Chrono::Ray: A Distributed Framework for High-Throughput Simulation-Based Analysis of Multibody Systems

TL;DR

Chrono::Ray is an open-source distributed framework that simplifies large-scale, high-fidelity multibody system simulations by integrating Chrono with Ray, enabling scalable and user-friendly engineering studies.

Contribution

It introduces a modular, scalable workflow framework that abstracts distributed computing complexities for multibody system simulations, integrated within the Project Chrono ecosystem.

Findings

Demonstrated parameter recovery for a lunar lander model.

Showcased design of experiments for terramechanics parameters.

Enabled large-scale simulation orchestration without managing infrastructure.

Abstract

Large-scale simulation studies can provide invaluable insights across computational engineering efforts, but they are often computationally demanding, requiring the use of distributed computing, which is itself not a simple task. Chrono::Ray addresses this challenge by integrating the high-fidelity multibody dynamics simulation engine Chrono with the open-source distributed computing platform Ray. The result is a modular workflow framework providing user-friendly abstractions for large-scale engineering simulation studies, supporting scalable orchestration of large ensembles of simulation trials without requiring users to directly manage distributed infrastructure. The current capabilities of the framework are demonstrated through two representative examples: parameter recovery for a multibody lunar lander model, and design of experiments for parameters of a continuum terramechanics model. Chrono::Ray is a part of the larger Project Chrono ecosystem and is released as an open-source software package, with source code available at https://github.com/uwsbel/chrono-ray.git.