Making use of our data

Abstract

Engineers are acquiring data at an ever-increasing rate: data from computational design studies; measurements data from manufacturing processes, development tests, and products in service; contemporary data and legacy data. In this paper, two recommendations are made to allow engineers to make better use of these expanding databases. First, we should build on the hierarchical nature of our data; we can navigate and filter the database using high level descriptors such as design specifications and performance metrics, and then request comparative plots of detailed data such as line, contour and surface plots. Second, we can speed up the rate at which we learn from data by making the visualisations dynamic; in so doing, we enable virtual experiments to be performed that highlight connections between input parameters, output metrics and physical mechanisms. The embodiment of these two principles in the open source project, dbslice, is described. Three example applications (an aerodynamic design study for a compressor stator; the application of machine learning to aid navigation of large databases; and visualisation of a database of snapshots from an unsteady simulation) are presented. In each case, the hierarchical data and dynamic visualisations allow the user to explore the database and experience the connections and patterns within it. By Making Use of Our Data to interactively navigate existing and new design spaces in this way, engineers can accelerate their response to the challenges of future products.