TY - JOUR
AU1 - Kim, Byung, Chul
AU2 - Lee,, Hyunoh
AU3 - Mun,, Duhwan
AU4 - Han,, Soonhung
AB - Abstract For performing design tasks in a process plant construction project using a three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided design system, it is necessary to build a library to save catalogs containing information on 3D shape, specifications, and ports for bulk materials, such as pipes and fittings, or custom-built equipment, such as large equipment and skids. Furthermore, a library must be effectively reused as the building process requires considerable time and cost. In this study, a system architecture that manages the entire lifecycle of a catalog is proposed for generating, saving, and managing a neutral catalog for components and for converting to a native format of a commercial system needed by users. Subsequently, detailed technologies required to implement such architecture are discussed. Lastly, experiments on building, searching, and exchanging are conducted for approximately 3000 catalogs provided by company P in Korea to verify the effectiveness of the proposed architecture for lifecycle management of a component catalog. Graphical Abstract Open in new tabDownload slide Graphical Abstract Open in new tabDownload slide 3D shape script, catalog library management, classification system, data interface, ISO 15926, model simplification, plant 3D design, shape similarity-based search Highlights A new system architecture that manages the entire lifecycle of a catalog is proposed. The neutral catalog model was defined based on ISO 13584 and 15926 standards. Three-dimensional computer-aided design simplifier and shape script generator were developed to generate catalog data. A method to convert a neutral catalog to a native one using mapping data is presented. A catalog library of 2957 bulk materials and 2 custom-built equipment was built. 1. Introduction In a process plant construction project, various stakeholders are involved, including an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company, component manufacturer, supervisor, owner, and operator. The project data managed by these stakeholders and the engineering system used for their work processes vary. Moreover, information is often updated throughout different stages of a project. During these processes, a data interoperability issue arises. Data interoperability refers to whether files or data of a sending system are converted and processed to correspond to the format of a receiving system (Mun, Hwang, Han, Seki, & Yang, 2008). When data interoperability is not secured in a project, it demands increased costs, time, and labor of project participants (Gallaher, O’Connor, Dettbarn, & Gilday, 2004). Thus, a proper environment in which diverse stakeholders can exchange and share accurate data at the right time needs to be provided in a process plant construction project. In such a project, a plant three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided design (CAD) system is used for basic and detailed design tasks. In the initial stage of plant design, schematic diagrams of various disciplines are drafted focusing on the piping system. Then, a 3D design for civil engineering, piping, equipment, structure, electricity, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems is conceived by referring to the drafted schematic diagrams of the plant. A designer selects the required plant items by searching the component catalog saved in the library during the 3D design process and arranges them in a 3D space. The 3D CAD model created in a plant 3D CAD system is used for a variety of purposes such as design review, interference check, material quantity estimation, construction planning, and installation studies. Contrary to mechanical 3D CAD systems in which the 3D shape of a component has modeled a sequence of features (Wu, He, Zhang, & Li, 2015; Zhang, He, Han, & Li, 2016), plant 3D CAD systems define the 3D shape of a component by referring to a corresponding catalog. For performing design tasks in a process plant construction project using a 3D CAD system, it is necessary to build a library of catalogs containing information of 3D shape, specifications, and ports for bulk materials and custom-built equipment. Besides, efficient construction and sharing of catalogs are important in a process plant construction project. Here, the bulk material is a general product having standard specifications such as pipes or fittings. It has common specifications and shape regardless of the manufacturer. On the other hand, custom-built equipment is a specialized product used for a specific purpose in a specific project such as skids or large equipment. It is produced and supplied by a manufacturer on the EPC company’s order according to the required specifications. Here, skids refer to equipment in which various pipes, fittings, and devices are mounted in a rectangular structure to serve special purposes. However, in actual fields, catalogs are manually created, which increases the possibility of malfunction and the time required for building libraries. Moreover, catalog libraries are built to be dependent on commercial systems, which decrease the interoperability of catalogs. The reusability of catalogs is also low because it is difficult to determine the desired catalog using the common keyword-based search method in a component catalog library management system (Kim, Yeo, Lee, & Mun, 2020). Such low interoperability is a major obstacle to the implementation of smart manufacturing (Han, 2020; Rauch & Vickery, 2020), a key component of Industry 4.0 (Ceruti, Marzocca, Liverani, & Bil, 2019) as well as automation of 3D-based engineering work in the process plant industry. In this study, a new system architecture that manages the entire lifecycle of a component catalog is proposed. The lifecycle in this context refers to that of a catalog for components such as bulk materials and custom-built equipment that consists of generating, storing, and managing a neutral catalog and converting to a native format of a commercial system needed by users, and thus supporting 3D designing of a process plant. This architecture comprises catalog generation, catalog management, and catalog conversion units. In addition, experiments on building, searching, and exchanging are conducted for approximately 3000 catalogs provided by company P in Korea to verify the effectiveness of the proposed architecture for lifecycle management of a component catalog for a process plant. This paper is organized as follows: In Section 2, previous studies on building, managing, and exchanging catalogs in the process plant field are examined. In Section 3, the concept of managing the lifecycle of a component catalog is introduced. In Section 4, the component catalog library management based on a neutral model is discussed. In Section 5, the method for generating catalogs for bulk materials and custom-built equipment is proposed. In Section 6, exchanging catalog data with the commercial plant 3D CAD system is described. In Section 7, the results of experiments on building, searching, and converting a sample catalog are discussed. Lastly, Section 8 concludes this paper. 