Methodology for Development and Validation of
Multipurpose Simulation Models
Magnus Carlsson*, Henric Andersson†, Hampus Gavel‡
Saab Aeronautics, Linköping, Sweden, SE-581 88
and
Johan Ölvander§
Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden, SE-581 83
This paper describes a framework for development and validation of multipurpose
simulation models. The presented methodology enables reuse of models in different
applications with different purposes. The scope is simulation models representing
physical environment, physical aircraft systems or subsystems, avionics equipment, and
electronic hardware. The methodology has been developed by a small interdisciplinary
team, with experience from Modeling and Simulation (M&S) of vehicle systems as well
as development of simulators for verification and training. Special care has been taken
to ensure usability of the workflow and method descriptions, mainly by means of 1) a
user friendly format, easy to overview and update, 2) keeping the amount of text down,
and 3) providing relevant examples, templates, and checklists. A simulation model of the
Environmental Control System (ECS) of a military fighter aircraft, the Saab Gripen, is
used as an example to guide the reader through the workflow of developing and
validating multipurpose simulation models. The methods described in the paper can be
used in both military and civil applications, and are not limited to the aircraft industry.
I. Introduction
M
ODELING and simulation (M&S) is widely used in the aerospace industry, primarily to support system
development, verification, and end-user training, but also to some extent to support certification of
aircraft systems. The term model, which is frequently used throughout this paper, refers to simulation models
representing hardware (H/W) and/or embedded software (S/W), e.g. physical aircraft systems or subsystems,
avionics equipment and electronic hardware. These systems may include S/W applications such as control
systems, functional monitoring (FM), redundancy management (RM), and built-in test (BIT)1. Examples of such
systems are found in aircraft vehicle systems, e.g. Environmental Control Systems (ECS), fuel systems, landing
gears and hydraulic systems. An overview of the M&S of the military fighter aircraft Saab Gripen’s vehicle
systems can be found in Ref. 2.
Models are not only used by engineers specialized in M&S but are also utilized by several user groups, and
integrated in several kinds of applications. Some examples are:
· Model of a single system (S/W or H/W) used in a specific M&S tool
· Closed-loop model (S/W and H/W) used in a specific M&S tool
· Desktop simulator including models of several systems
· Large-scale simulator including models representing a complete aircraft
· Simulator for pilot training
· Simulator for technician training
· Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulator, e.g. test-rig with some subsystems replaced with simulation
models
· Model used in a S/W application, e.g. for model-based fault diagnosis
*
M.Sc., Systems Engineer, Modeling and Simulation, Vehicle Systems
Tech. lic., Systems Engineer, Methods and Tools
‡
Dr., Manager, Modeling and Simulation, Vehicle Systems
§
Prof., Division of Machine Design, Department of Management and Engineering
1
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
†