Technical Articles

Third-Party Products: Extending Simulink for Complex System Simulation and Integration

By MathWorks Staff


Simulink® integrates with third-party modeling tools through its open interfaces, enabling engineers to simulate heterogeneous, multidomain systems at different fidelity levels. You can connect to over 100 modeling and simulation tools, serving applications such as electronic circuit board and motor design; mechanical and chemical modeling; and specialized vehicle design. Simulink provides the S-function API for efficient model and code integration and simulation and supports standards-based interfaces such as Functional Mock-Up Interface (FMI).


Mechanical Simulation: CarSim, TruckSim, BikeSim

The VehicleSim® products provide methods for simulating vehicle dynamics under a full range of test and driving conditions using SIL, HIL, and driving simulators. The products provide high-fidelity vehicle dynamics models, including braking, handling, ride, stability, and acceleration; portfolios of example vehicles and test maneuvers; and plotting and animation capabilities. Core vehicle models can be extended to work with

Simulink models of advanced electronic controllers or with alternative component models. You can connect Simulink models to CarSim vehicle dynamics models through the S-function plug-in and then cosimulate and exchange input and output variables between models.


Aspen Technology: Aspen Plus Dynamics

Aspen Plus Dynamics is a dynamic simulation tool for improving plant operations and process design. It enables engineers to complete process control schemes, design verification, safety studies, relief value sizing, and failure analysis. It includes an extensive library of operation and control models with support for polymer processes and batch process optimization. Aspen Plus Dynamics includes a control design interface for extracting linear state-space models of nonlinear processes and importing them into MATLAB® for controller design. Using the Simulink interface you can connect process simulations as a block within a Simulink model. You can verify controller behavior by cosimulating Simulink controller models and nonlinear models of plant processes.


Cadence Design Systems: Cadence PSpice Systems Option

The integration of Cadence® PSpice® with Simulink provides a complete system-level simulation solution for PCB design and implementation. Designers can use PSpice for analog or mixed-signal simulation and perform Simulink based behavioral-level modeling, analysis, and visualization in a single system design and debug environment. The PSpice Systems Option enables cosimulation of SPICE-level electrical systems and Simulink based mechanical systems for application areas including automotive systems, internet of things (IoT), and industrial design.


JSOL: JMAG

JMAG® finite element analysis software is used for developing electromechanical equipment such as motors, power converters, and actuators. JMAG can simulate magnetic flux density and electromagnetic forces in permanent magnet, induction, stepper, and a range of other motors. For motor control development, JMAG-RT extracts motor features as a precise reduced-order model provided as a Simulink block. High-fidelity JMAG-RT models capture device performance, including nonlinear effects, saturation, and space harmonics. By cosimulating control algorithms with accurate motor models, engineers can validate their control systems before hardware prototypes are available.

Published 2018