{"id":301,"date":"2017-10-20T04:04:13","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T04:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/?p=301"},"modified":"2017-11-28T13:32:47","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T13:32:47","slug":"advantages-of-vehicle-modeling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/2017\/10\/20\/advantages-of-vehicle-modeling\/","title":{"rendered":"Advantages of Vehicle Modeling \u2013 Don\u2019t Miss Out!"},"content":{"rendered":"

In today\u2019s blog post I am happy to introduce Ed Marquez Brunal<\/a>, a first-time guest in this blog. \u00a0This is a holistic summary of our project on modeling vehicles. Find 4 videos and 2 MATLAB Central File Exchange submissions, including anything you may need to get started, linked in the article.<\/p>\n

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If you are part of an automotive competition these days, you\u2019ve probably heard about \u201cvehicle modeling\u201d. But before I tell you more about vehicle modeling and its advantages, let\u2019s briefly see how the term \u201cmodel\u201d has evolved since the adoption of Model-Based Design in the automotive industry.<\/p>\n

When people said \u201cvehicle model\u201d in the early 90\u2019s, what came to mind was most likely a car prototype that was very expensive, highly complex, and hard to build. Engineers had to drive, and sometimes break, the so called \u201cvehicle model\u201d of the early 90\u2019s to gather data. Just imagine the pain of these engineers spending tons of time and money building a prototype that they had to break to figure out what was wrong with it!<\/p>\n

Today, most people would associate the term \u201cvehicle model\u201d with a computer representation that can be simulated under certain scenarios.\u00a0 Now you may be wondering, why did automotive engineers and students go from building prototypes to working on a computer? Well, it is fun to build the better product that meet specs, and saving time and money is the added benefit.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk more about some of the other advantages of vehicle modeling in the next section. But before that, be sure to check our Simulink based models<\/a> and Simscape Multibody model<\/a> in File Exchange.<\/p>\n

Faster, Better, and Cheaper<\/h1>\n

That\u2019s right!\u00a0Some advantages of vehicle modeling are that the final product can be built faster, it can be better (in terms of engineering requirements), and all while reducing cost. Sounds too good to be true? Let me explain.<\/p>\n

Building and simulating a vehicle model enables the engineers to analyze several powertrain configurations and determine if requirements are met for each design. If engineering requirements are not met by a powertrain configuration, it is much easier to change a parameter in a computer model than it is to make a change to a vehicle prototype that is already built. For example, it is easy to change the power rating of an electric motor in a computer model, but we know it can be challenging to swap motors in a real vehicle.<\/p>\n

Another advantage of vehicle modeling is that the engineers can study the performance and energy consumptions aspects of a powertrain configuration from a vehicle model. Finally, let\u2019s not forget that running computer simulation is faster and more cost effective than building and driving an actual vehicle prototype (90\u2019s model).<\/p>\n

If you are interested in seeing some student success stories, be sure to check out the series page: Formula Student Teams Share Their Keys to Success<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alright, this vehicle modeling stuff sounds great! But, how can you get started?<\/p>\n

Vehicle Modeling Tools<\/h1>\n

We have created instructional videos, vehicle models, and guidelines for when to use each tool. There is no right or wrong choice here. In fact, you can combine these tools in your models to get the best out of all worlds. However, a clever way to proceed is to think about what tool will fit your needs best before you build your model. For instance: if you are in initial stages of you design, consider Simulink or Simscape. Conversely, consider an alternative like Powertrain Blockset for fine-tuning of your model. An important consideration is that Simulink serves as the foundational platform for all the tools we will cover below.<\/p>\n

Simulink<\/h2>\n

Simulink is a graphical programming environment for modeling, simulating, and analyzing dynamic systems.\u00a0Consider Simulink\u00a0for vehicle modeling if you:<\/p>\n