Creating a Universal Communication Standard to Enable Heterogeneous Multidisciplinary Design Optimization
Christopher A. Lupp, Alexander Xu · 2024
Many modern engineering problems are inherently multidisciplinary, requiring input from a variety of subject matter experts. Each discipline may impose its own computational require- ments, potentially conflicting with other disciplines. Compounding this, in many fields, experts use specific software that may not interface easily with other disciplines. Therefore, combining multiple fields into multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) may entail significant work on analysis tool interfaces. This paper proposes a standard data and communication interface for MDO applications. Requirements for such a standard are discussed before reviewing relevant technologies. The data conventions and communication protocol for the proposed standard, Philote, are detailed for both explicit and implicit disciplines. Numerical studies were conducted to benchmark performance and quantify latency as well as to demonstrate Philote’s ability to operate over large geographical distances. Finally, the wider ramifications of the proposed standard are discussed with a particular focus on heterogeneous and cloud-native computing.