Student Competition: Physical Modeling Training, Part 2: Simscape Fundamentals

From the series: Student Competition: Physical Modeling Training

Swarooph Seshadri, MathWorks

In this training you’ll learn fundamental concepts of Simulink^® like using foundation libraries, creating multidomain physical components, dividing components into subsystems, setting initial conditions for physical variables, and logging physical variables for visualization. This training is applicable for both combustion and electric engine teams.

The main example used is a multidomain DC motor model that is applicable to both the mechanical and electrical domains. Using the DC motor we show how building subsystems helps maintain a cleaner model hierarchy and how to set initial conditions for simulations and logging physical variables.

Simscape™ makes modeling physical systems easier and more intuitive. It lets you define custom components as textual files complete with parameterization, physical connections, and equations represented as acausal implicit differential algebraic equations (DAEs). The components you create can use the physical domain definitions provided with Simscape to ensure they are compatible with the standard Simscape components. You can also add your own physical domains. You can automatically build and manage block libraries of your Simscape components, enabling you to share these models across your organization.

We would like to thank the VirginiaTech Formula Student team for providing us with data about their vehicle, motors, engines, and batteries for use in this training.