2. Review of Related Studies 2.1 Standards-based process plant data exchange The standards commonly used for exchanging design information in the process plant field include ISO 10303 (Pratt, 2001) and ISO 15926 (Batres, Aoyama, & Naka, 2002). In addition to international standards, neutral models for translating plant data include the generic product model (GPM) developed by Hitachi of Japan (Yoshinari, Yoshinaga, Shibao, Igoshi, & Kimur, 2003; Koizumi, Seki, & Yoon, 2004) and XMpLant developed by Noumenon of the UK and maintained by the Nextspace of New Zealand (XMpLant, 2020). ISO 10303 is an international standard for exchanging product model data and provides application protocols that can be applied to the process plant industry. The application protocols related to the process plant include ISO 10303 AP 221 (2005), AP 227 (2005), and AP 239 (2005). ISO 15926 is an international standard developed to share and integrate process plant information. XMpLant provides a native neutral model for exchanging a two-dimensional (2D) piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) and 3D models. This model also provides compatibility with the ISO 15926 reference data library. GPM, which is a neutral model specialized for nuclear power plants, was used in building an integrated data warehouse for transferring design data from the EPC stage to the operation and maintenance (O&M) stage, and exchanging data between design and O&M support systems (Mun et al., 2008; Mun & Yang, 2010). Furthermore, an actual standard on the representation of P&ID includes DEXPI (DEXPI, 2020); commercial solution vendors such as HEXAGON, AVEVA, Siemens, and Autodesk conducted experiments on exchanging data using DEXPI. iRINGTools (Kwon et al., 2018; iRINGTools, 2020) is a tool developed through a joint research program between Fiatech, which is now CII, and POSC Caesar for exchanging plant data, and supports major parts of the ISO 15926 standard. In the EU, a device catalog data sharing system was developed based on ISO 15926 to be used in shipbuilding and marine plant industries (Irgens, Hansen, & Haenisch, 2004; EIPM, 2016). Kim, Teijgeler, Mun, and Han (2011) implemented an ISO 15926 standard-based data repository prototype called facade to store device data of nuclear power plants and provide data service to related institutions. Kwon, Kim, Hwang, Mun, and Han (2016) proposed expressing specification information using ISO 15926 to improve the environment for sharing catalogs of equipment and materials. Kwon et al. (2018) also built a reference data server for Shin-Kori nuclear power plants no. 1 and 2 operated by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and conducted experiments on exchanging data on the specifications of equipment and materials using iRINGTools. 2D drawings and 3D models, containing the plant design information, are used as master data during the lifecycle. In line with this study, Kim et al. (2017) also proposed a method for exchanging plant 3D design models using the ISO 15926 standard. Fiorentini, Paviot, Fortineau, Goblet, and Lamouri (2013) conducted experiments on converting the engineering data of existing nuclear power plants to the format of ISO 15926. In this study, ISO 15926 parts were adapted to the proprietary data model of Electricité de France. Jeon, Byon, and Mun (2013) proposed a procedure for exchanging P&ID data using iRINGTools and verified its suitability through experiments. Li et al. (2011) developed a neutral model by referring to AP 227 and ISO 15926 standards for exchanging a 3D design model for ship outfitting between Tribon and PDMS. Kim, Cho, Hwang, Li, and Han (2010) developed a neutral model for ship piping model data for long-term archiving and CAD data exchange among shipbuilding CAD systems by referring to ISO 10303–227 and ISO 15926. Lee, Han, and Mun (2012) proposed a data model that supports effective O&M of a manufacturing facility by applying the basic concept of ISO 15926 Part 2 data model. Kim, Kim, Park, Teijgeler, and Mun (2020) suggested an integrated data model that represents the entire lifecycle data of a process plant, including maintenance activities using ISO 15926 standards. Braaksma, Klingenberg, and van Exel (2011) investigated the application of asset information standards during cooperative processes in a process plant industry, and reported that they were being applied only within a limited range. Compared to the existing studies indicated above, this study proposes a lifecycle management system architecture that supports the creation, storage, search, and utilization of catalogs for components used in the 3D design of process plants, combining industrial data standards, 3D model simplification, parametric modeling, and shape similarity comparison technologies. For both bulk materials and custom-built equipment, this architecture provides an environment in which 3D shape, specifications, and ports are stored together in a neutral model-based catalog, which can be used directly by commercial plant 3D CAD systems through complete seamless integration. Therefore, this study has a combinational novelty. 2.2 3D model shape simplification Studies on 3D CAD model simplification can be classified into mesh-based, boundary representation (B-rep)-based, and feature-based methods according to the input format. Mesh-based simplification methods (Schroeder, Zarge, & Lorensen, 1992; Rossignac & Borrel, 1993; Hoppe, 1996; Garland & Heckbert, 1997; Liang, He, & Zeng, 2020) aim to generate a mesh model with various levels of detail (LOD) for efficient rendering. The basic principle of these methods is to reconfigure or remove vertices or edges comprising a mesh. Applying them to a CAD model requires converting the CAD model to a mesh model, which would cause the loss of engineering information. In addition, mesh-based simplification generally does not consider requirements from the engineering points of view during simplification, such as preserving sharp edges. For these reasons, applying mesh-based methods to a CAD model is not suitable for engineering purposes. To solve this issue, additional processes such as mesh segmentation or feature recognition have been applied in certain cases (Gao, Zhao, Lin, Yang, & Chen, 2010). B-rep-based simplification methods include approaches for analysing the patterns of topological elements comprising a model to discern and remove elements to be simplified such as a face (Koo & Lee, 2002; Sun, Gao, & Zhao, 2010), and approaches for performing volume decomposition to create a volume list and apply feature-based simplification (Kim & Mun, 2014; Kwon, Mun, Kim, Han, & Suh, 2019). Sun et al. (2010) proposed a method for distinguishing the surface region of a model into reserved and simplified regions and then removing a face set corresponding to the simplified region. Kim and Mun (2014) suggested a method for removing the LOD of a 3D model by applying volume decomposition that repeatedly and sequentially performs four types of simplification operations. Feature-based simplification methods use a CAD model containing a feature tree, in which the list of features used for the modeling process is saved as an input. The importance of each feature can be calculated to select the features to be removed. Kang, Kim, Mun, and Han (2014) proposed simplification evaluation metrics in which both features used for the design process as well as nonfeature information of port are considered for the simplification of equipment and materials of ships and offshore plants. Kwon, Kim, Mun, and Han (2017) suggested a method for determining an appropriate LOD for a simplification model through shape distribution-based comparison. 2.3 Shape similarity-based comparison search Shape similarity-based comparison is a method that quantitatively calculates the similarity between different object shapes. Shape descriptors, which contain the characteristics of shapes, are extracted from objects and their differences are calculated for measuring shape similarity. The 3D shape similarity comparison method can be classified into feature-based, graph-based, or geometry-based depending on the representation of a shape descriptor (Tangelder & Veltkamp, 2008). For the feature-based method, features exhibiting geometric characteristics of 3D shapes are calculated for comparison. Global features such as volume or moment (Paquet, Rioux, Murching, Naveen, & Tabatabai, 2000; Zhang & Chen, 2001), spatial maps such as spherical harmonics (Kazhdan, Funkhouser, & Rusinkiewicz, 2003), and local features such as persistent feature histogram (Rusu, Blodow, Marton, & Beetz, 2008) are commonly used. In the graph-based method, a graph that includes the relationship between elements comprising a 3D shape and shows the geometrical meaning of the 3D shape is extracted from the 3D shape and used for similarity measurement. The graph types widely used for this method include model graph (McWherter, Peabody, Shokoufandeh, & Regli, 2001), reeb graph (Biasotti et al., 2003), and skeleton (Sundar, Silver, Gagvani, & Dickinson, 2003). A geometry-based method is further categorized into view-based (Liu et al., 2013), volumetric error-based (Sánchez-Cruz & Bribiesca, 2003), weighted point set-based (Dey, Giesen, & Goswami, 2003), and deformation-based (Cohen, Ayache, & Sulger, 1992). Recently, deep-learning-based shape similarity comparison methods such as multiview convolutional neural network (CNN) (Su, Maji, Kalogerakis, & Learned-Miller, 2015) or RotationNet (Kanezaki, Matsushita, & Nishida, 2018) have also been proposed. 