Simulink – Simulation for Automotive Systems
· MATLAB – Automotive Applications · Model Based Development
My name is Siddhartha. I have been practising MATLAB for automotive technology such as controllers and machine learning. Over the past 2 years I have realised that technology worldwide is moving towards sustainability, which is why electric vehicles are entering the transportation market so quickly.
A mainstream degree that focuses on one domain is only enough to start a career. To move up, you need to build skills in other domains as well, such as electronics and data science. The traditional advice is to read many books by some author whose name is treated as gospel in that field.
Don't panic. In this blog I will post a series of articles showing how Simulink can make learning in any field easier than the conventional route. You can use the same approach to solve real-life problems of a similar kind.
What is Simulink?
Simulink is a tool from MathWorks, the company known for MATLAB. It is part of MATLAB and has a very large collection of add-ons that help solve problems with ease. You need some conceptual understanding to get started, followed by hand-holding until you master the tool. I am here to guide you through it.
The conceptual understanding I mean is not complex differential equations, theorems or derivations. It is about how to model a physical system in a software environment and make it fit your requirements. Simulink offers an intuitive interface that takes care of most of the underlying concepts. The physics is represented by blocks, and signals connect the blocks to carry information between them. As the user, you only need to parameterise each block so that it represents the physics of one sub-system, and together the blocks represent the whole system.
Optimisation and dynamic systems
In most cases, once you reach a solution it still has to be optimised for the results you want, which can take thousands of iterations. Doing that by hand is a daunting task, so optimisation tools are needed. Besides modelling and simulation, Simulink can optimise parameters using add-on packages, or co-simulate with third-party software tools.
Most systems are dynamic, and Simulink handles them well. In the first figure below, applied to a rocket, the mass changes with time as it burns off its fuel. The second figure shows an EGR system with multiple controlling variables that define its action.
In my future posts, I will share my experience of using Simulink to solve problems I come across in my career.