Fully integrated product development with SimulationX 3.6

The Acoustics library brings the list of physical domains in SimulationX to twelve. It provides unique functionalities and methods specially designed for simulating acoustic networks and their behavior. Its unique selling point lies in the easy integration into the cross-domain modeling approach typical of SimulationX through a number of transducer elements. That enables for instance comprehensive modeling of acoustic phenomena of headphones capturing the mechanical, electro-magnetic and acoustic characteristics and interactions. Non-linear effects deriving from the mechanical housing or the integrated electronics can be accounted for early in the development process. Up to now, such acoustic systems used to be modeled as abstract equivalent electrical circuits throughout all physical domains, or they involved methods, such as the Finite Element Method (FEM), Boundary Element Method (BEM) or Multi Body System (MBS) modeling, which required a great deal of modeling efforts. The integration of acoustics modeling into the SimulationX libraries provides system developers and engineers across all industries with an easy and intuitive solution. Compared to traditional modeling methods, simulation results in conjunction with other domains are now accessible much earlier in the product design process. Be it for the development of loudspeakers, microphones, headphones, equalizers, hearing aids or other multifunctional audio and HiFi equipment or TV sets – the developer is now able to meet the highest requirements for sound quality and comfort.

Another highlight in SimulationX 3.6 is the new Heat Transfer library establishing the thermal link between the fluid libraries in order to make the development of heat exchangers more profound and simpler while allowing for a higher level of detail. It contains a collection of ready-to-use models for various heat exchanger layouts. A vast selection of model components is available to also enable users to create their own custom models. The library allows for steady-state and dynamic simulations and for process optimization in power 2 stations, air conditioning systems, solar and geothermal water heating as well as oil and gas applications.

The new SimulationX library Electrical Power and Communication Analysis offers new possibilities for efficient, quasi-stationary analyses of AC circuits over long periods of time. Assessing operations of power plants for several months or years is now just a matter of minutes providing solid results about usability and potential optimizations of typical use cases. One field of application, amongst others, is the design and dimensioning of electrical subsea equipment for the oil and gas industry. The library helps to calculate power fluctuations in systems through transient simulations in the time domain and signal analyses through steady-state simulations in the frequency domain. Power and signal analyses can be run in the same model, which is a unique feature of SimulationX 3.6.

New combustion engine models based on the coherent flame model and on the Vibe combustion function simulate chemical and thermodynamic processes during the combustion of air-fuel mixtures. SimulationX 3.6 also comes with new transmission models, such as screw drives and strain wave gears, and the Marine Propeller model certified by Germanischer Lloyd that can be used for simulating transient torsional vibrations during ice impact scenarios. The propeller model comes bundled with a 1D ship model that includes inertias and drive resistance in moving direction. Across all mechanical domains, there are new contact elements available for the efficient simulation of contact scenarios with complex geometries. Complex geometries as in locking mechanisms can be directly extracted from CAD data.

What is more, simulations can now be synchronized to real-time in SimulationX 3.6. That allows for hardware-in-the-loop and operator-in-the-loop simulations with low real-time requirements to be run in SimulationX directly. Interactive experiments using new controls and displays can now be conducted much more easily.

Another new feature in SimulationX 3.6 is the integrated version management with subversion client TortoiseSVN. It provides full control over the development of model packages and types by managing changes that can be displayed and reverted. The new and interactive model checker helps to correct references that may have been lost due to changes in user-defined libraries. The text view has also been improved along with sorting and filtering options within the tree view.

New interface features enhance the workflow and the compatibility with a vast range of third party tools. Those include add-ins for Microsoft® Office (Word, Excel®, PowerPoint®) and an integrated import/export function for entire parameter sets from and into Microsoft Excel or text files for managing various parameters independently of the model itself.

The new release also brings several improvements for the C-code export. In addition to already existing interfaces for exporting program code from SimulationX to other applications, the tool now also supports the export of executable models to B&R Automation Studio. Exported code can be imported via program objects. This enables SimulationX models to be embedded in the B&R Automation Studio workflow. Control algorithms developed in B&R Automation Studio can thus be tested with SimulationX models. FMI Code Export can now be controlled via scripts through the COM interface. This kind of automation allows for repetitive model exports to be streamlined significantly.