Laiteohjaimien Structured Text -kielisten ohjelmien luonti käyttäen simulointityökaluja

Model-based design is a relatively new technique of developing software for embedded systems. It aims to reduce the cost of the software development process by generating the code from a simulation model. The code is generated automatically using a tool that is developed for this purpose. This way the errors in the system can be found and eliminated early in the development process compared to traditional software development project for embedded systems. As mentioned, the tools are at the time of this study still relatively new, and especially when considering code that has to comply with functional safety standards, the code has to fulfill certain requirements and it has to be clear enough so that it can be traced back to each function of the model. This study aims to determine how well these methods can be used with software development for embedded systems in mind. More precisely, this thesis focuses on MathWorks’ Simulink as the modelling software, and CODESYS as the coding language of the programmable logic controller and ultimately the compatibility of these with each other. The workflow of a model-based design software generation process is determined and presented as the result of this study. That process includes building, testing and verifying the model, preparing it for code generation, configuring and using the code generation tool and finally verifying the generated code. An example model of a battery cell balancing system for the code generation process is built, and thus that area is also studied. In the end of this study, some different possible uses of this technique are briefly discussed as well as further possible areas of study regarding this topic.Mallipohjainen ohjelmistosuunnittelu on melko uusi tekniikka sulautettujen järjestelmien ohjelmistosuunnittelussa. Sillä tähdätään pienempiin kehityskustannuksiin luomalla järjestelmien koodi suoraan simulointiin tehdystä systeemin mallista. Koodi luodaan hyödyntäen automatisoituja työkaluja, jotka ovat kehitetty tähän tarkoitukseen. Näin toimien mahdolliset kehitysvaiheessa tulevat virheet voidaan huomata ja poistaa paljolti jo hyvin aikaisessa vaiheessa kehitystyötä verrattuna perinteiseen sulautettujen järjestelmien ohjelmistokehitykseen. Kuten mainittu, tähän tarvittavat työkalut ovat tämän työn kirjoittamisen aikaan vielä melko uusia, ja erityisesti turvallisuuskriittistä koodia ajatellen koodin on täytettävä tietyt vaatimukset ja sen on oltava riittävän selkeää, jotta tietyt osat koodista voidaan jäljittää vastaaviin osiin mallista. Tämän työn tarkoituksena on selvittää, onko nämä menetelmät käyttökelpoisia sulautettujen järjestelmien ohjelmistokehitystä varten. Erityisesti tämä työ keskittyy MathWorks:n simulointiohjelmistoon Simulink, sekä ohjelmoitavan logiikan yhteydessä käytettyyn ohjelmointikieleen CODESYS sekä näiden yhteensopivuutta tätä prosessia ajatellen. Mallipohjaisen ohjelmistosuunnitteluprosessin suositeltu työnkulku mainittuja työkaluja hyödyntäen määritellään ja esitetään työn tuloksena. Tähän prosessiin kuuluu mallin rakentaminen, sen testaaminen ja toiminnallisuuden todentaminen, sen valmistelu koodin luontia varten, koodin luontiohjelmiston määritys ja käyttö sekä lopulta luodun koodin testaaminen ja toiminnallisuuden todentaminen. Esimerkkinä rakennetaan malli, joka tasapainottaa akkukennojen jännitteitä, jonka vuoksi myös tätä aihetta tutkitaan hieman. Työn lopussa käsitellään lyhyesti mahdollisia erilaisia tätä tekniikkaa hyödyntäviä sovelluksia sekä pohditaan millä tavoin tätä aihetta voisi tutkia edelleen

What is the method in applying formal methods to PLC applications?

The question we investigate is how to obtain PLC applications with confidence in their proper functioning. Especially, we are interested in the contribution that formal methods can provide for their development. Our maxim is that the place of a particular formal method in the total picture of system development should be made very clear. Developers and customers ought to understand very well what they can rely on or not, and we see our task in trying to make this explicit. Therefore, for us the answer to the question above leads to the following questions: Which parts of the system can be treated formally? What formal methods and tools can be applied? What does their successful application tell (or does not) about the proper functioning of the whole system

Model-Based Verification for SIMULINK Design

Testing a Model-Based design is the only way to determine the correctness of the designed model but not enough to conclude that the design is error free. Verification exposes all the design errors and describes the functionality of the system. Assertion based verification helps to determine whether the model obey the actual design requirements. This thesis work is mainly based on verification of a Water Tank control system modeling using SIMULINK model

