Open Standards Simulation Flow for Heterogeneous System Models1

The main responsibility of the Systems Engineer is to understand the system as a whole. In modern Model-Based approaches, powerful analytic tools are employed to assist the professionals. Yet the need to address the disparate aspects of the system in a single analytic process creates a new challenge stemming from the incompatibility of heterogeneous domain models. A further complication is the ubiquitous software that monitors and controls almost every aspect of a physical system behavior, adding yet another aspect that requires attention. This manuscript offers details of the construction of a Model-Based tool chain automating the simulation flow between disparate domain models, with a special place for discrete models used for description of software functionality. The proposed flow is based on the open Functional Mockup Interface standard with partial functionality already available in the commercial offerings. The paper further identifies several missing components in existing standards and tools.