Modelon’s OPTIMICA Compiler Toolkit, the most advanced Modelica-based mathematical engine on the market, offers users a powerful solution for the automation, simulation and optimization of system behaviors throughout the model-based design cycle.
Trusted as the compiler for Modelon Impact, OPTIMICA enables users to build multi-domain physical systems by choosing from thousands of available model components. OPTIMICA’s state-of-the-art solvers empower evaluation of complex physical systems – supporting transient simulations as well as steady-state computations and dynamic optimization. The sophisticated mathematical engine can manipulate and simplify models to improve performance and robustness, serving industries and applications ranging from automotive and active safety to energy and power plant optimization.
The steady-state solver capabilities of the OPTIMICA Compiler Toolkit enables reliable convergence even for challenging physical models.
APPLICATION
Power Plant Optimization
To meet the increased need for regulating power in today’s energy market, start-up optimization of thermal power plants is a key industrial need. Model Predictive Control is implemented in the OPTIMICA Compiler Toolkit and successfully applied on both lignite boilers and combined cycle power plants to optimize the start-up process.
The optimization reduces the start-up time without violating the thermal and mechanical stress constraints that govern the lifetime of the boiler’s critical components.
Heating Distribution
Production planning of district heating system is important as the customer heating demand varies throughout the day, and the production units have different production, start-up, and shut-down costs.
The OPTIMICA Compiler Toolkit is used in conjunction with a mixed-integer linear programming solver to find optimal production schemes of heat and electricity for small to medium sized district heating systems. The optimized schemes demonstrate potential savings while maintaining robustness of heat delivery.
Vehicle Trajectory Optimization
The OPTIMICA Compiler Toolkit is successfully used for vehicle trajectory optimization. By optimizing the vehicle negotiating a maneuver, we can evaluate the results of different actuator options, actuator performance limitations and also environmental parameters (e.g. road friction).
The result of the optimization gives valuable insight into what actuator choices best fit the desired use case and provides a performance benchmark useful when tuning controllers.
All these capabilities contribute to the active safety of the vehicles