Special Session on Industry 4.0

No abstract available

Remotely controlled industrial robotic arm and simulation of automated thermal furnace

The right execution of controllers ensures the correct analysis of information, generating efficient results and better optimizing the system. In this report, two controllers were designed. Firstly, a remotely controlled robotic arm, since there are no such type commercially available controllers. Moreover, robotic platforms are costly, so students and researchers are often unable to learn the concepts of programming industrial robots. This project makes a non-destructive, remotely-controlled robotic arm to better teach students and researchers about programming and control of robotic arms. Secondly, simulation of an automated thermal furnace for ArcelorMittal on SIMULINK, which is used for the annealing process of steel strip. The annealing process requires heating and cooling of the strip within a short duration to make metals more workable and to improve the ductility, resistance and hardness. The proposed simulation project for ArcelorMittal is used to virtually demonstrate the annealing process of a furnace

Closed-loop temperature control of friction stir welding

This study develops and presents a friction stir weld (FSW) quality assurance tool based on control of weld zone temperature. Apart from correct tool geometry, tool tilt angle, traverse speed and forge force during welding, one important requirement is that the weld material be sufficiently plasticised (softened). The level of plasticisation is related to weld zone temperature which is primarily dependent on spindle speed, traverse speed and forge force. When all other conditions are correct, sufficiently plasticised material flows around and consolidates behind the tool without the production of voids in the weld. Typically, weld temperature varies along the weld length which may result in variations in weld quality. Weld zone temperature control makes constant weld zone temperature possible. In this study, thermocouple sensors were embedded in the FSW tool and a weld zone temperature control algorithm was developed. Spindle speed was the actuating mechanism for controlling weld temperature. The system was modelled and controllers were designed using Matlab tools. The system was simulated and the performance was compared to the system performance during welding. The control system ensures that the weld zone temperature can be maintained irrespective of the presence of thermal disturbances. Tensile testing was conducted which confirmed a range of temperature in which the welds resulted in consistent strength

PLC Control and Matlab/Simulink Simulations – A Translation Approach

Postprint (published version

Introducing Model-based Design Methodology with LabVIEW to Teaching ARM-based Embedded System Design

This paper presents our latest experience of introducing the new topic of model-based design (MBD) concepts and tools to a Programming Tools (PT) course for educating students to be capable of utilizing modern tools for correctly developing complicated ARM-based embedded systems. It describes the course contents, student outcomes and lecture and lab preparation for teaching this topic with the emphasis on two sub-topics. Firstly, we present the details of using NI LabVIEW tool in programming ARM Cortex-M MCUs or ARM Cortex-A9 MCUs on the embedded device like NI myRIO for fast developing embedded applications. Secondly, to integrate an on-going research effort on the model-based verification into this course, we also introduce model-checking and the tools that have been utilized in the research project. This new topic helps introducing students the latest research advances which promote the wide applications of the MBD in safety-critical embedded applications. Our primary experience shows that the project-based learning approach with the graphical programming tools and selected MCUs is efficient and practical to teach the MBD of 32-bit MCUs programming

Model-based re-engineering of control application : Code generation and verification

This thesis introduces a way to transform from traditional software development to model-based design in the control application domain, specifically PLC-based control systems. Traditional software development refers to a process where code is written directly based on system and module design after system requirements are defined. Model-based re-engineering refers to a process where old software is converted to new implementation using a model-based design methodology. Model-based design is a mathematical and visual method to address complex control system problems and is focused on the design phase of the development process. There are multiple reasons why there is a rising interest to use model-based design instead of traditional development but changing to this development model is problematic. The old codebase is usually done by handwritten code and transforming to model-based and new platforms can be complex. This thesis answers the presented problem by developing a systematic way how this transformation can be done. This is achieved by combining re-engineering with V-model. Furthermore, a case study is performed which uses the introduced process for transforming the reference code into a new implementation using model-based design. This case study focuses on how the verification process evolves when re-engineering is part of the V-model. This case study is completed using proprietary software for the model-based design process known as MathWorks’ Simulink and Simulink PLC-coder. Case study showed that it was possible to create a redesigned software using introduced re-engineering model. As a result of this case study, problems in the re-engineering process and the case study itself are explored and an idea for further study is presented