Combining Information Technology Components and Symbolic Equation Manipulation in Modeling and Simulation of Mechatronic Systems

We present a hybrid representation for modeling of mechatronic systems. This representation consists of a linear graph and block diagrams and supports our concept of composable simulation. By composable simulation we mean the ability to automatically generate simulations from individual component models through manipulation of the corresponding physical components in a CADsystem. The approach is based on an augmented system graph that represents the topology of the system. This graph captures all the interactions between different energy domains (including rigid-body mechanics, electrical, hydraulic, and information technology domains.) This form of virtual prototyping will reduce the design cycle significantly by providing immediate feedback to the designer with minimal intervention of simulation and modeling specialists.