Ontologies and Methods for Interoperability of Engineering Analysis Models (EAMS) in an E-Design Environment

ABSTRACT ONTOLOGIES AND METHODS FOR INTEROPERABILITY OF ENGINEERING ANALYSIS MODELS (EAMS) IN AN E-DESIGN ENVIRONMENT SEPTEMBER 2007 NEELIMA KANURI, B.S., BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCES PILANI INDIA M.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Ian Grosse Interoperability is the ability of two or more systems to exchange and reuse information efficiently. This thesis presents new techniques for interoperating engineering tools using ontologies as the basis for representing, visualizing, reasoning about, and securely exchanging abstract engineering knowledge between software systems. The specific engineering domain that is the primary focus of this report is the modeling knowledge associated with the development of engineering analysis models (EAMs). This abstract modeling knowledge has been used to support integration of analysis and optimization tools in iSIGHT FD , a commercial engineering environment. ANSYS , a commercial FEA tool, has been wrapped as an analysis service available inside of iSIGHT-FD. Engineering analysis modeling (EAM) ontology has been developed and instantiated to form a knowledge base for representing analysis modeling knowledge. The instances of the knowledge base are the analysis models of real world applications. To illustrate how abstract modeling knowledge can be exploited for useful purposes, a cantilever I-Beam design optimization problem has been used as a test bed proof-of-concept application. Two distinct finite element models of the I-beam are available to analyze a given beam design- a beam-element finite element model with potentially lower accuracy but significantly reduced computational costs and a high fidelity, high cost, shell-element finite element model. The goal is to obtain an optimized I-beam design at minimum computational expense. An intelligent KB tool was developed and implemented in FiPER . This tool reasons about the modeling knowledge to intelligently shift between the beam and the shell element models during an optimization process to select the best analysis model for a given optimization design state. In addition to improved interoperability and design optimization, methods are developed and presented that demonstrate the ability to operate on ontological knowledge bases to perform important engineering tasks. One such method is the automatic technical report generation method which converts the modeling knowledge associated with an analysis model to a flat technical report. The second method is a secure knowledge sharing method which allocates permissions to portions of knowledge to control knowledge access and sharing. Both the methods acting together enable recipient specific fine grain controlled knowledge viewing and sharing in an engineering workflow integration environment, such as iSIGHT-FD. These methods together play a very efficient role in reducing the large scale inefficiencies existing in current product design and development cycles due to poor knowledge sharing and reuse between people and software engineering tools. This work is a significant advance in both understanding and application of integration of knowledge in a distributed engineering design framework.