3. Lifecycle Management for Component Catalogs to Support Plant 3D Design 3.1 Requirements for the management of catalogs To build a lifecycle support system for catalogs used in a process plant construction project, interviews with the working-level staff of plant engineering companies (companies P and A) and a shipbuilding company (company D) in Korea were initially conducted to analyse user demands. A catalog library should be built within the plant 3D CAD system for 3D designing of a plant. The catalogs for bulk materials and custom-built equipment need to be built. With respect to custom-built equipment, a B-rep-based 3D CAD model supplied by the manufacturer is typically used for 3D shapes. This 3D CAD model has a higher LOD than that required for 3D designing of a plant; therefore, the shape stored in the B-rep-based 3D CAD model should be simplified and the data size should be reduced. Currently, a designer needs to remodel the 3D CAD model to have a simplified shape based on the supplied 3D CAD model. For bulk materials, the properties required for defining a shape are included in the classification system used for the description of catalogs and values of those properties are written in catalogs. The information needed for generating the 3D shape of bulk materials is stored in catalogs in a shape script format. The shape script is a record of a series of commands that generate a 3D shape by receiving the shape property values as input according to the constructive solid geometry (CSG) 3D modeling method. Therefore, a shape script file containing 3D shape information of bulk materials needs to be generated. In general, information regarding the 3D shape, specifications, and ports of a component (bulk materials, general equipment, large equipment, and skids) are input into a catalog. They are provided by the manufacturers of components. The 3D shape information refers to a 3D CAD model in a B-rep format or a shape script file explained above. Specification information refers to the property information of a component such as dimension, material, functionality, and grade described according to the classification system. Port information refers to the information on the location of a component part through which fluid enters or exits; components are connected through ports. Currently, catalogs are generated manually, but they need to be generated automatically according to the classification system by receiving 3D shape, specifications, and port information of a component as input. To increase the usability of a component catalog, it is effective to operate a component library management module based on a neutral model such that the catalog library can be used in multiple plant 3D CAD systems. The classification system model used for describing catalog data should be able to describe property information needed for a plant 3D CAD system. From this perspective, a neutral classification system model needs to be defined by referring to the data model provided in the international standards. Moreover, a neutral classification system model should be able to represent 3D shape and port information, which are other types of information constituting catalogs. Regarding the catalog search, a library management module is independent of a commercial plant 3D CAD system, and thus, users may not be familiar with the management module. Therefore, typical keyword-based and shape similarity-based search should be simultaneously provided, enabling users to easily search a neutral component catalog in the library. The neutral catalog should be converted to the native format of the CAD system for users to directly use the neutral component catalog they searched in the library management module in a commercial plant 3D CAD system. Specifications and port information that constitute a catalog can be converted through general data mapping. However, 3D shape information is differently converted depending on custom-built equipment and bulk materials. A B-rep-based 3D CAD model is input for custom-built equipment owing to the complex parametrization of its shape. In this case, the B-rep conversion technique (Yang, Han, & Park, 2005) can be applied. When a plant 3D CAD system supports standards such as ISO 10303 AP 203 (2011), 3D shape files contained in a neutral component catalog can be directly used without separate conversion. This AP only permits the exchange of 3D shapes; thus, the usage of this AP in a plant 3D CAD system is limited to import and export of 3D shaped plant components. For bulk materials, however, the 3D shape of each material is controlled by shape-related property values, after standardizing a 3D shape per type in the form of shape script and linking shape-related properties of the classification system with parameters of shape scripts. Most plant 3D CAD systems provide a native format for shape scripts used to represent the 3D shapes of bulk materials. Therefore, shape scripts contained in a neutral component catalog need to be converted to the native format of a plant 3D CAD system. In this case, a shape modeling macro conversion technique such as macro-parametric method (Mun, Han, Kim, & Oh, 2003; Safdar et al., 2020) should be applied. 3.2 Neutral model-based component catalog management system architecture The architecture of a neutral model-based component catalog lifecycle management system has been defined based on the analysis results of user demands for supporting the lifecycle of a catalog, as shown in Fig. 1. The management system architecture consists of the catalog generation, component catalog management, and component catalog conversion units. Figure 1: Open in new tabDownload slide Component catalog lifecycle management system architecture. Figure 1: Open in new tabDownload slide Component catalog lifecycle management system architecture. The catalog generation unit performs 3D shape simplification of custom-built equipment, shape script generation of bulk materials, and catalog generation by integrating 3D shape, specifications, and ports. 3D shape simplification of custom-built equipment reads the B-rep-based 3D CAD model provided by manufacturer and converts it to a simplified model with reduced data size while preserving the overall appearance through LOD control. Shape script generation of bulk materials generates script files whose shapes can be changed through adjustment of parameter values by linking with the shape properties of a neutral classification system of bulk materials. Catalog generation by integrating 3D shape, specifications, and ports generates neutral catalog data by adding property and port information according to the component classification system in addition to the shape files generated from the two previous steps. The component catalog management unit consists of a neutral component classification system, catalog database, and component catalog library management module. The neutral component classification system is used to describe the required specifications, ports, and 3D shape information for each component type. The schema of catalog database is defined based on the neutral component classification system described above, and component catalog data are saved along with related files. The library management module provides basic functions to generate, revise, and delete catalogs in the database as well as keyword-based search and shape-based comparison search functions. Moreover, the library management module provides administrator functions such as user account management and classification system management. The catalog conversion unit performs conversion of nonshape and shape information of catalogs. The indirect translation method using external reference mapping data is used for converting nonshape information. Shape information conversion varies depending on custom-built equipment or bulk materials. For custom-built equipment, a 3D CAD file in a neutral B-rep format (i.e. ISO 10303) is converted to the format supported by commercial plant CAD systems such as Smart3D and PDMS. For bulk materials, a neutral shape script file is converted to the script format native to commercial plant CAD systems. 