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WG3 Meeting in Bitola – Advancing the Open DEM File Format

WG3 Meeting in Bitola – Advancing the Open DEM File Format

On 20 February 2025, Working Group 3 (Data Processing and Visualization) of the ON-DEM Action met in Bitola, alongside colleagues from WG2. Our discussions focused on one of the central challenges for our community: developing an open and interoperable file format for DEM simulations.

 

Goals of the Meeting

At this stage of the Action, WG3 is working toward Deliverable D3.2 (Month 30): Open DEM file format specifications and guidelines. The objective is to create a standard capable of handling data from different DEM codes, while remaining lightweight, transparent, and practical for both academic and industrial use.

To this end, the Bitola workshop was structured around three main themes:

  1. Materials and Contact Parameters

    • We began drafting a table, comparing how major DEM codes store these properties. This is being developed collaboratively in a shared Google Sheet.

    • We also agreed that naming conventions must be standardized (leaning toward snake_case) to avoid fragmentation.

     

  2. File Format Cleanup and Gaps

    • We reviewed the current schema and noted several inconsistencies and missing elements.

    • Key gaps include the scene and materials sections, which need to be fully defined, as well as refinements to the interactions block.

     

  3. Boundary Conditions (BCs)

    • Defining BCs in a unified way remains a major task.

    • Although this work was postponed in Bitola, we outlined categories of BCs (fixed/moving boundaries, periodic boundaries, servo-controlled conditions) that will require a cross-code representation.

Progress and Next Steps

Although we could not cover all the planned activities, the Bitola meeting gave us a solid advance:

  • The materials/contact parameters table is being populated and will form the backbone of the new format.

  • File format inconsistencies are being flagged for correction.

  • Naming conventions will be revisited after the first round of data collection.

 

Looking ahead, WG3 will:

  • Complete the materials/contact parameters table.

  • Continue work on defining boundary condition standards.

  • Contribute to benchmarking activities, ensuring that the file format supports reproducible comparisons across codes.

 

The meeting in Bitola confirmed the value of hands-on workshops: participants actively worked together on shared documents, ensuring progress that will carry over to the next stages of ON-DEM.