A framework for building distributed social network websites

Las redes son la esencia de comunidades y sociedades humanas; constituyen el entramado en el que nos relacionamos y determinan cómo lo hacemos, cómo se disemina la información o incluso cómo las cosas se llevan a cabo. Pero el protagonismo de las redes va más allá del que adquiere en las redes sociales. Se encuentran en el seno de múltiples estructuras que conocemos, desde las interaciones entre las proteínas dentro de una célula hasta la interconexión de los routers de internet. Las redes sociales están presentes en internet desde sus principios, en el correo electrónico por tomar un ejemplo. Dentro de cada cliente de correo se manejan listas contactos que agregadas constituyen una red social. Sin embargo, ha sido con la aparición de los sitios web de redes sociales cuando este tipo de aplicaciones web han llegado a la conciencia general. Las redes sociales se han situado entre los sitios más populares y con más tráfico de la web. Páginas como Facebook o Twitter manejan cifras asombrosas en cuanto a número de usuarios activos, de tráfico o de tiempo invertido en el sitio. Pero las funcionalidades de red social no están restringidas a las redes sociales orientadas a contactos, aquellas enfocadas a construir tu lista de contactos e interactuar con ellos. Existen otros ejemplos de sitios que aprovechan las redes sociales para aumentar la actividad de los usuarios y su involucración alrededor de algún tipo de contenido. Estos ejemplos van desde una de las redes sociales más antiguas, Flickr, orientada al intercambio de fotografías, hasta Github, la red social de código libre más popular hoy en día. No es una casualidad que la popularidad de estos sitios web venga de la mano de sus funcionalidades de red social. El escenario es más rico aún, ya que los sitios de redes sociales interaccionan entre ellos, compartiendo y exportando listas de contactos, servicios de autenticación y proporcionando un valioso canal para publicitar la actividad de los usuarios en otros sitios web. Esta funcionalidad es reciente y aún les queda un paso hasta que las redes sociales superen su condición de bunkers y lleguen a un estado de verdadera interoperabilidad entre ellas, tal como funcionan hoy en día el correo electrónico o la mensajería instantánea. Este trabajo muestra una tecnología que permite construir sitios web con características de red social distribuída. En primer lugar, se presenta una tecnología para la construcción de un componente intermedio que permite proporcionar cualquier característica de gestión de contenidos al popular marco de desarrollo web modelo-vista-controlador (MVC) Ruby on Rails. Esta técnica constituye una herramienta para desarrolladores que les permita abstraerse de las complejidades de la gestión de contenidos y enfocarse en las particularidades de los propios contenidos. Esta técnica se usará también para proporcionar las características de red social. Se describe una nueva métrica de reusabilidad de código para demostrar la validez del componente intermedio en marcos MVC. En segundo lugar, se analizan las características de los sitios web de redes sociales más populares, con el objetivo de encontrar los patrones comunes que aparecen en ellos. Este análisis servirá como base para definir los requisitos que debe cumplir un marco para construir redes sociales. A continuación se propone una arquitectura de referencia que proporcione este tipo de características. Dicha arquitectura ha sido implementada en un componente, Social Stream, y probada en varias redes sociales, tanto orientadas a contactos como a contenido, en el contexto de una asociación vecinal tanto como en proyectos de investigación financiados por la UE. Ha sido la base de varios proyectos fin de carrera. Además, ha sido publicado como código libre, obteniendo una comunidad creciente y está siendo usado más allá del ámbito de este trabajo. Dicha arquitectura ha permitido la definición de un nuevo modelo de control de acceso social que supera varias limitaciones presentes en los modelos de control de acceso para redes sociales. Más aún, se han analizado casos de estudio de sitios de red social distribuídos, reuniendo un conjunto de caraterísticas que debe cumplir un marco para construir redes sociales distribuídas. Por último, se ha extendido la arquitectura del marco para dar cabida a las características de redes sociales distribuídas. Su implementación ha sido validada en proyectos de investigación financiados por la UE. Abstract Networks are the substance of human communities and societies; they constitute the structural framework on which we relate to each other and determine the way we do it, the way information is diseminated or even the way people get things done. But network prominence goes beyond the importance it acquires in social networks. Networks are found within numerous known structures, from protein interactions inside a cell to router connections on the internet. Social networks are present on the internet since its beginnings, in emails for example. Inside every email client, there are contact lists that added together constitute a social network. However, it has been with the emergence of social network sites (SNS) when these kinds of web applications have reached general awareness. SNS are now among the most popular sites in the web and with the higher traffic. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter hold astonishing figures of active users, traffic and time invested into the sites. Nevertheless, SNS functionalities are not restricted to contact-oriented social networks, those that are focused on building your own list of contacts and interacting with them. There are other examples of sites that leverage social networking to foster user activity and engagement around other types of content. Examples go from early SNS such as Flickr, the photography related networking site, to Github, the most popular social network repository nowadays. It is not an accident that the popularity of these websites comes hand-in-hand with their social network capabilities The scenario is even richer, due to the fact that SNS interact with each other, sharing and exporting contact lists and authentication as well as providing a valuable channel to publize user activity in other sites. These interactions are very recent and they are still finding their way to the point where SNS overcome their condition of data silos to a stage of full interoperability between sites, in the same way email and instant messaging networks work today. This work introduces a technology that allows to rapidly build any kind of distributed social network website. It first introduces a new technique to create middleware that can provide any kind of content management feature to a popular model-view-controller (MVC) web development framework, Ruby on Rails. It provides developers with tools that allow them to abstract from the complexities related with content management and focus on the development of specific content. This same technique is also used to provide the framework with social network features. Additionally, it describes a new metric of code reuse to assert the validity of the kind of middleware that is emerging in MVC frameworks. Secondly, the characteristics of top popular SNS are analysed in order to find the common patterns shown in them. This analysis is the ground for defining the requirements of a framework for building social network websites. Next, a reference architecture for supporting the features found in the analysis is proposed. This architecture has been implemented in a software component, called Social Stream, and tested in several social networks, both contact- and content-oriented, in local neighbourhood associations and EU-founded research projects. It has also been the ground for several Master’s theses. It has been released as a free and open source software that has obtained a growing community and that is now being used beyond the scope of this work. The social architecture has enabled the definition of a new social-based access control model that overcomes some of the limitations currenly present in access control models for social networks. Furthermore, paradigms and case studies in distributed SNS have been analysed, gathering a set of features for distributed social networking. Finally the architecture of the framework has been extended to support distributed SNS capabilities. Its implementation has also been validated in EU-founded research projects.

