Web-services based modelling/optimisation for engineering design

Results from the DIstributed Problem SOlving (DIPSO) project are reported, which involves the implementation of a Grid-enabled Problem Solving Environment (PSE) to support conceptual design. This is a particularly important phase in engineering design, often resulting in significant savings in costs and effort at subsequent stages of design and development. Allowing a designer to explore the potential design space provides significant benefit in channelling the constraints of the problem domain into a suitable preliminary design. To achieve this, the PSE will enable the coupling of various computational components from different "Centers of Excellence". A Web Services-based implementation is discussed. The system will support clients who have extensive knowledge of their design domain but little expertise in state-of-the-art search, exploration and optimisation techniques.