A Generalized Discrete Event System (G-DEVS) Flattened Simulation Structure: Application to High-Level Architecture (HLA) Compliant Simulation of Workflow

International audienceThe objective of the paper is to specify a new flattened Generalized Discrete Event System simulation engine structure and the Workflow modeling and simulation environment embedding it. We express first the new flattened simulation structure and give the corresponding transformation functions. We analyze performance tests conducted on this new simulation structure to measure its efficiency. Then, having selected the essential concepts in the elaboration of the Workflow, we present a language of description to define the Workflow processes. Finally, we define a distributed Workflow Reference Model that interfaces components of the Workflow with respect to the High-Level Architecture standard. Today enterprises can take advantage of this platform in the context of networking where interoperability, flexibility, and efficiency are challenging concepts

Environnement G-DEVS/HLA pour la simulation distribuée de systèmes de production multiprocessus

International audienceThis paper presents a simulation environment for manufacturing systems integrating control processes and operational processes. From the operational processes specification according to the JIS Z 8206 norm and from the control processes as Workflows standards, distributed G-DEVS models are generated. At first, the transformation of a process in G-DEVS models is described. Then, the implementation of a global simulation of the set of these models via an HLA architecture allowing interconnection and interoperability between the model components is presented. An illustration of the use of this environment is given in the microelectronic field. We conclude by the application of this approach to the study of the synchronizations between production lines and to the implementation of coupling between simulation and reality

Simulation Software as a Service and Service-Oriented Simulation Experiment

Simulation software is being increasingly used in various domains for system analysis and/or behavior prediction. Traditionally, researchers and field experts need to have access to the computers that host the simulation software to do simulation experiments. With recent advances in cloud computing and Software as a Service (SaaS), a new paradigm is emerging where simulation software is used as services that are composed with others and dynamically influence each other for service-oriented simulation experiment on the Internet. The new service-oriented paradigm brings new research challenges in composing multiple simulation services in a meaningful and correct way for simulation experiments. To systematically support simulation software as a service (SimSaaS) and service-oriented simulation experiment, we propose a layered framework that includes five layers: an infrastructure layer, a simulation execution engine layer, a simulation service layer, a simulation experiment layer and finally a graphical user interface layer. Within this layered framework, we provide a specification for both simulation experiment and the involved individual simulation services. Such a formal specification is useful in order to support systematic compositions of simulation services as well as automatic deployment of composed services for carrying out simulation experiments. Built on this specification, we identify the issue of mismatch of time granularity and event granularity in composing simulation services at the pragmatic level, and develop four types of granularity handling agents to be associated with the couplings between services. The ultimate goal is to achieve standard and automated approaches for simulation service composition in the emerging service-oriented computing environment. Finally, to achieve more efficient service-oriented simulation, we develop a profile-based partitioning method that exploits a system’s dynamic behavior and uses it as a profile to guide the spatial partitioning for more efficient parallel simulation. We develop the work in this dissertation within the application context of wildfire spread simulation, and demonstrate the effectiveness of our work based on this application

Product-service systems scenarios simulation based on G-DEVS/HLA: Generalized discrete event specification/high level architecture

International audienceIn the past decade, personal customers expected manufacturing companies to provide them with a physical product with, nonetheless, some basic additional services. Currently, customers expect a more comprehensive solution, integrating both a physical product and non-physical services, which explains why companies have started to propose Product-Service Systems (PSS). The underlying objective of profitability can be attained if the system is designed, based on system use, to avoid waste, and if services are developed jointly with products. Although all the requisite conditions are well-known, the optimal way to satisfy them is not formalized or even guided by any clear methodology. This paper proposes to create PSS models to be simulated in different service scenarios based on G-DEVS/HLA. The simulation results provide pointers to help decision maker choose between several PSS design scenarios to be manufactured. A case study from the toy industry is used to illustrate the proposed methodology

