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A General Method to Compare Different Co-simulation Interfaces: Demonstration on a Case Study

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Simulation and Modeling Methodologies, Technologies and Applications (SIMULTECH 2017)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 873))

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Abstract

A method is presented to compare different co-simulation interfaces. The comparison assesses user-friendliness and flexibility, computational costs and accuracy. Interfaces corresponding to different versions of loose and strong coupling are discussed. The specific implementations include the Functional Mockup Interface (FMI), the Building Controls Virtual Test Bed (BCVTB) and a Component Object Model (COM). A case study is introduced to present the method in a pedagogical way. The case study includes a compact thermal energy storage modelled in Trnsys and a heat sink modelled in Simulink. Generalizations of the method to realistic full-scale co-simulations are proposed.

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Acknowledgements

The research leading to these results has received funding from the Austrian FFG Programme Energieforschung under grant agreement no. 845020, and the Research Studio Austria no. 844732. The authors acknowledge valuable discussions with W. Glatzl, H. Schranzhofer, G. Lechner, I. Hafner and E. Widl.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Software Technology, University of Technology Graz, Infeldgasse 16b, 8010, Graz, Austria

    Georg Engel & Gerald Schweiger

  2. AEE - Institute for Sustainable Technologies, Feldgasse 19, 8200, Gleisdorf, Austria

    Georg Engel, Ajay S. Chakkaravarthy & Gerald Schweiger

Authors
  1. Georg Engel
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  2. Ajay S. Chakkaravarthy
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  3. Gerald Schweiger
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Georg Engel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. King Abdullah II School of Information Technology, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

    Mohammad S. Obaidat

  2. School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Tuncer Ören

  3. Department of Informatics, Modeling, Electronics and System Engineering, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy

    Floriano De Rango

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Engel, G., Chakkaravarthy, A.S., Schweiger, G. (2019). A General Method to Compare Different Co-simulation Interfaces: Demonstration on a Case Study. In: Obaidat, M., Ören, T., Rango, F. (eds) Simulation and Modeling Methodologies, Technologies and Applications . SIMULTECH 2017. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 873. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01470-4_19

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