Systems engineering in the design of mechatronic systems

Abstract

Complex mechatronic systems, for example brake or injection systems (ESP, Common Rail) consist of a large number of components from different physical domains. The interaction of these components is essential for the function and behaviour of the overall system. The design of mechatronic systems can be facilitated using a methodology called systems engineering (8,13,30,36). Systems engineering unifies the product and process issues in the design process of mechatronic systems so that the design methodology, design process, CAE-environment and the organisational structure of the company are considered simultaneously. As a consequence, the controller and plant have to be planned at the same time. The controller and plant are designed in order to realise functions such as braking force regulation and control of the air-mass flow. The plant can be changed during the design process in order to fulfil a pre-defined function. By contrast, the classical control problem consists of designing a controller for a given - and usually unchanged - plant. Furthermore, different models are used to describe different viewpoints of the plant during the design process. These models are usually built using different simulation tools due to the multi-domain nature of the mechatronic components. As a result, the model exchange between different simulation tools plays a crucial role in the design of mechatronic systems.