Performance measurement integrated information framework in e-Manufacturing

The implementation of Internet technologies has led to e-Manufacturing technologies becoming more widely used and to the development of tools for compiling, transforming and synchronising manufacturing data through the Web. In this context, a potential area for development is the extension of virtual manufacturing to performance measurement (PM) processes, a critical area for decision making and implementing improvement actions in manufacturing. This paper proposes a PM information framework to integrate decision support systems in e-Manufacturing. Specifically, the proposed framework offers a homogeneous PM information exchange model that can be applied through decision support in e-Manufacturing environment. Its application improves the necessary interoperability in decision-making data processing tasks. It comprises three sub-systems: a data model, a PM information platform and PM-Web services architecture. A practical example of data exchange for measurement processes in the area of equipment maintenance is shown to demonstrate the utility of the model.

RetinaStudio: A bioinspired framework to encode visual information

The retina is a very complex neural structure, which performs spatial, temporal, and chromatic processing on visual information and converts it into a compact ‘digital’ format composed of neural impulses. This paper presents a new compiler-based framework able to describe, simulate and validate custom retina models. The framework is compatible with the most usual neural recording and analysis tools, taking advantage of the interoperability with these kinds of applications. Furthermore it is possible to compile the code to generate accelerated versions of the visual processing models compatible with COTS microprocessors, FPGAs or GPUs. The whole system represents an ongoing work to design and develop a functional visual neuroprosthesis. Several case studies are described to assess the effectiveness and usefulness of the framework.

Probabilistic uncertainty in an interoperable framework

This thesis provides an interoperable language for quantifying uncertainty using probability theory. A general introduction to interoperability and uncertainty is given, with particular emphasis on the geospatial domain. Existing interoperable standards used within the geospatial sciences are reviewed, including Geography Markup Language (GML), Observations and Measurements (O&M) and the Web Processing Service (WPS) specifications. The importance of uncertainty in geospatial data is identified and probability theory is examined as a mechanism for quantifying these uncertainties. The Uncertainty Markup Language (UncertML) is presented as a solution to the lack of an interoperable standard for quantifying uncertainty. UncertML is capable of describing uncertainty using statistics, probability distributions or a series of realisations. The capabilities of UncertML are demonstrated through a series of XML examples. This thesis then provides a series of example use cases where UncertML is integrated with existing standards in a variety of applications. The Sensor Observation Service - a service for querying and retrieving sensor-observed data - is extended to provide a standardised method for quantifying the inherent uncertainties in sensor observations. The INTAMAP project demonstrates how UncertML can be used to aid uncertainty propagation using a WPS by allowing UncertML as input and output data. The flexibility of UncertML is demonstrated with an extension to the GML geometry schemas to allow positional uncertainty to be quantified. Further applications and developments of UncertML are discussed.

Managing uncertainty in integrated environmental modelling:the UncertWeb framework

Web-based distributed modelling architectures are gaining increasing recognition as potentially useful tools to build holistic environmental models, combining individual components in complex workflows. However, existing web-based modelling frameworks currently offer no support for managing uncertainty. On the other hand, the rich array of modelling frameworks and simulation tools which support uncertainty propagation in complex and chained models typically lack the benefits of web based solutions such as ready publication, discoverability and easy access. In this article we describe the developments within the UncertWeb project which are designed to provide uncertainty support in the context of the proposed ‘Model Web’. We give an overview of uncertainty in modelling, review uncertainty management in existing modelling frameworks and consider the semantic and interoperability issues raised by integrated modelling. We describe the scope and architecture required to support uncertainty management as developed in UncertWeb. This includes tools which support elicitation, aggregation/disaggregation, visualisation and uncertainty/sensitivity analysis. We conclude by highlighting areas that require further research and development in UncertWeb, such as model calibration and inference within complex environmental models.

