An Approach for Validation of Semantic Composability in Simulation Models

Semantic composability aims to ensure that the composition of simulation components is meaningful in terms of their expressed behavior, and achieves the desired objective of the new composed model. Validation of semantic composability is a non-trivial problem because reused simulation components are heterogeneous in nature and validation must consider various orthogonal aspects including logical, temporal, and formal. In this paper, we propose a layered approach to semantic composability validation with increasing accuracy and complexity. The first layer exploits model checking for logical properties of component coordination including deadlock, safety, and liveness. Next, we address temporal properties by validating composition safety and liveness through simulation time. The third layer provides a formal composition validation guarantee by determining the behavioral equivalence between the composed model and a perfect model. In contrast to state-of-the-art approaches, we propose time-based formalisms to describe simulation components and compare the composition behaviors through time using semantically related composition states.