Engineering Software Development for Digital Thread in Structural Analysis

The integration of digital thread into structural analysis workflows offers transformative potential for the aerospace industry, enabling seamless data flow, increased traceability, and enhanced decision-making across the product lifecycle. This paper presents a comprehensive methodology for developing engineering applications that embed digital thread capabilities into structural analysis workflows. Central to this approach is a robust data management system, transforming unstructured and fragmented engineering data into a well-organized SQL database that serves as a single source of truth. This centralized data foundation supports accurate and consistent analysis across systems. Application development is guided by Scrum framework, promoting iterative delivery, cross functional collaboration, and stakeholder feedback. The Agile principles ensure that development remains aligned with evolving technical needs while maintaining rapid deployment cycles. DevOps principles and CI/CD pipelines are employed using tools such as Azure DevOps and OpenShift to support continuous integration, testing and deployment. A key enabler of the digital thread in the architecture is the use of RESTful APIs to establish bi-directional communication between independent applications. These API connections ensure that data flows securely and accurately across tools, maintaining traceability and reducing manual effort. The proposed approach emphasizes automation and interoperability with existing databases, analysis and simulation tools to enhance efficiency and streamline structural integrity assessment. Case studies and application demonstrations are provided to illustrate the benefits of this strategy, including improved collaboration between engineering teams. This paper provides a practical guide for engineering teams aiming to operationalize the digital thread in the aerospace applications.