4. Catalog Library Management Based on a Neutral Model 4.1 Component catalog library management module The component catalog library management module provides a catalog to a component stored in the database, as shown in Fig. 2. The information included in the component catalog is part specifications, 3D shape, and port information. The part specification information of a component includes part number, grade, material, dimension, and functionality. The 3D shape information includes B-rep-based CAD file, neutral shape script file, and shape descriptor used for shape comparison. The port information, which specifies the connection points of each component, is stored in a catalog. Figure 2: Open in new tabDownload slide Component catalog library management module. Figure 2: Open in new tabDownload slide Component catalog library management module. Catalog data are described based on the predefined neutral component classification system. This system describes specification information, ports, and 3D shape files, in which the data model used for the system consists of a list of component types, hierarchical relationship between component types, a list of properties, units of measure, properties belonging to each component type, and ports and files related to each component. The database schema that stores the component classification system and the catalog within the library management module is defined as shown in Fig. 3. The database schema is defined based on the information sources provided by ISO 13584 PLIB (Cho, Han, & Kim, 2006) and the ISO 15926 process plant (Kwon et al., 2018). The component type and hierarchical relationship between component types are saved in the Class table. The properties are saved in the Property table. CodeMaster saves master information such as units of measure. The properties belonging to each component type are saved in the ClassPropertyRelationship table. The component data are saved in the CatalogDefaultData, CatalogDetailData, Port, and File tables. The CatalogDefaultData and CatalogDetailData tables store common property and detailed property values of a component, respectively. The component ports and 3D shape information are saved in the Port and File tables, respectively. The component classification system provides major specification information of a component and is used as a reference model when generating a neutral shape script file for bulk materials. Accordingly, the PropertyType field is added to the Property table in the database schema to distinguish the properties into geometric and nongeometric types. Figure 3: Open in new tabDownload slide Database schema of the component catalog library management module. Figure 3: Open in new tabDownload slide Database schema of the component catalog library management module. The case of representing the classification system related to the ball valve according to database schema is shown in Fig. 4. In this case, the Class table shows that the upper class of Ball Valve is Linear Valves. The ClassPropertyRelationship table shows that Ball Valve has IndustryCommodityCode, CommodityType, RPadThickness, and Angle as properties. The Property table shows that CommodityType and RPadThickness properties are nongeometric and geometric types, respectively. Figure 4: Open in new tabDownload slide Component classification system data stored in database. Figure 4: Open in new tabDownload slide Component classification system data stored in database. 4.2 Shape comparison-based catalog retrieval Catalog retrieval is a function for searching catalogs saved in the library. The catalog retrieval in the proposed system is largely divided into conventional keyword-based and shape comparison-based retrievals (Kim et al., 2020). Conventional keyword-based retrieval involves searching for the desired components in the library by filtering based on name, dimension, or functionality. This method has the advantage of quickly and accurately finding the desired part if a user has professional knowledge of the component. However, the neutral component catalog library management module uses an independent classification system from a commercial plant 3D CAD system, which may reduce the usability of the library management module if only this retrieval method is provided. Shape comparison-based retrieval involves searching for the component catalog by receiving 3D shape information as an input. Through the experience of performing several previous projects, designers often have components that look similar to the components they want to find. Therefore, there is no significant problem when using shape comparison-based retrieval. 3D CAD systems increasingly adopt shape comparison-based retrieval. In this study, a technique that searches for a component catalog having a similar shape as the 3D CAD file input by a user is applied. For implementing the functionality of shape comparison-based retrieval, a shape distribution-based comparison method (Osada, Funkhouse, Chazelle, & Dobkin, 2002; Ohbuchi, Minamitani, & Takei, 2005) was adopted. The advantage of this method is that calculation is simple and fast; additionally, it is not affected by the location, direction, or size of a 3D shape. Furthermore, the sampling points of the 3D CAD model are used for creating a histogram, which is a shape descriptor used for shape comparison. Therefore, it can be applied to most of 3D CAD models such as B-rep and mesh models. Shape distribution-based 3D shape comparison consists of mesh model generation, point sampling, histogram computation, and histogram comparison, as shown in Fig. 5. When a B-rep model is used for shape distribution-based comparison, the model is converted to a mesh model first (Fig. 5a). Most commercial 3D CAD systems or shape modeling kernels provide a function for converting a B-rep model to a mesh model. If the input 3D CAD model is a mesh model, this step is skipped. Figure 5: Open in new tabDownload slide Shape comparison-based catalog retrieval. Figure 5: Open in new tabDownload slide Shape comparison-based catalog retrieval. Once a mesh model is generated, point sampling is performed from this model (Fig. 5b). Points are sampled within each triangle constituting a mesh model, and the probability of the points being sampled in each triangle is proportional to the area of the triangle. Points are also sampled within the triangle and not at the boundary. After sampling points in a mesh model, the probability distribution of the characteristics of the model is computed by using the points that are randomly extracted from the set of the sampled points as input (Fig. 5c). A shape function is used to calculate the characteristics of the model. The shape function is distinguished by the number of points received as input and the type of characteristics being computed. The characteristics being computed in a shape function include distance, angle, area, and volume. The commonly used shape functions are A3, D1, D2, D3, and D4, shown below, from which D2 is the most often used. A shape function is computed for a predetermined number (n) to generate the probability distribution of the characteristics of the model. For computing the probability distribution, the range between the maximum and minimum of the characteristics value is divided into the predetermined number (b) of sections, and the frequency of occurrence of the characteristics value in each section is calculated to generate a histogram and normalization of the histogram is conducted. Here, the normalized histogram is used as a shape descriptor and exhibits the characteristics of a 3D shape. The similarity of a 3D CAD model is compared by calculating the distance between the normalized histograms (Fig. 5d). The distance value ranges from 0 to 2, in which higher similarities have a value closer to 0 and lower similarities have a value closer to 2. In the catalog database, a shape descriptor file (histogram file) is initially generated offline using 3D shape files included in the catalog, and then uploaded on the database. During the process of shape comparison-based retrieval, a shape descriptor is calculated from the 3D shape file input by a user and then the calculated descriptor is compared with those saved in the database to return the catalog containing a descriptor with the highest similarity to a user (Fig. 5e). 