulation Interoperability Using the High-Level Architecture

Abstract

Infrastructure planners need new methods to exchange technical data in the pursuit of long-term and cross-sector objectives including sustainability. This paper demonstrates a method for infrastructure system simulation interoperability by applying the high-level architecture (HLA) to the infrastructure system of systems (ISoS) modeling framework. The ISoS considers time-aggregated simulations with iterative data exchange periods to resolve cyclic dependencies. Applying the HLA defines object models, operational agreements, federate implementations, and physical infrastructure required for a federated simulation. An example demonstrates the method on a scenario with 18 infrastructure elements across water, electricity, petroleum, and social sectors as individual federates. The cost of interoperability arises from network latency, runtime infrastructure (RTI) overhead, and additional development effort. Results across several RTIs show that a distributed simulation requires 10-100 times longer executions than noninteroperable configurations. Analysis of source code shows that the HLA contributes about 1500 (56%) more software lines of code to implement federation object models and agreements. The value of interoperability arises from new capabilities provided by the HLA: physical distribution and independent control of constituent models. Conclusions describe a role for the HLA in model-based concept exploration during collaborative and interorganizational design activities with live human participation similar to its use for wargames.

Co-design and co-simulation for engineering systems: insights from the Sustainable Infrastructure Planning Game

“…Co-simulation requires an interface between each pair of dependent systems. To simplify the co-simulation architecture, this section adopts the infrastructure system-of-systems (ISoS) modelling framework (Grogan & de Weck 2015) as a common interface among all constituent systems that can be implemented using the HLA (Grogan & de Weck 2018). The ISoS framework defines contextual, structural and behavioural templates to guide constituent model development efforts.…”

“…Ideally, supply should meet demand for each resource type, for example, Food Out from the agricultural system should equal Food In for the co-located Societal System; however, an iterative convergence process driven by system controllers to optimize production under interdependency contributes small errors. Grogan & de Weck (2018) provide more details on the HLA implementation for interested readers.…”

Distributed Simulation Platforms and Data Passing Tools for Natural Hazards Engineering: Reviews, Limitations, and Recommendations

“…Committee 2012), HLA (HLA Working Group 2010), and TENA (Powell and Noseworthy 2012). Besides military training and simulation, they have also been utilized in marine simulators (Yong and Jin 2000), space projects (Arguello and Miró 2000), infrastructure system simulation (Grogan and De Weck 2015), and virtual testing (Dai et al 2011). Independently driven by the challenges of conducting real-time sensing, information fusion, and control in robots, researchers in robotics engineering developed low-latency data passing solutions.…”

Experiments in systems engineering and design research

“…Can these complex systems problems be fit into an experimental setting without significant loss of relevant information about the phenomenon of interest? Some scholars have been exploring serious games as a way to achieve this (a version of a framed field experiment) or natural field experiments (see Discussion below). Others have called for benchmarking of representative systems, as has been done with success in the Multidisciplinary Design and Optimization (MDO) community .…”