UN ENVIRONNEMENT G-DEVS/HLA :<br />APPLICATION A LA MODELISATION ET SIMULATION DISTRIBUEE DE WORKFLOW

The researches of this thesis are divided in:− the proposition of conservative distributed simulation algorithms of models DEVS / G-DEVS,− the definition and the realization of a G-DEVS modeling and simulation (M&S) environment HLA compliant implementing the proposed algorithms,− the application of the environment in the M&S of Workflow.First, we introduced a G-DEVS distributed root coordinator component, including an algorithm of commu-nication with the RTI HLA based on the mechanism of conservative synchronization and using positive Looka-head. Then, we proposed two original algorithms for the computation of Lookahead concerning the current state of a G-DEVS model. These algorithms, based on the analysis of the variation domain of the “lifetime” function of the model, increase the performances of the distributed simulation as the led experiments illustrate it.Based on these approaches, we developed a distributed G-DEVS / HLA M&S environment. This environ-ment was integrated into an application of Workflow. The possibilities offered by the environment were illus-trated by the study of company's real cases of Workflow.Les travaux de cette thèse portent sur :− la proposition d'algorithmes de simulation distribuée conservative de modèles DEVS / G-DEVS,− la définition et la réalisation d'un environnement de modélisation & simulation (M&S) G-DEVS com-patible HLA implémentant les algorithmes proposés,− l'application de l'environnement à la M&S de Workflow.Dans un premier temps, nous avons introduit un composant coordinateur racine G-DEVS distribué, incluant un algorithme de communication avec le RTI HLA basé sur le mécanisme de synchronisation conservative et utilisant un Lookahead positif. Nous avons ensuite proposé deux algorithmes originaux pour le calcul d'un Loo-kahead relatif à l'état courant d'un modèle G-DEVS. Ces algorithmes, basés sur l'analyse du domaine de varia-tion de la fonction « durée de vie » du modèle, augmentent les performances de la simulation distribuée comme l'illustrent les expériences menées.Basé sur ces approches, nous avons développé un environnement de M&S distribué G-DEVS / HLA. Cet environnement a été intégré à une application de Workflow. Les possibilités offertes par l'environnement ont été illustrées par l'étude de cas réels d'entreprises

SCS: 60 years and counting! A time to reflect on the Society's scholarly contribution to M&S from the turn of the millennium.

The Society for Modeling and Simulation International (SCS) is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Since its inception, the Society has widely disseminated the advancements in the field of modeling and simulation (M&S) through its peer-reviewed journals. In this paper we profile research that has been published in the journal SIMULATION: Transactions of the Society for Modeling and Simulation International from the turn of the millennium to 2010; the objective is to acknowledge the contribution of the authors and their seminal research papers, their respective universities/departments and the geographical diversity of the authors' affiliations. Yet another objective is to contribute towards the understanding of the overall evolution of the discipline of M&S; this is achieved through the classification of M&S techniques and its frequency of use, analysis of the sectors that have seen the predomination application of M&S and the context of its application. It is expected that this paper will lead to further appreciation of the contribution of the Society in influencing the growth of M&S as a discipline and, indeed, in steering its future direction

Integrating AADL and FMI to Extend Virtual Integration Capability

Virtual Integration Capability is paramount to perform early validation of Cyber Physical Systems. The objective is to guide the systems engineer so as to ensure that the system under design meets multiple criteria through high-fidelity simulation. In this paper, we present an integration scheme that leverages the FMI (Functional Mock-Up interface) standard and the AADL architecture description language. Their combination allows for validation of systems combining embedded platform captured by the AADL, and FMI components that represent physical elements, either mechanical parts, or the environment. We present one approach, and demonstrator case studies

Distributed Approaches to Supply Chain Simulation: A Review

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from ACM via the DOI in this recordThe field of Supply Chain Management (SCM) is experiencing rapid strides in the use of Industry 4.0 technologies and the conceptualization of new supply chain configurations for online retail, sustainable and green supply chains and the Circular Economy. Thus, there is an increasing impetus to use simulation techniques such as discrete-event simulation, agent-based simulation and hybrid simulation in the context of SCM. In conventional supply chain simulation, the underlying constituents of the system like manufacturing, distribution, retail and logistics processes are often modelled and executed as a single model. Unlike this conventional approach, a distributed supply chain simulation (DSCS) enables the coordinated execution of simulation models using specialist software. To understand the current state-of-the-art of DSCS, this paper presents a methodological review and categorization of literature in DSCS using a framework-based approach. Through a study of over 130 articles, we report on the motivation for using DSCS, the modelling techniques, the underlying distributed computing technologies and middleware, its advantages and a future agenda, as also limitations and trade-offs that may be associated with this approach. The increasing adoption of technologies like Internet-of-Things and Cloud Computing will ensure the availability of both data and models for distributed decision-making, and which is likely to enable data-driven DSCS of the future. This review aims to inform organizational stakeholders, simulation researchers and practitioners, distributed systems developers and software vendors, as to the current state of the art of DSCS, and which will inform the development of future DSCS using new applied computing approaches

Resource-based modeling and simulation of business processes

International audienceThe simulation-based analysis of business processes (BPs) is a key activity at various phases of the BP lifecycle, from the design phase, to predict the process behavior, down to the execution and improvement phases, to recover from possible performance downgrades and/or improve the process performance. The BP analysis is usually carried out taking as input the BP description in a given BP modeling language. This paper specifically addresses BPs described in BPMN (Business Process Model & Notation) and introduces an approach that exploits both model-driven principles and the DEVS (Discrete Event System Specification) formalism to first annotate the BPMN model with the allocation of task resources described in terms of performance and reliability properties and then transform the annotated BPMN model into a DEVS-based model, which can be eventually executed to get the analysis results of interest. The BPMN annotation is carried out by use of PyBPMN, a lightweight BPMN extension that allows business analysts to specify the allocation of task resources and their properties in terms of both time-related attributes and reliability attributes. The paper overviews the proposed approach and gives the details of the DEVS components that are used to model the behavior of the corresponding BPMN primitives