Building a Virtual Vehicle for Fuel Economy, Performance, and Thermal Analysis

Developing realistic plant and controller models is a critical first step in assembling a virtual vehicle. The models must provide sufficient detail to capture the key effects without slowing the simulation down more than necessary. This requires a flexible modeling approach where multiple tools and modeling methods may be used. This presentation will describe one method to integrate a vehicle model based on Simulink^® with multiple Simscape™ domains in order to develop a model for fuel economy, performance, and thermal analysis. It serves as an example of model reuse and adoption of Model-Based Design. Specifically, it will give a broader understanding of how to assemble and simulate complex, multidomain automotive models using a variety of MathWorks products, including Powertrain Blockset™ and Simscape.