Towards a grid enabled Engineering Body Scanner

We outline an integrated information management system employing ontology-based knowledge integration within a XML-based text/data master file. This is to assist material scientists to systematically acquire residual stress and damage measurements, register and co-visualise these datasets from components of complex geometry. At the present time, 3D residual stress and damage imaging experiments can be very complicated to undertake and manage for complex shape component. A great deal of valuable measurement effort and time is lost in setting up the experiment. Instrument visualisation systems have been developed to import component geometry data and the physical configuration for different strain scanning instrument environments to assist with pre-measurement planning. Our system builds on this work with the aim of providing an XML knowledge-based system to assist the materials scientist in the systematic gathering and collation of data. The integrated XML-based database system provides a framework for preand postmeasurement data collection and storage. It also acts as a transparent and distributed data management tool for the registration, fusion and visualisation of different collected datasets as well as comparison with 3D predictions (finite element) computer models. Potential of mounting current system to become grid-enabled experiments with distributed visualisation can benefit the residual stress experiments to allow geographically distributed material scientists contribute their knowledge towards different part of the experimental samples.