Conceptual Building Information Modelling Framework for Whole‐house Refurbishment based on LCC and LCA

The UK government aims at achieving 80% CO2 emission reduction by 2050 which requires collective efforts across all the UK industry sectors. In particular, the housing sector has a large potential to contribute to achieving the aim because the housing sector alone accounts for 27% of the total UK CO2 emission, and furthermore, 87% of the housing which is responsible for current 27% CO2 emission will still stand in 2050. Therefore, it is essential to improve energy efficiency of existing housing stock built with low energy efficiency standard. In order for this, a whole‐house needs to be refurbished in a sustainable way by considering the life time financial and environmental impacts of a refurbished house. However, the current refurbishment process seems to be challenging to generate a financially and environmentally affordable refurbishment solution due to the highly fragmented nature of refurbishment practice and a lack of knowledge and skills about whole‐house refurbishment in the construction industry. In order to generate an affordable refurbishment solution, diverse information regarding costs and environmental impacts of refurbishment measures and materials should be collected and integrated in right sequences throughout the refurbishment project life cycle among key project stakeholders. Consequently, various researchers increasingly study a way of utilizing Building Information Modelling (BIM) to tackle current problems in the construction industry because BIM can support construction professionals to manage construction projects in a collaborative manner by integrating diverse information, and to determine the best refurbishment solution among various alternatives by calculating the life cycle costs and lifetime CO2 performance of a refurbishment solution. Despite the capability of BIM, the BIM adoption rate is low with 25% in the housing sector and it has been rarely studied about a way of using BIM for housing refurbishment projects. Therefore, this research aims to develop a BIM framework to formulate a financially and environmentally affordable whole‐house refurbishment solution based on the Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods simultaneously. In order to achieve the aim, a BIM feasibility study was conducted as a pilot study to examine whether BIM is suitable for housing refurbishment, and a BIM framework was developed based on the grounded theory because there was no precedent research. After the development of a BIM framework, this framework was examined by a hypothetical case study using BIM input data collected from questionnaire survey regarding homeowners’ preferences for housing refurbishment. Finally, validation of the BIM framework was conducted among academics and professionals by providing the BIM framework and a formulated refurbishment solution based on the LCC and LCA studies through the framework. As a result, BIM was identified as suitable for housing refurbishment as a management tool, and it is timely for developing the BIM framework. The BIM framework with seven project stages was developed to formulate an affordable refurbishment solution. Through the case study, the Building Regulation is identified as the most affordable energy efficiency standard which renders the best LCC and LCA results when it is applied for whole‐house refurbishment solution. In addition, the Fabric Energy Efficiency Standard (FEES) is recommended when customers are willing to adopt high energy standard, and the maximum 60% of CO2 emissions can be reduced through whole‐house fabric refurbishment with the FEES. Furthermore, limitations and challenges to fully utilize BIM framework for housing refurbishment were revealed such as a lack of BIM objects with proper cost and environmental information, limited interoperability between different BIM software and limited information of LCC and LCA datasets in BIM system. Finally, the BIM framework was validated as suitable for housing refurbishment projects, and reviewers commented that the framework can be more practical if a specific BIM library for housing refurbishment with proper LCC and LCA datasets is developed. This research is expected to provide a systematic way of formulating a refurbishment solution using BIM, and to become a basis for further research on BIM for the housing sector to resolve the current limitations and challenges. Future research should enhance the BIM framework by developing more detailed process map and develop BIM objects with proper LCC and LCA Information.

Layers of meaning: disentangling subject access interoperability

In order to facilitate subject access interoperability a mechanism must be built that allows the different controlled vocabularies to communicate meaning, relationships, and levels of extension and intension so that different user groups using different controlled vocabularies could access collections across the network. Switching languages, the tools of controlled vocabulary compatibility, consist of a single layer that does not allow for a flexible control of the semantic levels of meaning, relationships, and extension or intension. This paper proposes a multilayered conceptual framework wherein the levels of meaning, relationships and extension and intension are each controlled as individual parameters, rather than in a single switching language.

An Integrated Framework To Improve The Concept Of Resource Specialisation.

Resource specialisation, although a fundamental component of ecological theory, is employed in disparate ways. Most definitions derive from simple counts of resource species. We build on recent advances in ecophylogenetics and null model analysis to propose a concept of specialisation that comprises affinities among resources as well as their co-occurrence with consumers. In the distance-based specialisation index (DSI), specialisation is measured as relatedness (phylogenetic or otherwise) of resources, scaled by the null expectation of random use of locally available resources. Thus, specialists use significantly clustered sets of resources, whereas generalists use over-dispersed resources. Intermediate species are classed as indiscriminate consumers. The effectiveness of this approach was assessed with differentially restricted null models, applied to a data set of 168 herbivorous insect species and their hosts. Incorporation of plant relatedness and relative abundance greatly improved specialisation measures compared to taxon counts or simpler null models, which overestimate the fraction of specialists, a problem compounded by insufficient sampling effort. This framework disambiguates the concept of specialisation with an explicit measure applicable to any mode of affinity among resource classes, and is also linked to ecological and evolutionary processes. This will enable a more rigorous deployment of ecological specialisation in empirical and theoretical studies.