5. Catalog Generations for Bulk Materials and Custom-Built Equipment To build a catalog library for the 3D design of a plant, the 3D shapes of bulk materials and custom-built equipment need to be generated in different methods. Moreover, specifications and port information are added to the generated shape. 5.1 Shape script generation for generating shapes of bulk materials When the shape of bulk materials is first generated, the classification system information is imported from the component library management module, and a user selects a type of bulk material to generate in the classification system. Here, the shape property information of the selected bulk material type is additionally imported from the library management module and the user defines the shape of bulk materials based on the shape property information. The major commercial plant CAD systems such as PDMS and Smart3D adopt the CSG representation, which combines simple primitive shapes, to represent the shape of bulk materials. Therefore, in this study, the shape of bulk materials is also represented as a shape script in CSG for compatibility when exchanging the shape script. The shape script has a relation between the shape parameters and the shape property of a catalog. However, it is difficult to manually write a shape script. In this study, therefore, a shape script generation module, which supports parametric modeling (Roller, 1991; Shah, 1991), was developed to easily write a shape script. The shape of bulk materials is represented by arranging 11 primitive shapes (box, circular torus, cone, cylinder, dish, extrusion, pyramid, rectangular torus, sloped cylinder, snout, and revolution) including the location of ports, adjusting their sizes, and combining them using Boolean computations. Primitive shapes have position, orientation, and dimension as shape parameters, in which the shapes of bulk materials with various dimensions can be represented by changing the shape parameters. The relation between shape parameters and shape properties is represented in the shape script to generate the shape of bulk materials so that the shape parameters are changed according to the changes in the shape properties of a catalog. The relation is a function in which shape properties and parameters are used as independent and dependent variables, respectively. The relation function is represented with JavaScript. Therefore, the shape parameters are evaluated by executing a function represented in JavaScript when the shape properties of a catalog are changed. Using the evaluated shape parameters, the shape of the bulk materials represented in CSG is regenerated to create a changed shape. A parametric part family method is used to generated all shapes of the bulk materials in the catalog list. The parametric part family refers to a method for creating parameters used for defining shapes into a table format and managing them (Shah, 1998). In this study, the catalog in the library management module becomes the parameter table. The each row in the parameter table represents one bulk material. Therefore, for generating all shapes of the bulk materials in the catalog, the shape properties of all rows in the catalog are sent to the shape script generation module in a batch, and a shape script for each row is regenerated to create bulk shapes. Figure 6 shows such a relationship. Figure 6: Open in new tabDownload slide Relationship among equipment library properties, equipment shape, shape properties, and parametric part family. Figure 6: Open in new tabDownload slide Relationship among equipment library properties, equipment shape, shape properties, and parametric part family. The shape of bulk material and the relation between shape parameters and shape properties are saved as a shape script file, which is defined as a neutral format for this study and is represented in an extensible markup language (XML) format. Furthermore, the shape script file is uploaded on the component catalog library management module. If there is a need to use the shape script file in a commercial plant CAD system, it needs to be converted to the script format native to the commercial plant CAD system. 5.2 Shape generation of custom-built equipment using shape simplification For the shape of custom-built equipment, a 3D CAD model in the B-rep format supplied by the manufacturer needs to be simplified as indicated in Section 3.1. Custom-built equipment is typically represented as a large-scale assembly consisting of part and subassembly models, thus requiring shape simplification of the assembly. To solve this problem, internal part filtering, local feature recognition and removal, and volume decomposition are applied to simplify a B-rep-based shape. In addition, users can determine the appropriate LOD for the shape. Internal part filtering is for automatically finding and removing internal parts located within custom-built equipment making them invisible when seen from outside because they are hidden by the case. The internal shape information of the custom-built equipment is not required in 3D designing of a plant; thus, the shape size can be drastically reduced by removing the internal parts. In this study, internal part filtering is performed with the method proposed by (Kwon, Kim, Mun, & Han, 2015; Kwon, Kim, Mun, & Han, 2018). The method first proposed by Kwon et al. (2015) is a type of a hidden surface removal method using ray casting and includes ray casting from the outside and inside. Ray casting from the outside involves determining the parts that have not been casted with rays that are shot from outside as internal parts. Ray casting from the inside involves determining the parts that have been casted with rays that are shot from inside toward outside as internal parts. Kwon et al. proposed in a subsequent study (Kwon et al., 2018) a vertical shooting method, in which rays are shot in a direction perpendicular to the face of parts, and a radial shooting method, in which rays are shot radially outwards from the center of gravity of parts, improving the accuracy and performance of the method proposed in Kwon et al. (2015). Local feature recognition and removal involve automatically recognizing and removing features in parts such as fillet, round, chamfer, and hole. Local features may be important elements in designing equipment, but they also increase the complexity of shape representation and are not required for 3D designing of a plant. A defeaturing function provided by shape modeling kernel ACIS was used for local feature recognition and removal. Volume decomposition involves decomposing the shape of parts constituting an assembly into simpler volumes and gradually removing simpler volumes until the shape reaches the LOD desired by a user. To decompose part shapes into a set of simple volumes, wrap-around and volume decompositions are used (Kim & Mun, 2014). Wrap-around decomposition decomposes a shape by finding a convex inner loop in a part shape and using it as a base, whereas volume split decomposition decomposes a part shape into two parts by finding a concave inner loop. After volume decomposition, the volumes are arranged based on various factors including shape volume, boundary closeness, and port shape, thus removing the volumes failing to meet the criteria to adjust the LOD. A user can select the volumes to be removed and those to be retained. Finally, the remaining volumes are combined through Boolean operations to generate one simplified shape. Figure 7 shows the process of simplification of an air compressor. Figure 7a is the original shape of an air compressor, and Fig. 7b shows the part that has been removed after internal part filtering. Figure 7c is the result of local features recognition and removal. It can be seen in Fig. 7c that a small hole and fillet have been removed. Figure 7d shows the result of volume decomposition and the shape simplified through LOD adjustment. In this step, volumes of small size and low importance were removed, compared to the simplification model in Fig. 7c. Figure 7: Open in new tabDownload slide Simplification of the air compressor: (a) original shape, (b) internal part filtering, (c) removal of the local features, and (d) simplified shape. Figure 7: Open in new tabDownload slide Simplification of the air compressor: (a) original shape, (b) internal part filtering, (c) removal of the local features, and (d) simplified shape. 