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Physical Modeling
Accelerate system-level analysis and control design with accurate and intuitive models of your physical system
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In Model-Based Design, a system model is at the center of the development process from requirements capture and design to implementation and test. It is a well-established process that promotes team collaboration and supports the design and development of complex algorithms in coordination with the physical hardware. MathWorks physical modeling tools enable you to efficiently and accurately build models of your physical system and to easily combine these models with your control and signal processing algorithms all in a single environment. Read more about best practices in modeling the physical system, and learn how MathWorks tools can help you achieve them. Build plant models to support control system and algorithm development within Simulink®.
Enable Model-Based Design for your entire system.
Build plant models to support control system and algorithm development within Simulink.Create intuitive system-level models quickly and easily.
Models that reflect system structure are easier to understand, modify, and reuse. Enlarge image Modeling physical systems can require extensive knowledge of physics, math, and programming languages. Leveraging the expertise of professionals in those domains can speed up the modeling process by ensuring that models accurately represent the systems being modeled. Models built in a graphical environment with physical connections tend to be very intuitive and therefore easier to understand and reuse. MathWorks physical modeling tools enable you to build models that reflect the structure of the engineering system you are modeling. You are not required to program and derive equations, which can be time-consuming and error-prone. The result is an intuitive model that is easy to understand, modify, and reuse. Learn more about these physical modeling products:Take advantage of built-in domain knowledge.
Parameterization and documentation speed model development. Enlarge image Engineers and scientists have worked for years to develop accurate equations for many of the components in physical systems, such as motors, hydraulic valves, and clutches. While leveraging existing work is an efficient way to build models quickly and accurately, it is also important to identify the critical parameters in these equations and to make them easy to set. Setting the parameters to realistic values is crucial to developing accurate models. MathWorks physical modeling tools contain complete components with critical parameters identified for you, enabling you to quickly build and parameterize your system. For modeling new components, there is a set of basic foundation blocks that you can use to model your custom components. You can automatically tune parameters to match measurement data. The result is less work to build accurate models, which means you can spend more time optimizing your design. Learn more about these physical modeling products:Develop the controller and plant in one environment.
Modeling the controller and plant in a single enviroment results in optimized designs and eliminates the need for cosimulation. Enlarge image The different teams developing controlled engineering systems must work together to optimize the design. A control algorithm designed with an inaccurate or nonexistent plant model is unlikely to work properly, and a system designed without the controller cannot be properly tested. For these teams to work together effectively, it is important that they work in a common environment to promote communication and shorten the development cycle. MathWorks physical modeling tools are completely integrated in the Simulink environment. This means if the control engineer has a plant model created using MathWorks physical modeling tools, he or she has a seamless connection between the controller and plant models, and can leverage all of the capabilities of Simulink (e.g., linearization, optimization toolboxes) in order to design the controller. The entire system can be simulated without struggling with cosimulation. Learn more about these physical modeling products:Evaluate designs rapidly with MathWorks physical modeling tools.
Distributed computing and report generation accelerate design evaluation and iteration. Enlarge image It is rare that the first design that is conceived is the best design. Developing efficient systems requires rapid iteration in order to improve the initial design. This requires ways to rapidly set up tests, simulate, and evaluate the test results. MathWorks physical modeling tools are completely integrated with MATLAB®. This allows you to leverage MATLAB and SystemTest™ software to set up your tests. Distributed Computing Toolbox™ software enables you to execute simulations more quickly by taking advantage of multiple machines. And, by leveraging the visualization capabilities and report generation functionality of the MATLAB and Simulink environment, you can more quickly analyze the results of those tests, accelerating the evaluation of the design. Learn more about these physical modeling products:Test using hardware in the loop (HIL) before testing on actual hardware.
Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing reduces dependence on expensive prototypes. Enlarge image Many control algorithms are developed in an ideal, simulated realm that doesn't reflect the complexities of the real world where they will operate. Real-time model and algorithm testing allows immediate insight into real-world performance. Studying how a control algorithm performs in repeatable, controllable, real-time conditions allows understanding and refinement of the algorithm without endangering equipment and personnel. MathWorks physical modeling tools can be converted into C code for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) tests. This code can be run on a real-time computer that is connected to a real-time target in order to test the actual controller code and hardware without relying on expensive hardware prototypes. Learn more about these physical modeling products:Enable Model-Based Design for your entire system.Optimize your entire engineering system.
Analyzing at the system level allows tradeoff studies of different components enabling you to optimize system performance. Enlarge image Complex systems are usually composed of a number of subsystems, each of which may be designed by a different team of engineers. In order to ensure that the system design is optimal, it is necessary to perform tradeoff analyses at the system level, including all of the subsystems that are involved. Only then can the system design be optimized. With MathWorks physical modeling tools, you are able to model the different physical domains and combine that with the controller of your system in a single environment. This makes it easier to perform tradeoff analyses by substituting models of the different components. It is also possible to apply optimization algorithms to the entire system, helping you to be sure that the design is as optimized as possible. Learn more about these physical modeling products:Balance simulation speed and model fidelity.
Balance speed and fidelity to meet your needs. Enlarge image When analyzing at the system level, it is important to capture enough detail to see how the entire system will behave, but not so much that the simulations take too long to run. Similarly, when designing a controller it is important to capture enough of the important dynamics so that the controller will be properly exercised, but keep the simulation times short enough to permit rapid iterations on the design. Mastering this tradeoff between model fidelity and simulation speed is critical to an efficient development process. MathWorks physical modeling tools enable you to create your models in multiple ways and to easily select between the different models you have created. First-principles modeling is covered using the Physical Modeling tools while data-driven modeling can be performed using the System Identification Toolbox. Using Configurable Subsystems, it is easy to switch back and forth between these different model types. In SimPowerSystems, many components are set up so that you can quickly switch between a detailed model and a model that runs quickly. Learn more about these physical modeling products:Trace requirements to your models.
Bi-directional linking of model and requirements document integrates specification into the entire development process. Enlarge image By mapping requirements to models, you assure that all requirements are being met and that the model you built is addressing appropriate requirements. This mapping provides early validation of requirements, verification of your design model, and verification of your tests. Simulink® Verification and Validation™ provides the Requirements Management Interface to allow mapping of written requirements to Simulink or Stateflow® models, including models built using MathWorks physical modeling tools. Learn more about this physical modeling product:Test and reuse models efficiently.
Graphical modeling environment promotes efficiency through modular development, testing, and model reuse. Enlarge image When designing a system, you will often need to work on portions of the overall system. Isolating modeling errors is easier if you can simply simulate a piece of the system. You may wish to reuse components that you or someone else developed in another model in order to save time. And when you find an improved way to model certain phenomena, you will want to quickly and easily update all of your models that use that component. Models created in the Simulink environment are built graphically. Subsystems within the overall model can easily be extracted and simulated separately, or included into other models. Using libraries, it is easy to make an update to one model and have those updates be made automatically to all other models that use that component, saving you time and ensuring that you are working with the most up-to-date information. Learn more about this physical modeling product:Share models within and outside your company.
Economical use of licences promotes model sharing and teamwork. Enlarge image Engineers working to design a system may be using the same models to perform different tasks. Some engineers will need to change the model of the physical system to reflect changes in the design. Others will simply need the model to support development of other systems (such as the controller) or to do parameter studies. With MathWorks physical modeling tools, you are able to share the models more easily with other users. If you have a Simscape license, you can open, change parameters of, and simulate models developed with other add-on products even if you don't have a license. In addition, you can share SimMechanics, SimDriveline, and some SimPowerSystems models as S-Functions. Learn more about these physical modeling products: |
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