Integration and visualization of systems biology data in context of the genome

Background: High-density tiling arrays and new sequencing technologies are generating rapidly increasing volumes of transcriptome and protein-DNA interaction data. Visualization and exploration of this data is critical to understanding the regulatory logic encoded in the genome by which the cell dynamically affects its physiology and interacts with its environment. Results: The Gaggle Genome Browser is a cross-platform desktop program for interactively visualizing high-throughput data in the context of the genome. Important features include dynamic panning and zooming, keyword search and open interoperability through the Gaggle framework. Users may bookmark locations on the genome with descriptive annotations and share these bookmarks with other users. The program handles large sets of user-generated data using an in-process database and leverages the facilities of SQL and the R environment for importing and manipulating data. A key aspect of the Gaggle Genome Browser is interoperability. By connecting to the Gaggle framework, the genome browser joins a suite of interconnected bioinformatics tools for analysis and visualization with connectivity to major public repositories of sequences, interactions and pathways. To this flexible environment for exploring and combining data, the Gaggle Genome Browser adds the ability to visualize diverse types of data in relation to its coordinates on the genome. Conclusions: Genomic coordinates function as a common key by which disparate biological data types can be related to one another. In the Gaggle Genome Browser, heterogeneous data are joined by their location on the genome to create information-rich visualizations yielding insight into genome organization, transcription and its regulation and, ultimately, a better understanding of the mechanisms that enable the cell to dynamically respond to its environment.

Pressure of massless hot scalar theory in the boundary effective theory framework

We use the boundary effective theory approach to thermal field theory in order to calculate the pressure of a system of massless scalar fields with quartic interaction. The method naturally separates the infrared physics, and is essentially nonperturbative. To lowest order, the main ingredient is the solution of the free Euler-Lagrange equation with nontrivial (time) boundary conditions. We derive a resummed pressure, which is in good agreement with recent calculations found in the literature, following a very direct and compact procedure.

Building a Open Source Framework for Virtual Medical Training

This paper presents a framework to build medical training applications by using virtual reality and a tool that helps the class instantiation of this framework. The main purpose is to make easier the building of virtual reality applications in the medical training area, considering systems to simulate biopsy exams and make available deformation, collision detection, and stereoscopy functionalities. The instantiation of the classes allows quick implementation of the tools for such a purpose, thus reducing errors and offering low cost due to the use of open source tools. Using the instantiation tool, the process of building applications is fast and easy. Therefore, computer programmers can obtain an initial application and adapt it to their needs. This tool allows the user to include, delete, and edit parameters in the functionalities chosen as well as storing these parameters for future use. In order to verify the efficiency of the framework, some case studies are presented.

Process oriented framework to support PLM implementation

Product lifecycle management (PLM) innovates as it defines both the product as a central element to aggregate enterprise information and the lifecycle as a new time dimension for information integration and analysis. Because of its potential benefits to shorten innovation lead-times and to reduce costs, PLM has attracted a lot of attention at industry and at research. However, the current PLM implementation stage at most organisations still does not apply the lifecycle management concepts thoroughly. In order to close the existing realisation gap, this article presents a process oriented framework to support effective PLM implementation. The framework central point consists of a set of lifecycle oriented business process reference models which links the necessary fundamental concepts, enterprise knowledge and software solutions to effectively deploy PLM. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reducing Urban Transport Energy Dependence: A New Urban Development Framework and GIS-Based Tool

High urban transport energy consumption is directly influenced by transport energy dependence. Dramatic reductions in urban transport energy dependence or consumption are not yet being widely observed despite the variety of urban planning tools currently available. A new urban development framework is presented to tackle this issue that makes use of a recently developed and successfully trialed GIS-based tool, the Transport Energy Specification (TES). The TES was simulated on a neighborhood in Sao Carlos, Brazil. In the simulation, energy dependence was reduced by a factor of 8 through activity location or infrastructure modifications to the built environment.

A Computational Framework for Institutional Agency

This paper provides a computational framework, based on Defeasible Logic, to capture some aspects of institutional agency. Our background is Kanger-Lindahl-P\"orn account of organised interaction, which describes this interaction within a multi-modal logical setting. This work focuses in particular on the notions of counts-as link and on those of attempt and of personal and direct action to realise states of affairs. We show how standard Defeasible Logic can be extended to represent these concepts: the resulting system preserves some basic properties commonly attributed to them. In addition, the framework enjoys nice computational properties, as it turns out that the extension of any theory can be computed in time linear to the size of the theory itself.