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7.0 User`s Manual - Opal-RT

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1. plant response response time atov wtop Integrator1 Gain Ki Actuator 1imass control signal Gain Derivative Gain kd response time Sensor Figure 8 1 Grouping of an original model The final result of the grouping is saved in the file r de 701 as shown in the following figure Ta rtdemo1 Of xi File Edit View Simulation Format Tools Help DIEET RI t m Normal y Simple second order plant with PID control sm_computation sc_user_interface What is a PID controller PID stands for Proportional Integral Derivative This is a type of feedback controller whose output a control variable CV is generally based on the error between some user defined set point SP and some measured process variable PV Each element of the PID controller refers to a particular action taken on the error sl fo T he 7 Figure 8 2 Final regrouped model For any given model there must be only one master calculation subsystem and its name must begin with the prefix SM There is also only one Console subsystem and its name must begin with the prefix SC There can also be one or more Slave calculation subsystems and their names begin with the prefix SS See 3 Building a Distributed Model for RT LAB for a detailed description of each subsystem function 52 OPAL RT SAMPLE SIMULATION In the case of this Demo file the grouped model is composed of two subsystems
2. if Paused else return 0 counter RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 69 APPENDIX 2 return proxy return proxy pragma on check stack static void MyFunction DisableTimer void GenStruct static void MyFunction WaitForTimer void GenStruct fendif if defined RT Also defined here is the interrupt service routine ISR that will respond on the synchronisation interrupt and signal the MyFunction WaitFortimer routine to stop waiting A1 2 6 2 InitializeConditions CA OI Note The mdlInitializeConditions function uses the input parameters to start the acquisition card and fills out the LocalData structure The timer card input clock and count configuration are set using mdlinitializeConditions Any callback function used should be registered in mdlInitializeConditions as with the Register CB SingleStep Register CB WaitForTimer and Register CB Pause functions in the example below Since a model can only have one synchronization source only one function can be registered with Register CB WaitForTimer static void mdlInitializeConditions SimStruct S dif defined RT LocalData tid LD PTR Pointer to data structure ld gt actual StepSize OpalGetCalculationStep ld old StepSize 0 70 OPAL RT CODING AN RT LAB ICON TO MAKE I O AND TIMER Paused 1 if MyInitTimer OpalPrint Unable initialize the timer n
3. 38 between nodes o oooo o 5 Console time 38 hardware 12 VO in multi rate 45 I O Synchronize option 27 Module x s eR aa ahna 25 real time Lees hs 10 synchronized mode 34 synchronous acquisition 37 DEER EN DE 12 SystemBuild 8 blocks in SC 13 blocks in SM 13 blocks in SS 13 palette rg rere it N EER aims 26 simulation speed ii superblocks 15 18 Le une Sates Shas Sab 19 Targetnodes 4 7 communication with Console 34 TEPAP sii ek ans fu 7 17 delay aes RE hur RE ie RA 49 Time Step see Step Size Timep cards gese se ER EERS es 12 TEI BEE RE 12104 a AL IS 33 UEBS so Gas ER dpi ER 19 Voltage 30 Windows NT 7 Zero Order Hold 41 45 84 OPAL RT
4. OpComm blocks 6 10 RT LAB software algebraic loop message 17 automatic code generation 47 for acquisition groups 17 hardware configuration 4 DSC qui duties Pops 17 interacting during simulations 7 in SM and SS 17 AE EE EA N 6 inserting 10 15 16 17 RTW see Real Time Workshop OpAnalogin 28 Running a simulation 48 OpAnalogOut ETE EER 29 Disconnect button 56 OpDigitalIn EER 30 multiprocessing system 7 OpDigitalOut 31 Open Model button 53 56 OpQuad Decoder 31 Play button ls 55 OpSynGi va d eR as 40 OpSync_VME 32 OPTIESE s sex EE GE Re Eg 33 OpWriteFile 34 S VR ampling rates sampling times 42 ER Delay RE amp eee Pe Bae 41 Simulink parameters 17 me determining 41 SystemBuild parameters 19 ey OpWriteFil 34 transitions 41 EE asp did Zero Order Hold 41 Sampling time P OpComms eres 42 Simulation Parameters determiningspeed 11 continuous modification Und TA 49 executing L 55 discrete modification 49 interacting during 7 49 model performance 49 modifying parameters 7 PC 104 cardS 27 multiprocessing system 7 PCI cardS 27 offline 25 48 Play button 55 OU DUL
