A Collaboration Framework Using Digital Twin for Dynamic Simulation and Requirements Verification Based on MBSE and the MIC Concept

Thanks to their clarity, the use of system models is increasingly widespread in industry, providing engineers with the means of traceability, and reducing ambiguities. Systems engineers use an MBSE (Model-Based System Engineering) approach to describe different views of a system (requirements, operational view, functional view, behavioral view, logical and physical architecture views). The system model is useful to design the system architecture in either a static or a dynamic perspective. The first step in systems engineering is the requirements specification. This is an important step in the development phase, since the system must satisfy the defined requirements (functional and physical), to be able to choose the right architecture solution. Many trade-off methods exist: in some cases, it is sufficient to use parametric diagrams to calculate the system performances based on the functional causality of the system, and to execute simulations in the system modeler tool. However, there are some performances that need a more complex dynamic model requiring, for instance, differential equations, as well as a suitable solver, in a dedicated simulation tool, especially when the system is a complex mechatronic system, that needs multiphysics simulation. Many industries have adopted the digital twin (DT) concept in their activities, because of its fidelity and precision. It is highly recommended to use DT models during the early phases of development in order to verify system requirements, with a view to reducing development costs [18]. It is then necessary to ensure digital thread between system models and DT simulation models. To address these issues, this paper presents a collaboration methodology between simulation engineers and system engineers. The aim is to achieve earlier requirements verification and trade-off decisions. In order to fulfill these objectives, it is necessary to ensure the traceability of models changes and to reduce the probability of miss-understandings. For this reason, the MIC (Model Identity Card) concept is used in the proposed methodology.