Parallel Control Emulation for Large Automation System Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing simulation tools struggle to accurately simulate large industrial automation systems due to processing and memory limitations, leading to model simplification that compromises fidelity, and parallel simulation methods complicate data management and visualization.
Innovation Solution
A system that partitions a digital model of an industrial automation system into sub-models, deploying them to separate processing spaces for parallel emulation using co-simulation, allowing for relaxed event execution timing and synchronized data exchange within defined timesteps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the system uses single-threaded simulation tools to simulate large industrial automation systems, then processing and memory capacity are sufficient, but model fidelity is lost due to necessary simplifications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the large industrial automation system model into multiple sub-models that can be simulated independently in parallel. Each sub-model represents a portion of the overall system, allowing the simulation to maintain high model fidelity without exceeding processing capacity by distributing the computational load across multiple threads or processing units.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from single-threaded sequential simulation to multi-threaded parallel simulation, adding a temporal dimension to the processing approach. This allows the system to handle complex models with high fidelity by executing multiple simulation threads simultaneously rather than sequentially, effectively increasing processing capacity without sacrificing model detail.
2Productivity
If the system divides the automation system model into sub-models and executes them in separate simulation instances using space parallel simulation, then processing capacity is sufficient for large systems, but data management and visualization become cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the results from multiple parallel sub-model simulations into a unified visualization and data management framework. This allows the system to leverage the processing capacity of parallel simulation while presenting a consolidated, easy-to-manage view of the entire system's behavior, eliminating the need for users to manually manage separate simulation instances.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer that manages the data flows between separate sub-model simulations and the unified visualization system. This intermediary handles the complexity of coordinating multiple parallel simulations and aggregating their results, shielding users from the underlying complexity while maintaining high processing capacity.
3Productivity
If the system divides the automation system model into sub-models and executes them in separate simulation instances, then processing capacity increases, but visualization of the aggregate simulated system as a whole becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the individual sub-model simulations into a unified visualization that displays the aggregate system behavior. This merging process integrates data from all parallel sub-model executions to present a complete system-wide view, ensuring that no information is lost while maintaining the processing advantages of parallel simulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal visualization framework that can display both individual sub-model results and aggregate system behavior simultaneously. This multi-functional visualization system serves multiple purposes: it allows detailed inspection of individual sub-models while also providing a holistic view of the entire system, preventing information loss across different visualization needs.
Data Source
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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.