Astos adapter

This section provides basic materials for use by CDF Domain Experts.

Minimum version required : 10

PURPOSE OF THE SOFTWARE

The ASTOS DST Adapter, which is an integral part of the ASTOS software, manages the link and data exchange between ASTOS and an ECSS-E-TM-10-25 data hub like COMET®. The adapter allows to link ASTOS scenario settings with parameters in the hub and to export ASTOS simulation and optimization results to the hub. The adapter provides a net change view that allows to monitor and track all modifications that are imported from or exported to the data hub. The easy data exchange between ASTOS and other related domains like aerodynamics, structure design and propulsion shall foster the use of ASTOS in a concurrent engineering environment.

EXTERNAL VIEW OF THE SOFTWARE

The ASTOS adapter feature needs an external data source for importing and exporting data.

A COMET® server connected to a COMET® database.

OPERATIONS ENVIRONMENT

General

The ASTOS software is commercial-off-the-shelf and is available for the platforms Linux and Microsoft Windows.

Hardware Configuration

ASTOS runs on a classical desktop PC. The minimum hardware configuration is the following:

2 GHz or faster processor
2GB of RAM
800 MB of available hard disk space
Graphics card or processor supporting at least OpenGL 4.2
Minimal screen resolution 1280x1024px

Software Configuration

The ASTOS software requires one of the following operating systems to run:

Windows 7 SP1 (x64)
Windows 8.1 (x64)
Windows 10 (all update releases, x64)

ASTOS is available for Linux platforms but Windows is the only platform covered by this project. The Linux version does not comprise the E-TM-10-25 adapter. ASTOS consists of three major components (see figure below): The graphical user interface (GUI), the aerospace library (model) and a numerical integrator and data management core (GESOP core).

Figure 1: ASTOS top-level architecture The aerospace model is configured via an XML-based scenario configuration. The scenario is written by the GUI based on the inputs of the user. The user input consists of scalar values, tabular data and strings. A simulation, analysis or optimization is triggered via the GUI, which starts the core, which then loads the model. The core writes the simulation results into a dedicated simulation file format, which is then read by the GUI for results presentation (plots, animation and reports). Larger simulation or analysis campaigns can be automated via the so-called Batch Mode Inspector that allows graphical scripting of procedures (e.g. for Monte Carlo analysis). A typical ASTOS configuration comprises several hundreds of settings. Therefore, ASTOS comprises a Scenario Wizard that reduces the effort to create a running simulation configuration.

Figure 2: ASTOS GUI Components The Database Connection Manager is used to define links to external database sources. It provides an interface to specify connection settings and to provide user credentials for the external database. This component will be extended to support E-TM-10-25 data hub connections as well. The CAD import tool, which is a separate executable, will make use of the connection settings as well to download CAD data in STEP format (commanded via the DST Adapter). This data can be used for visualisation purposes and in the future for geometry-related calculations. Each input field of the scenario configuration can be linked to an external data source, e.g. a cell of an Excel table or a MySQL query. The link can be configured such that the value is updated before any action (simulation, etc.) or just on user request. The updated value is then written to the XML configuration such that the link is transparent to the aerospace model.

COMET® WebServices

The minimal version of the COMET® WebServices is version 7.0.5. The recommended version is 7.0.7.

Operational Constraints

Start-up

When the ASTOS starts a scenario has to be loaded or created. Within the wizard or the database manager it is possible to connect to a E-TM-10-25 model. Once this is done exports and imports of parameter data from and to the E-TM-10-25 hub can be defined. This can be done manually or will be added automatically by the wizard based on the user’s decisions.

Import and export definition

The user can map ASTOS settings to E-TM-10-25 ValueSets (including support for Parameters with Option and/or ActualFinateState properties). The following ASTOS data types are supported:

Floating-point value
Unit-value
Bounded unit-value
Interpolation table

The user can link ASTOS simulation results to E-TM-10-25 ValueSets (also when Parameters are Option and/or State dependent). The following ASTOS data classes can be exported:

States
Controls
Real Parameters
Auxiliary Functions
Auxiliary Scalars
Auxiliary Events

The following data hub parameter kinds are supported for import and export:

SimpleQuantityKind
DerivedQuantityKind
SpecializedQuantityKind
SampledFunctionParameterKind
CompoundParameterKind

Automatic unit conversion is supported for the units defined in the Core and in the Generic RDL.

Net Change view

Within the COMET® Adapter dialog you have the possibility to preview the impact on the target model. Then you can transfer your mapped values to their configured destination.

Transfer

When you choose to transfer, the selection of mapped values are applied to the configured target model. The adapter reports about errors or successful transfer operations. All transfers are recorded in a special log and can be accessed from the COMET® adapter dialog.

Saved Mapping Configuration

The mapping configuration is saved as part of the ASTOS Scenario and can be reused later on. The credentials of the connection are NOT stored in the scenario. Each individual user has to insert respective credentials. The user’s project role and associated domains of expertise will affect the capability to reuse the mappings configured inside the ASTOS scenario.

Operations Basics

From the moment the ASTOS software has loaded a Scenario the user can perform the following E-TM-10-25 related tasks:

Connect to a E-TM-10-25 server. After a connection is established, further functionality becomes possible for simulation inputs:
Map some value from the connected E-TM-10-25 Model to an ASTOS scenario variable
Preview the net change
Transfer the mapped input values After a simulation is run in the Scenario and a connection to a E-TM-10-25 server is present:
Map simulation data to E-TM-10-25 parameters
Preview the net change
Transfer the exported data.