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The PSpice Systems option enables the transfer of PSpice analysis data into
MATLAB with the click of a button
converter, inverter, an electric motor,
and a set of sensors, and is designed
using a true electrical simulator,
such as PSpice. Simulating an
electrical subsystem using PSpice
offers significant advantages over
simulating with a mathematical
computation tool. With the PSpice
Designer’s exhaustive built-in device
libraries, designers save significant
time in modeling semiconductor
devices, and simulation results
are much closer to the prototype
results. Additionally, the designers
can optimize these electrical
modules for various operating and
environmental conditions to match
physical systems. This electrical
system and its control logic can be
efficiently simulated using PSpice to
optimize super capacitor size, DC/
DC converter voltage range, PWM
control, and the overall control logic.
Once this design cycle is complete,
the traditional design flow is to take
these subsystems at the prototype
stage and start refining the design
to resolve interconnect issues.
Using this new system design flow,
designers can now take a model-
based design approach to the
next level of virtual prototyping by
interconnecting these subsystems
that were developed by different
teams using different tools (MATLAB
and PSpice/SPICE), and simulate
the full HEV together using PSpice
Simulink.
The regenerative braking system is
a critical block of the HEV system.
To recover maximum energy, one
needs to simulate bidirectional DC/
DC converters over a wide range of
voltage variations. Let’s look at the
regenerative braking module closely
to see the real advantages of co-
simulation. During the regenerative
braking phase of functioning and
recovering energy, the electrical
system is highly dependent on
the vehicle’s mechanical and
operating conditions, such as brake
force distribution, aerodynamics
resistance, rolling resistances, the
slope of the road, and the vehicle
speed and weight. These behaviors
would have already been modeled
and simulated in the mathematical
world (MATLAB). Thus co-simulation
of these two systems eliminates
any assumption and provides a
true virtual prototype environment.
One can just interconnect these
two without worrying about
redeveloping these models using
SPICE, resulting in huge savings in
modeling time and in the analysis of
the system as a whole.
Since co-simulation consumes
respective models as-is without any
translation, an additional advantage
is that the designs get reused and
simulations are done with updated
models without requiring any
additional effort.
The PSpice Systems option also
enables designers to transfer
PSpice analysis data into MATLAB
with the click of a button to
generate customize plots in
MATLAB and to perform complex
calculations with simulation data in
PSpice environment using MATLAB
functions. This solution provides
three key benefits. Designers can:
1.
Utilize all post-process MATLAB
analysis and measurement
functions in a single, integrated
system design and debug
environment.
2.
Simulate the algorithmic and
circuit/electrical-level
blocks
together reusing test benches,
signal sources, and common
measurements.
3.
Perform functional verification
of full system. Using the new
flow improves the designer’s
productivity and the quality of
simulations. Time to market gets
reduced.
Consider any complex system, such
as a wave energy system, grid-tie
inverters (GTIs) with wind turbines,
solar energy systems, or IoT-based
systems—a designer must model
several modules in an integrated
environment for each of them. The
approach described here applies to
all these and similar applications.
To summarize, this new PSpice
system option enables modeling and
simulation of a multi-domain system
into one integrated environment.
New-Tech Magazine Europe l 29