Product category:
Process Monitoring and Optimisation
News Release from: Adept Scientific | Subject: VisSim
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 29 July 2003
Air Force uses VisSim for weapons system
design
For weapons system design using VisSim, the Air Force Research Laboratory at Eglin, Florida has developed a high-fidelity 6-degree-of-freedom modelling system for weapons system simulation
For weapons system design using VisSim, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida has developed a high-fidelity 6-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) modelling system that simulates the flight dynamics and performance of a state-of-the-art weapons system The modelling system was built under the Munition Simulation Tools and Resources (MSTARS) project at AFRL by a joint government/contractor team led by Larry Lewis, Munition Flyout Team Leader
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 25 Jun 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Real time dynamic process control simulation
DuPont and EnTech used Visual Solutions VisSim software to develop a real time high-fidelity dynamic simulation model of the DuPont non-woven sheet manufacturing facility in Richmond, Virginia
Honeywell models GE Gas Turbine with VisSim
To retrofit a control system on a General Electric LM2500 gas turbine, Honeywell UK required a simulation package with the power and flexibility to model the non-linearities of a turbine
Designed for the rapid prototyping of new guided bomb and missile concepts, as well as the evaluation of new technology performance, MSTARS includes a library of VisSim-based munitions subsystems representing the accelerometer, rate gyro, autopilot, seeker, inertial navigation system, control surfaces, and air vehicle, with complete 6-DOF flight dynamics.
Simplified models of a launch aircraft and threat target are also incorporated into the component library.
Nearly 70 VisSim models and DLLs are currently in the library, and many more are being added monthly.
Further reading
Control and signal processing with VisSim/DSP
HR Textron is using VisSim/DSP for the rapid prototyping of hydraulic actuator systems that control the transition from helicopter mode to aircraft mode on military aircraft
New function blocks and utilities for VisSim
A new add-on for the VisSim dynamic simulation software system has been developed in a joint project between Adept Scientific and Visual Solutions, applicable to VisSim, VisSim Comm and VisSim ECD
Applying maths benefits engineering organisation
A new version of the industry-standard solution for applying mathematics to engineering, science and other technical operations delivers organisational benefits.
Several guided bomb and missile 6-DOF simulations have been built using these components.
The current MSTARS system is the culmination of work, which began when Lewis first created a prototype 6-DOF simulation using VisSim.
"We had been using another modelling system which simply was not meeting our objectives.
After doing a detailed comparison of several outstanding products, my team decided to go with VisSim for MSTARS.
It was a scary prospect to re-do our previous work, but we accomplished more in one year than we had in the previous three years".
According to Lewis, numerous VisSim features were essential in building the 6-DOF system.
"Embed blocks allowed us to build a truly reusable library of components," said Lewis.
"And path aliases tied to the embed blocks let us specify a complete simulation configuration, eliminating the use of lengthy file specifications".
Lewis emphasised that this modular approach to system design not only saved valuable time during the design and debugging phases, but also allowed engineers to quickly test the effectiveness of new subsystem component designs.
"Whenever we came up with a new design, we just changed a single name to swap the new component into the simulation".
Reuse of legacy code written in Fortran and Ada was facilitated by VisSim DLL capability, as was the creation of new models and special utilities.
"This ability to reuse existing code and create special-purpose code via DLLs shaved months off our development schedule," said Lewis.
New DLLs are constantly being added, written in C++, FORTRAN, and Ada 95.
In large model design, the dynamics of the system generally demand multirate simulation.
In the 6-DOF system, discrete transfer functions, unit delays, and automatic DLLs were used to achieve different update rates.
"This allowed us to dramatically reduce computation time and speed up the simulation," explained Lewis.
Within the Eglin AFB community, VisSim and the MSTARS modelling system have received favourable reviews. Request a free brochure from Adept Scientific ...
• Adept Scientific: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Processingtalk email newsletter
• Processingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
