Parallel Control Emulation Using Partitioned Co-Simulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current industrial automation simulation tools face challenges in accurately simulating larger systems with multiple interconnected machines or conveyors due to processing and memory limitations, leading to simplified models with reduced fidelity and cumbersome data management in parallel simulations.
Innovation Solution
The system partitions a digital model of an industrial automation system into sub-models based on sub-model designation data and deploys them to separate processing spaces for parallel emulation using co-simulation, allowing for precise timing relaxation and reduced processing resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the system model is simplified to fit processing limits, then the simulation can be executed within processing and memory constraints, but the model fidelity is reduced leading to less accurate simulation results
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides a large automation system model into multiple sub-models that can be simulated separately in parallel. Each sub-model represents a portion of the overall system and can be processed independently, allowing the simulation to maintain high model fidelity while fitting within processing and memory constraints of individual simulation threads.
2Productivity
If the automation system model is divided into sub-models and executed in separate simulation instances, then the processing capacity is sufficient to simulate larger systems, but managing separate simulations and data flows becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate simulation instances into a unified simulation environment that manages sub-models centrally. This allows parallel execution of multiple sub-models while providing centralized control over data flows, synchronization, and system-wide visualization, eliminating the management burden of separate simulation instances.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a simulation management intermediary that coordinates data exchange and synchronization between parallel sub-model simulations. This intermediary handles the complex data flow management automatically, allowing sub-models to be executed in parallel while maintaining proper coordination and reducing manual management overhead.
3Productivity
If the automation system model is divided into sub-models and executed in separate simulation instances, then the processing capacity is sufficient to simulate larger systems, but visualizing the aggregate simulated system as a whole becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges visualization data from multiple parallel sub-model simulations into a unified system-wide view. This allows operators to see the complete automated system behavior while the underlying simulations run in parallel, maintaining both high simulation capacity and complete system visibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A control design and testing system simplifies the execution of parallelized control testing simulators using emulation techniques. The system is capable of emulating large and complex industrial systems using a combination of selective model partitioning, space parallel simulation, and co-simulation. According to this approach, a digital model of the industrial automation system is partitioned into sub-models such that inter-model logical relationships between the sub-models comprise only logical relationships that can tolerate a temporal error equal to or less than a duration, or timestep, of a co-simulation cycle. The sub-models are deployed to separate processing spaces, and the system uses co-simulation to execute a parallel emulation of the sub-models.