To support research and analysis requirements in the development of future power systems, a flexible and efficient means of predicting the dynamic performance of large-scale multi-disciplinary systems prior to hardware trials is crucial. With the development of Distributed Heterogeneous Simulation (DHS), the technology now exists to enable this type of investigation. Previously, DHS was shown to allow the interconnection of component simulations running on a single- or distributed-computer network and developed using any combination of a variety of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software packages for the Microsoft Windows operating system. However, for large-scale systems, all subsystem models may not be developed in software packages operating under Windows thereby requiring a translation of such models in order to incorporate them within a system simulation. In this paper, the DHS technique is expanded to support the UNIX operating system, thus, allowing subsystem models developed and executed on either UNIX- or Windows-based computers to be interconnected to form a dynamic system simulation. For the purpose of demonstration, a more-electric fighter (MEF) power system, such as that found on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), has been selected as a study system. This system is comprised of ten component models each developed using MATLAB/Simulink, EASY5, or ACSL. Utilizing the system simulation, studies have been performed to illustrate the dynamic interactions between the subsystems when simulated on a heterogeneous computer network containing both Windows- and Unix-based machines.
In this paper, a new technique useful for the numerical simulation of large-scale systems is presented. This approach enables the overall system simulation to be formed by the dynamic interconnection of the various interdependent simulations, each representing a specific component or subsystem such as control, electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, or thermal. Each simulation may be developed separately using possibly different commercial-off-the-shelf simulation programs thereby allowing the most suitable language or tool to be used based on the design/analysis needs. These subsystems communicate the required interface variables at specific time intervals. A discussion concerning the selection of appropriate communication intervals is presented herein. For the purpose of demonstration, this technique is applied to a detailed simulation of a representative aircraft power system, such as that found on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). This system is comprised of ten component models each developed using MATLAB/Simulink, EASY5, or ACSL. When the ten component simulations were distributed across just four personal computers (PCs), a greater than 15-fold improvement in simulation speed (compared to the single-computer implementation) was achieved.
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