VMAP: Enabling Interoperability in Virtual Engineering Workflows

The lack of software standards in virtual engineering workflows and incompatible interfaces for the transfer of virtual data not only cause additional costs and complex manual adaptations but also lead to inflexible IT solutions, loss of information and significant delays in the overall design process. The standardisation of data interfaces in CAE is, therefore, vital for all industry segments where simulation processes are central to the product and process design.

VMAP is a vendor-neutral standard for CAE data storage that enhances interoperability in virtual engineering workflows. The VMAP standard can transfer data between simulation codes, hence filling the gap by creating the world’s first CAE workflow interface standard. Input/output (I/O) routines have also been provided for easy implementation.

The VMAP specification is based on HDF5 API, which is a widely accepted implementation platform for many IO-related applications. The VMAP IO library includes bindings for most programming and script languages. It consists of definitions for meta-information, unit & coordinate systems, mesh geometry and discretisation, a growing number of element and integration rule definitions, physical result quantities, and common concepts to transfer virtual material model parameters.

Figure 1: VMAP Software Architecture

The VMAP Standard can store both simulation data and measurement data and hence has two groups: SIMULATION & MEASUREMENT. Within these groups, the data is stored in further subgroups, datasets, and attributes. The SIMULATION group (Fig 2.) shows the details of one of its sub-groups, GEOMETRY. This group further categorises the data into PART-ID and then into POINTS and ELEMENTS. In a similar manner, the structure is detailed for the VARIABLES, MATERIALS, & SYSTEM group. The detailed levels of storage make the storage process compatible with most of the CAE software which is being used in the industry today.

Figure 2: VMAP Storage Structure

The VMAP Standard was a product of the VMAP Project, which was completed in 2020. It is now being driven and extended by the VMAP Standards Community (VMAP SC) e.V. The VMAP SC e.V. is a not-for-profit association concerned with the scientific investigation of application possibilities and further development and maintenance of an open software standard for industrial and academic applications.

The VMAP SC was represented at the NAFEMS DACH Conference 2024 in Bamberg from 10-12 June 2024 by Fraunhofer SCAI. The conference was attended by many software vendors from the DACH region and saw sessions on everything from' AI-ready’ in Engineering to the growing demand for SPDM (Simulation Process and Data Management) in the industry. Many of the software vendors also presented their tools and had booths to interact with the engineers at the site.

VMAP SC moderated the VMAP Workshop to discuss the standard and show the latest developments. After a short introduction by the Chairperson, Klaus Wolf and a technical description by the Marketing Manager, Priyanka Gulati, use cases were presented in detail. Victor Lüddemann from Fraunhofer SCAI presented the implementation of measurement data in VMAP Standard and demonstrated the use of tracker files offered by the VMAP Standard. Alexander Busch from Dr. Reinold Hagen-Stiftung talked about the blow-forming use case and showed the increased efficiency of workflows using the standard. Finally, Andreas Schuster from DLR provided an overview of the Ultrasonic guided waves structural health monitoring and showed how the standard supports the work at DLR for the simulation of aerospace components.

Figure 3: Fraunhofer SCAI Team at NAFEMS DACH Conference 2024. Victor Lueddemann, Priyanka Gulati, Klaus Wolf (L to R)

Additionally, VMAP SC hosted the VMAP Stand, which was visited by many engineers from the automotive industry, suppliers, simulation service experts and software vendors. The event was an excellent platform to talk about the potential applications of the standard and to draw the attention of industry users and service providers to the work of the VMAP SC, including the various projects associated with VMAP. The PIONEER project was also represented at the conference and some of the intermediary results of the project were discussed with the participants. There is a huge demand in the industry to digitalise production processes, and PIONEER is a good step forward in recognising the potential in this domain and providing template solutions to the industry.

Written by: Priyanka Gulati, Fraunhofer SCAI