An Explicit Method for Decoupled Distributed Solvers in an Equation-Based Modelling Language

The Modelica language offers an intuitive way to create object-oriented models. This makes it natural also to use an object-oriented solver, where each sub-model solves its own equations. Doing so is possible only if sub-models can be made independent from the rest of the model. One way to achieve this is to use distributed solvers by separating sub-models with transmission line elements. This offers robust and predictable simulations, simplified model debugging and natural parallelism. It also makes it possible to use different time steps and solver algorithms in different parts of the model to achieve an optimal trade-off between performance and accuracy. The suggested method has been implemented in the Hopsan simulation environment. Different modelling techniques for taking advantage of the distributed solver approach are explained. Finally, three example models are used to demonstrate the method.HiP