5.3 Component catalog data generation For generating a neutral model-based catalog, a shape of bulk materials or custom-built equipment is generated, and specifications and port information are added. For generating a component catalog, the category and property information of the component must be known. This information can be obtained from the neutral classification system data managed by the component catalog library management module. The neutral classification system data are imported in an XML format from the component catalog library management module. The data of a neutral classification system consist of Classes, Properties, ClassPropertyRelations, and CodeMaster, as shown on the left side of Fig. 8. They represent the component category in a hierarchical structure, a list of properties, a list of properties that belong to each category, and the units of measure and a code master in which code lists are saved, respectively. Figure 8: Open in new tabDownload slide Component classification system and catalog data representation in XML. Figure 8: Open in new tabDownload slide Component classification system and catalog data representation in XML. Neutral catalog data are generated based on a neutral classification system. The data structure of a neutral catalog has been newly defined for this study and is saved in an XML format to be delivered to the component catalog library management module. The data of a neutral catalog consist of the following parts. Catalog_ID shows a unique identifier of a catalog, Class_ID shows the component type of a catalog, NonGeometric_Property_Values shows a list of nongeometric property values, Geometric_Property_Values shows a list of geometric property values, PortData shows the port information, and Files shows the file information of the component’s 3D shape, as shown on the right side of Fig. 8. PortData represents the port list as Port, in which the unique identifier of the port, port type, port end type, input unit, and port location are represented as Port_ID, Port_Type, Port_End_Type, Unit_Of_Measure, and Coordinates, respectively. In File, which constitutes Files, the path of a 3D shape and type information are saved. The information of the B-rep-based file is saved in a catalog of custom-built equipment, and the information of the shape script file is saved in a catalog of bulk materials. In addition, a graphic user interface-based neutral catalog generation module was implemented in this study to facilitate catalog generation. Using this particular module, users can link a shape modeler for generating bulk materials with a shape simplification function, and then add specifications and port information to the generated shape, thereby creating neutral catalog data. 6. Seamless Complete Integration with Plant 3D CAD Systems To use a neutral classification system-based component catalog in a plant 3D CAD system, the neutral catalog needs to be converted to the native catalog data used in the plant 3D CAD system. Moreover, a shape script needs to be converted to the script native to the plant 3D CAD system for bulk materials. The input files used for conversion are neutral classification system, neutral catalog, and related 3D shape files downloaded from the component catalog library management module. The neutral classification system and neutral catalog files are saved as XML files using the neutral data model explained in Section 5.3; the 3D shape file of the bulk materials is saved as a shape script file, as explained in Section 5.1; and the 3D shape file of the custom-built equipment is simplified by the methods indicated in Section 5.2 and then saved as a B-rep file in an ISO 10303 format. 6.1 Conversion of a component catalog The process of converting a neutral catalog to a native catalog using mapping data is shown in Fig. 9. In this section, the conversion process is explained using the case of HEXAGON’s Smart3D. First, the catalog and related files selected by a user in the neutral component catalog library management module are extracted along with a classification system. The extracted neutral catalog data use the mapping results between the catalog models to convert to native catalog data. Property mapping, component type mapping, and code master mapping information are needed for conversion. A catalog model mapping process must be completed for each commercial system in advance. In this study, the mapping process between the neutral and Smart3D models was manually performed. The native catalog converted from a neutral catalog is uploaded on a commercial plant 3D CAD system for the use in 3D design. Figure 9: Open in new tabDownload slide Catalog conversion between the neutral library and commercial systems. Figure 9: Open in new tabDownload slide Catalog conversion between the neutral library and commercial systems. A component type mapping table is defined for mapping between component types in different classification systems; Fig. 10 (a) shows an example. This table consists of NeutralClass, representing a component type of a neutral classification system, NeutralInstance, representing component instance, Class_ID, representing a component type identifier, Parent_ID, representing a parent component type identifier, and S3DCodeList and S3Dclass, exhibiting a component group and type of the relevant plant 3D CAD system, respectively. Figure 10: Open in new tabDownload slide Catalog model mapping between the neutral component catalog library management module and commercial systems. Figure 10: Open in new tabDownload slide Catalog model mapping between the neutral component catalog library management module and commercial systems. Figure 11: Open in new tabDownload slide Translation of 3D shape file: (a) shape script, (b) translated Visual Basic code, and (c) bulk shape generated in Smart3D. Figure 11: Open in new tabDownload slide Translation of 3D shape file: (a) shape script, (b) translated Visual Basic code, and (c) bulk shape generated in Smart3D. A property mapping table is defined for mapping between properties in different classification systems; Fig. 10b shows an example. This table consists of Class_ID, representing a component type identifier of neutral catalog data, NeutralPropertyName, representing a property name, Property_ID, representing a property identifier, S3DClass, representing a component class, and S3DPropertyName and S3Dunit, representing property name and unit of the relevant plant 3D CAD system, respectively. As shown in Fig. 10c, a code master mapping table is defined for mapping between a code master used in a neutral model-based component library and a code list used in a plant 3D CAD system. This table consists of NeutralCodeList, representing a code name of a code master, Code_Type, representing a primary code identifier, Unit_Code, representing a secondary code identifier, NeutralCodeListValue, representing a code value, and S3DCodeList, S3DCodeListNumber, and S3DCodeListValue, representing the code name, number, and value of the relevant plant 3D CAD system, respectively. For converting a neutral model-based component catalog to a native catalog of a plant 3D CAD system, additional auxiliary input information is needed along with mapping information. Auxiliary input information includes the basic unit information of length, weight, and angle used in a commercial system (e.g. Smart3D) to be converted, and is required to provide accurate conversion. The auxiliary input information table consists of UOMType, UOMDescription, and UOMSymbol, which represent a unit type, description, and symbol, respectively. 