Extending JGrafchart with Support for FMI for Co-Simulation

Abstract

Grafchart is a graphical programming language which extends Sequential Function Charts (SFC), the PLC standard languages for sequential, parallel, and general state-transition oriented automation applications. SFC is widely used and accepted for industrial automation. Grafchart adds higher level features to SFC such as hierarchical structuring, reusable procedures, and exception handling to make it convenient to implement and maintain large applications. Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) is a standard to combine dynamic system models for technical system developed in various tools. Tools can export models as Functional Mock-up Units (FMUs) which can be combined with other FMUs to compose the whole system. In this paper adding FMI for Co-Simulation support to JGrafchart, a free implementation of the Grafchart language, is conceptually evaluated. It is discussed how JGrafchart fits into the FMI for CoSimulation framework and potential ways to implement this are discussed. Keywords: Grafchart; FMI; Co-Simulation; FMI for Co-Simulation; Modelica