Toward a Reference Architecture for Digital and Model-Based Engineering Information Systems

Digital and model-based engineering envisions a future where software systems are intricately involved in systems engineering and engineering design efforts. Recent advances in the field of software engineering have the potential to enable more flexible, reconfigurable, and updateable systems for engineering applications. This paper introduces an information system reference architecture for digital and model-based engineering activities based on modern web-based architectural styles. An application case explains how the reference architecture shaped the implementation of the Tradespace Analysis Tool for Constellations (TAT-C) Knowledge Base, a software component for space systems engineering that maintains a resource library conforming to common object schemas. Database, back-end, and front-end software components serve as architectural layers connected by simple information protocols based on semantic linked data models for improved interoperability.