6.2 Converting a 3D shape file The method for converting a 3D shape file varies depending on the type of a shape file. The B-rep file in the ISO 10303 format linked with a catalog of custom-built equipment can be directly imported in a commercial plant 3D CAD system or converted to a different format supported by a commercial system, such as standard ACIS text, using an off-the-shelf conversion library. A neutral shape script linked with a catalog of bulk materials requires the implementation of a separate translator, as the newly defined format (Fig. 11a) in this study. For generating a 3D shape of bulk materials in Smart3D, a file called symbol is used, which is implemented with a dynamic linked library (DLL). A symbol file is created by writing a script code (Fig. 11b) for shape generation in the Visual Basic.NET language using an application programming interface (API) provided in Smart3D and then compiling this script to DLL. Smart3D represents a shape in CSG representation, which is identical to the neutral shape script. Therefore, the primitive shape in the neutral shape script can be mapped with the API of Smart3D. For example, the box shape of the neutral script can be mapped with CreateBox API of Smart3D, and the cylinder shape of the neutral shape can be mapped with CreateCylinder API of Smart3D. However, there is a difference between the parameters and coordinates representing a primitive shape; therefore, the delivered value needs to be converted. The relation of the neutral script is converted with the Visual Basic.NET language. Finally, the converted C# script is compiled to DLL, and the symbol file is uploaded along with the converted component catalog (Fig. 11c). 7. Implementation and Experiments According to the component catalog lifecycle management system architecture, a system prototype has been implemented. The overall system configuration is shown in Fig. 1. This system consists of three units and seven modules. The implementation environment of each module is shown in Table 1. The component catalog library management module is implemented with a web-based application program, whereas the remainder modules are implemented with a stand-alone application. The users can manage or search for catalogs in the component catalog library management module, and call the catalog generation unit when generating catalogs. Furthermore, the users can call the catalog conversion unit when converting a catalog to the catalog suitable for a commercial plant CAD. Table 1: Implementation environments of the modules of the component catalog lifecycle management system. Units . Modules . Environments . Catalog generation B-rep-based 3D shape simplification - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++ - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Shape script generation - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++/C# - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Catalog generation by integrating 3D shape, specifications, and ports - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++ - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Catalog management Component catalog library management - OS: MS Windows Server 2012 R2 - CPU: Intel Xeon x3210 - RAM: 8.00 GB - Language: Java - Web Server: Nginx - WAS: Resin - DBMS: MariaDB Shape comparison-based catalog search - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++/C# - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Catalog conversion Catalog conversion - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C# 3D shape conversion - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C# Units . Modules . Environments . Catalog generation B-rep-based 3D shape simplification - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++ - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Shape script generation - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++/C# - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Catalog generation by integrating 3D shape, specifications, and ports - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++ - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Catalog management Component catalog library management - OS: MS Windows Server 2012 R2 - CPU: Intel Xeon x3210 - RAM: 8.00 GB - Language: Java - Web Server: Nginx - WAS: Resin - DBMS: MariaDB Shape comparison-based catalog search - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++/C# - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Catalog conversion Catalog conversion - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C# 3D shape conversion - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C# Open in new tab Table 1: Implementation environments of the modules of the component catalog lifecycle management system. Units . Modules . Environments . Catalog generation B-rep-based 3D shape simplification - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++ - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Shape script generation - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++/C# - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Catalog generation by integrating 3D shape, specifications, and ports - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++ - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Catalog management Component catalog library management - OS: MS Windows Server 2012 R2 - CPU: Intel Xeon x3210 - RAM: 8.00 GB - Language: Java - Web Server: Nginx - WAS: Resin - DBMS: MariaDB Shape comparison-based catalog search - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++/C# - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Catalog conversion Catalog conversion - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C# 3D shape conversion - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C# Units . Modules . Environments . Catalog generation B-rep-based 3D shape simplification - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++ - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Shape script generation - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++/C# - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Catalog generation by integrating 3D shape, specifications, and ports - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++ - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Catalog management Component catalog library management - OS: MS Windows Server 2012 R2 - CPU: Intel Xeon x3210 - RAM: 8.00 GB - Language: Java - Web Server: Nginx - WAS: Resin - DBMS: MariaDB Shape comparison-based catalog search - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C++/C# - Libraries: ACIS, 3D InterOp, Hoops3D Catalog conversion Catalog conversion - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C# 3D shape conversion - OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64 bit - CPU: Intel Core i7 - RAM: 16.00 GB - Language: C# Open in new tab To verify the effectiveness of the system developed for lifecycle management of a component catalog, experiments were conducted on the catalogs provided by company P of Korea. The data used for verification experiments consisted of 2957 pieces of bulk materials in 28 types and 2 pieces of custom-built equipment. Figure 12 shows four types of bulk materials among the twenty eight types (Fig. 12a–d) and one piece of the custom-built equipment (Fig. 12e). Figure 12: Open in new tabDownload slide Bulk materials used for the experiments: (a) 45° elbow, (b) cross, (c) check valve, and (d) globe valve; custom-built equipment used for the experiments: (e) fresh water unit. Figure 12: Open in new tabDownload slide Bulk materials used for the experiments: (a) 45° elbow, (b) cross, (c) check valve, and (d) globe valve; custom-built equipment used for the experiments: (e) fresh water unit. For the experiments, a neutral classification system was manually configured using the component catalog library management module by referring to the classification system provided by company P. Figure 13 shows the screen for managing the classification system in the component catalog library management module and the generated neutral classification system file. Figure 13: Open in new tabDownload slide (a) Screenshot of the management of the classification system and (b) generated neutral classification system file. Figure 13: Open in new tabDownload slide (a) Screenshot of the management of the classification system and (b) generated neutral classification system file. For bulk materials, a shape script is initially generated for each of the 28 types using the shape script generation module. Here, a shape script is represented using the shape properties imported from the neutral classification system. Figure 14 shows some of the results generated using the shape script generation module. Figure 14: Open in new tabDownload slide Shape scripts of the bulk materials generated by the shape script module. Figure 14: Open in new tabDownload slide Shape scripts of the bulk materials generated by the shape script module. For custom-built equipment, the shapes generated are simplified