Computational steering in the problem solving environment WBCSim

Abstract

Purpose

This paper describes a practical approach to implement computational steering for problem solving environments (PSEs) by using WBCSim as an example. WBCSim is a Web based simulation system designed to increase the productivity of wood scientists conducting research on wood‐based composites manufacturing processes. WBCSim serves as a prototypical example for the design, construction, and evaluation of small‐scale PSEs.

Design/methodology/approach

Various changes have been made to support computational steering across the three layers – client, server, developer – comprising the WBCSim system. A detailed description of the WBCSim system architecture is presented, along with a typical scenario of computational steering usage.

Findings

The set of changes and components are: design and add a very simple steering module at the legacy simulation code level, provide a way to monitor simulation execution (alert users when it is time to steer), add an interface to access and visualize simulation results, and perhaps to compare intermediate results across multiple steering attempts. These simple changes and components have a relatively low cost in terms of increasing software complexity.

Originality/value

The novelty lies in designing and implementing a practical approach to enable computational steering capability for PSEs embedded with legacy simulation code.

Citation

Shu, J., Watson, L.T., Ramakrishnan, N., Kamke, F.A. and Deshpande, S. (2011), "Computational steering in the problem solving environment WBCSim", Engineering Computations, Vol. 28 No. 7, pp. 888-911. https://doi.org/10.1108/02644401111165121