Simulation

Shortening the time from order receipt to delivery of a system is a key issue for system operators. The use of modern simulation techniques throughout the entire development and utilization process of an automation system offers decisive advantages.

Software commissioning is a critical process that can be significantly optimized using modern approaches and technologies. Traditionally, software commissioning only begins after the mechanical and electrical completion of the system, which can lead to delays. However, innovative methods can be used to make the timing of this process independent in order to reduce the overall throughput time.

Although throughput times in the mechanical and electrical areas can often be massively reduced through parallel production, the situation is very different in the area of software commissioning. Only when the system has been completely finished mechanically and electrically can step-by-step commissioning begin. Software commissioning must be carried out independently of the availability of the system. Software acceptance must take place in good time before actual commissioning. During the actual commissioning, the completed software is essentially only parameterized and optimized. This procedure allows commissioning times to be reduced considerably.

In order to achieve optimum depth of testing, a "virtual system" must be created with behavior that corresponds to that of the real system, i.e. with the same control and feedback signals, the same time response and the same disturbances. For this purpose, the signals from the process control system are mapped in the project via system configurations.

The engineering process of a virtual machine is comparable to the engineering of a real machine/system. The machine/system is broken down into assemblies and devices that have a high degree of repetition and meet the necessary requirements through combination and parameterization.

The WinMOD platform provides tools for this. These tools can be used to conveniently create libraries for "virtual devices".

WinMOD has been used for years in various technology sectors in all phases of software development. Typical applications are FAT (Factory Acceptance Test) and validation, but tasks in software and system planning, training systems and the commissioning and optimization of systems have also been added.

Communication with the controllers takes place in real time, system applications replace the real system with a simulation with equivalent behavior. The software for the process control system can be put into operation under real-time conditions.

The I/O data points of the controller can be imported in full. They are assigned to the predefined signal elements using drag-and-drop. Forcing is possible for all signal elements by direct selection. The simulation elements are used to configure the behavior of functional units. The data is then grouped into a macro. These macros are managed in a library and are also available to the user across projects.

The implementation takes place through the use of signal elements, simulation elements and pre-edited simulation components. The simulation project can be structured in a task-specific manner and with a freely selectable simulation depth – from a simple I/O simulation to a complete process simulation. The simulated normal behavior can be specifically changed to a fault situation if required. Dynamically parameterizable simulation elements, formula modules, runtime elements and complex drive modules enable technically precise and efficient simulation of devices, components and processes.

WINMOD GmbH, Neuendorfstr. 23 B, 16761 Hennigsdorf/ Deutschland

WinMOD enables the simultaneous simulation of one to any number of controllers.

With the optional "B&R Automation Studio Target for Simulink" toolbox integrated in Automation Studio, APROL offers a powerful tool for modeling and simulation.

The B&R Toolbox in combination with the flexibility of the embedded Real-Time Workshop coder or embedded Simulink coder offers optimal conditions for using B&R target systems efficiently. The Toolbox enables the design and development of complex simulation models and controller structures that would be difficult or extremely time-consuming to implement without such tools. The embedded Real-Time Workshop coder or embedded Simulink coder automatically generates high-level language code optimized for Automation Studio directly from a Simulink model.

The "rapid prototyping" mechanism opens up new possibilities for fast and flexible implementation of complex control and systems engineering solutions. With the "B&R Automation Studio Target for Simulink" Toolbox, Simulink models can be transferred directly to B&R controllers through automatic code generation. This eliminates the tedious manual creation of source code, which significantly reduces the risk of coding errors.

In order to avoid damage to real systems when implementing new algorithms, critical system parts can be replaced by an emulation system. With "hardware-in-the-loop", an emulation task is executed on the target system that simulates the behavior of the real system as precisely as possible. This method enables meaningful tests of new developments directly on the target system.

Stateflow, a comprehensive tool from The MathWorks, Inc., allows the implementation of sequential processes and branching. In combination with the "B&R Automation Studio Target for Simulink" Toolbox, sequential control operations can be created automatically and efficiently. The sequences defined in Stateflow can be seamlessly integrated into existing Simulink models. This extends the automatically generated code with event-controlled step chains and branched flowcharts.

A complete MATLAB/Simulink project can be executed on a separate controller in the APROL process control system. Any controller variables can be read and written via APROL controller communication.

Blocks developed from MATLAB/Simulink can be made available via the APROL libraries. APROL's library management provides a convenient tool to facilitate the integration and use of these blocks.