based on the method described in Section 5.2 using the B-rep-based 3D shape simplification module. Figure 15 shows the result of simplifying the shape of a fresh water unit, which is a type of custom-built equipment. Figure 15a and b show the results prior to and after the simplification step, respectively; the file size has been reduced from approximately 6925 kb to 2008 kb through simplification. Figure 15: Open in new tabDownload slide Simplification of custom-built equipment: (a) original and (b) simplified fresh water unit. Figure 15: Open in new tabDownload slide Simplification of custom-built equipment: (a) original and (b) simplified fresh water unit. After generating the shape of the bulk materials or custom-built equipment, specifications and port information of the entire test data for verification experiment were added using the module for catalog generation by integrating 3D shape, specifications, and ports. The users input specifications and port information by referring to the data provided by company P. For bulk materials, after the input of specifications and port information and a shape script file of bulk materials in the catalog generation module, the module calls the shape script generation module to generate a 3D shape file corresponding to each specification. The 3D shape, specifications, and port information input are used to generate catalog data. Figure 16 shows the catalog generation module and the catalog file generated using this module. Figure 16: Open in new tabDownload slide (a) Catalog generation module by integrating 3D shape, specifications, and ports, and (b) neural catalog file generated by the catalog generation module. Figure 16: Open in new tabDownload slide (a) Catalog generation module by integrating 3D shape, specifications, and ports, and (b) neural catalog file generated by the catalog generation module. The generated catalog data and related files are uploaded on the component catalog library management module. Figure 17 shows the listed catalog information. Figure 17a, b, and c show the classification system, list of components in the catalog, and properties of the selected component, respectively. Figure 17: Open in new tabDownload slide Catalog data listed in the component catalog library management module: (a) classification system, (b) list of components, and (c) properties of the selected component. Figure 17: Open in new tabDownload slide Catalog data listed in the component catalog library management module: (a) classification system, (b) list of components, and (c) properties of the selected component. The search of a component can be performed in two manners in the component catalog library management module: using keyword-based search, which is generally provided by search engines, or using shape-based search, which was explained in Section 4.2. For shape-based search, the shape comparison-based catalog search module is executed from the menu in the tab located at the top of the component catalog library management module. When a 3D shape file is input to the shape comparison-based catalog retrieval module by a user, searches for similar shapes are performed in the component catalog library and the results are shown on the screen. Figure 18 shows the result of the shape search for the 45° elbow parts. Figure 18: Open in new tabDownload slide Example of the shape comparison-based search. Figure 18: Open in new tabDownload slide Example of the shape comparison-based search. To use the searched component catalog in a commercial plant CAD system, the neutral catalog needs to be converted to the data format appropriate for the plant CAD system. Here, nongeometric data are converted by the method described in Section 6.1, whereas the shape data of bulk materials are converted by the method described in Section 6.2. Custom-built equipment does not require conversion as the B-rep shape files are directly used. Figure 19 shows the results of converting the nongeometric data of the 45° elbow to the catalog data of Smart3D. Figure 19: Open in new tabDownload slide Translated catalog data of the 45° elbow. Figure 19: Open in new tabDownload slide Translated catalog data of the 45° elbow. After converting the shapes of bulk materials and custom-built equipment shown in Fig. 14, it is uploaded to a native catalog library of Smart3D along with the converted catalog data. Finally, the catalogs of the respective bulk materials and custom-built equipment are selected in Smart3D to be arranged in a 3D design space, thus confirming their suitability in the design process. Figure 20 illustrates the results of utilizing the respective bulk materials and custom-built equipment catalogs in 3D designing. Figure 20: Open in new tabDownload slide Translated bulk materials: (a) 45° elbow, (b) cross, (c) check valve, and (d) globe valve; translated custom-built equipment: (e) fresh water unit. Figure 20: Open in new tabDownload slide Translated bulk materials: (a) 45° elbow, (b) cross, (c) check valve, and (d) globe valve; translated custom-built equipment: (e) fresh water unit. The experiments detailed herein indicate that the architecture proposed in this study supports the entire lifecycle from generation to management as well as the search and use of catalogs by building a neutral model-based catalog library and linking it with the catalog generation and conversion units. 8. Conclusion In this study, a system architecture that manages the entire lifecycle of a catalog is proposed for generating, saving, and managing a component catalog needed for 3D designing of a process plant according to a neutral model based on international standards, and converting the component catalog to a native format of a commercial system needed by users. This architecture consists of catalog generation, catalog management, and catalog conversion units. The catalog generation unit generates neutral catalog data for bulk materials and custom-built equipment. The component catalog management unit provides basic management functions for generation, revision, and deletion as well as catalog search functions for the catalog database having schema, reflecting the neutral component classification system. The catalog conversion unit converts the neutral catalog stored in the database to the catalog format native to the commercial system. A system prototype was implemented to verify the effectiveness of the architecture in managing the lifecycle of a component catalog. The entire system is composed of seven modules. For verifying the effectiveness of the developed system, a neutral catalog was built based on the data provided by company P in Korea and was uploaded on the system. The experiments were successfully performed on generating, managing, and retrieving the neutral catalog of four types of bulk materials and one piece of custom-built equipment and converting them to be suitable for a commercial system. Accordingly, the proposed system architecture was effective in managing the entire lifecycle of a component catalog. Besides, because data models for catalogs, including 3D shape, are defined by referring to international standards, and catalog data are stored in neutral formats, the catalogs can be used for long-term archiving. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was supported by the Industrial Core Technology Development Program (Project ID: 20000725&20009324), which is funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), Korea, and the Basic Science Research Program (Project ID: NRF-2019R1F1A1053542&NRF-2020R1I1A3066259) of the National Research Foundation (NRF), which is funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), Korea. Conflict of interest statement None declared. References Batres R. , Aoyama A., Naka Y. ( 2002 ). A life-cycle approach for model reuse and exchange . Computers & Chemical Engineering , 26 ( 4–5 ), 487 – 498 . 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TI - Lifecycle management of component catalogs based on a neutral model to support seamless integration with plant 3D design
JF - Journal of Computational Design and Engineering
DO - 10.1093/jcde/qwaa087
DA - 2021-01-25
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/lifecycle-management-of-component-catalogs-based-on-a-neutral-model-to-97czjAsl10
SP - 409
EP - 427
VL - 8
IS - 1
DP - DeepDyve
ER -