  Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE) has been widely utilized to formalize
system artifacts and facilitate their development throughout the entire
lifecycle. During complex system development, MBSE models need to be frequently
exchanged across stakeholders. Concerns about data security and tampering using
traditional data exchange approaches obstruct the construction of a reliable
marketplace for digital assets. The emerging Distributed Ledger Technology
(DLT), represented by blockchain, provides a novel solution for this purpose
owing to its unique advantages such as tamper-resistant and decentralization.
In this paper, we integrate MBSE approaches with DLT aiming to create a
decentralized marketplace to facilitate the exchange of digital engineering
assets (DEAs). We first define DEAs from perspectives of digital engineering
objects, development processes and system architectures. Based on this
definition, the Graph-Object-Property-Point-Role-Relationship (GOPPRR) approach
is used to formalize the DEAs. Then we propose a framework of a decentralized
DEAs marketplace and specify the requirements, based on which we select a
Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) structured DLT solution. As a proof-of-concept, a
prototype of the proposed DEAs marketplace is developed and a case study is
conducted to verify its feasibility. The experiment results demonstrate that
the proposed marketplace facilitates free DEAs exchange with a high level of
security, efficiency and decentralization.
