Formalisation and implementation of collaborative material research process

This paper describes concepts used in formalising the research processes in order to integrate them into a technical information system (TIS) supporting the collaborative material research. The present modelling approach is based on three requirements: (1) persistent recording of the process, (2) need for a local notification mechanism and (3) straight forward transformation of formalised processes into process classes within the TIS. We shortly review the techniques available for process modelling and discuss their applicability for the present domain of application. The utilisation of the modelling techniques is shown on the system application for research on textile reinforced concrete (TRC). Two real-world examples and applications from the TRC research are presented: (1) scheduling and coordination of tests on new material components spanning several users and experimental set-ups and (2) generic specification of automated calibration procedure to identify material parameters. The paper also discusses the applicability of the formulated concepts and of the developed system in interdisciplinary projects on other composite materials. The user’s perspective and interaction with the system has been described in more detail in the companion paper.