Modelica as Model Aggregator for Holistic Architecture Validation of Electric Vehicles

Abstract

Automotive OEMs and suppliers are facing recent challenges in the development process, induced by ever shortened product cycles, further distributed development as well as increasing demands for virtual testing and certification using virtual proving grounds or digital twins.

This paper presents a real-life demonstration of a federated, seamlessly integrated design process for a complex cyberphysical system (electric truck), where simulation is used for early-stage performance validation and decision making. Since holistic, but abstract architecture models created in systems engineering discipline contain relevant information with respect to logical system structure and allocated requirements, the simulation domain will benefit from a cross domain linking of model artefacts. By aligning system interfaces across model abstractions and augmenting logical models with physical information, behavioural model templates for design can be generated in a smart, traceable and automated fashion. With the additional information of requirements allocated to certain architectural components in those abstract architecture models, it is demonstrated how scenario-based component and system simulation will contribute to analysis tasks like architecture exploration or specific design optimization in efficient, continuous engineering environments.