Visual Analytics for Complex Engineering Systems: Hybrid Visual Steering of Simulation Ensembles

Information

• Publication Type: Journal Paper with Conference Talk
• Workgroup(s)/Project(s):
  • VRVis Competence Center
• Date: December 2014
• Journal: IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics
• Volume: 20
• Number: 12
• Location: Paris, France
• Lecturer: Kresimir Matkovic
• ISSN: 1077-2626
• Event: IEEE VAST 2014
• Conference date: 9. November 2014 – 14. November 2014
• Pages: 1803 – 1812

Abstract

In this paper we propose a novel approach to hybrid visual steering of simulation ensembles. A simulation ensemble is a collection of simulation runs of the same simulation model using different sets of control parameters. Complex engineering systems have very large parameter spaces so a nai?ve sampling can result in prohibitively large simulation ensembles. Interactive steering of simulation ensembles provides the means to select relevant points in a multi-dimensional parameter space (design of experiment). Interactive steering efficiently reduces the number of simulation runs needed by coupling simulation and visualization and allowing a user to request new simulations on the fly. As system complexity grows, a pure interactive solution is not always sufficient. The new approach of hybrid steering combines interactive visual steering with automatic optimization. Hybrid steering allows a domain expert to interactively (in a visualization) select data points in an iterative manner, approximate the values in a continuous region of the simulation space (by regression) and automatically find the “best” points in this continuous region based on the specified constraints and objectives (by optimization). We argue that with the full spectrum of optimization options, the steering process can be improved substantially. We describe an integrated system consisting of a simulation, a visualization, and an optimization component. We also describe typical tasks and propose an interactive analysis workflow for complex engineering systems. We demonstrate our approach on a case study from automotive industry, the optimization of a hydraulic circuit in a high pressure common rail Diesel injection system.

Additional Files and Images

Weblinks

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2014.2346744

BibTeX

@article{Matkovic-2014-ieee,
  title =      "Visual Analytics for Complex Engineering Systems: Hybrid
               Visual Steering of Simulation Ensembles",
  author =     "Kresimir Matkovic and Denis Gracanin and Rainer Splechtna
               and M. Jelovic and Benedikt Stehno and Helwig Hauser and
               Werner Purgathofer",
  year =       "2014",
  abstract =   "In this paper we propose a novel approach to hybrid visual
               steering of simulation ensembles. A simulation ensemble is a
               collection of simulation runs of the same simulation model
               using different sets of control parameters. Complex
               engineering systems have very large parameter spaces so a
               nai?ve sampling can result in prohibitively large simulation
               ensembles. Interactive steering of simulation ensembles
               provides the means to select relevant points in a
               multi-dimensional parameter space (design of experiment).
               Interactive steering efficiently reduces the number of
               simulation runs needed by coupling simulation and
               visualization and allowing a user to request new simulations
               on the fly. As system complexity grows, a pure interactive
               solution is not always sufficient. The new approach of
               hybrid steering combines interactive visual steering with
               automatic optimization. Hybrid steering allows a domain
               expert to interactively (in a visualization) select data
               points in an iterative manner, approximate the values in a
               continuous region of the simulation space (by regression)
               and automatically find the “best” points in this
               continuous region based on the specified constraints and
               objectives (by optimization). We argue that with the full
               spectrum of optimization options, the steering process can
               be improved substantially. We describe an integrated system
               consisting of a simulation, a visualization, and an
               optimization component. We also describe typical tasks and
               propose an interactive analysis workflow for complex
               engineering systems. We demonstrate our approach on a case
               study from automotive industry, the optimization of a
               hydraulic circuit in a high pressure common rail Diesel
               injection system.",
  month =      dec,
  journal =    "IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics",
  volume =     "20",
  number =     "12",
  issn =       "1077-2626",
  pages =      "1803--1812",
  URL =        "https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/publications/2014/Matkovic-2014-ieee/",
}