Model-based design is a collection of practices in which a system model is at the center of the development process, from requirements definition and system design to implementation and testing. This approach provides a number of benefits such as reducing development time and cost, improving product quality, and generating a more reliable final product through the use of computer models for system verification and testing. Model-based design is particularly useful in automotive control applications where ease of calibration and reliability are critical parameters.
A novel application of the model-based design approach is demonstrated by The Ohio State University (OSU) student team as part of the Challenge X advanced vehicle development competition. In 2008, the team participated in the final year of the competition with a highly refined hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) that uses a through-the-road parallel architecture. This vehicle features a 1.9L diesel engine coupled with a 10 kW belted starter-alternator to drive the front axle, and a 32 kW AC induction machine to drive the rear axle. This dual electric machine configuration provides the vehicle with extensive control capabilities such as engine load optimization, engine start-stop, regenerative braking, effective driveline control and electric all-wheel drive.
The Ohio State Challenge X team has successfully integrated the model-based design concept into the overall vehicle development process through the use of MathWorks tools. The team concentrated its efforts on the experimental validation of hybrid-electric vehicle models as well as on the verification and optimization of vehicle control systems. The use of MathWorks products such as MATLABTM, SimulinkTM, StateflowTM, SimDrivelineTM and Real-Time WorkshopTM greatly simplified these processes.