5. Run Input Corresponds to the value of one port bit and must be either zero 0 or one 1 This input may be connected to the Resetand Pause inputs to keep the old output values when the system is reset or paused Inserting a multiplexing block enables the writing of all bits to the same port Output The NT simulation output is the result of the quantification of one bit An input value greater than 0 5 will yield 1 as its output value a value less than or equal to 0 5 yields an output equal to zero 0 42 5 OpQuad Decoder OpQuad Decoder node 0 input for NT simulation gt ATC4O board 1 Slot B channel O Up Down Counting OpQuad Decoder RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 31 CHAPTER 4 Figure 4 5 OpQuad Decoder block This block enables reception of the value from the quadrature meter This value is transposed into a signed number and generally corresponds to a position TABLE 4 5 OPQUAD DECODER I Os Input Output Function Input Used for the simulation this input corresponds to the value from the quadrature meter Since the meter has 24 bits the values must therefore vary between 8 388 607 and 8 388 608 Output The value from the quadrature meter This is a signed value In the simulation it contains the same value as its input 4 2 6 OpSync VME OpSync VME node 8 OpSync VME Figure d 6 OpSync VME block This block is inserted by
6. if defined RT LocalData ld LD PTR Pointer to local data structure Get the acquisition card address parameter 1 ld gt card_address int mxGetPr ssGetSFcnParam S 0 0 Get input port pointer ld input ssGetInputPortRealSignalPtrs S 0 Initialize card if MyCardInit 1d gt card address ERROR STATUS INIT IO S FUNCTION NAM El else Register MyFunction ExecuteIO for the ExecuteIO event This function will be called using ld after OpalWaitforTimer if 1d Synchro Register CB ExecutelO ld MyFunction ExecutelO Register MyFunction Pause for the Pause event RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 65 APPENDIX 2 This function will be called using ld when the model is paused Register CB Pause ld MyFunction Pause endif A1 2 5 3 MdlOutputs The mdlOutputs function is called every calculation step and performs the icons main task The example here reads the icon input and sends it to the user defined MyCardOutput function This function could perform any given task with this information like for example writing this data on a given channel of DAC card Notice that a test is made to find out if card related operation is to be executed here or if it had been done in the MyFunction ExecutelO function static void mdlOutputs SimStruct S int T tid tif defined RT LocalData ld LD PTR if 1d Synchro My
7. oo ooooooo o Input dependent data State variables a lte te ek e dee Delay blocks 1 ei PRETI SUEDE ERU EM Key points about network communication Prioritizing data transmission with Simulink Prioritized data transmission in SystemBuild 4 RT LAB Blocks 4 1 NO and Synchronization Module blocks Using VO blocks in RT LAB 6 I O block parameters by card type es ES EG ee ee ee UE LE EE IN D EE EE PCHOA TOA Card ii ii A ee rore Pe ER I O Synchronize option 42 RT LAB UO and Synchronization Module blocks OpAnalogIn sessy OE OR iii OpAnalogOut soes ASA fan LU OpDigitalIn zu SEER RR SERE ees MEET HE IR EE OpDigital OUE EES ar OpQuad Decoder 0 0 eect eens OpSync VME is mee es ek Gon ee NEE Tee a ees 5 Acquiring and Viewing Data 5 1 Acquisition Groups Acquisition parameters OPAL RT TABLE OF CONTENTS Triggering ACquisition Es hr SO E GENEES DR BE GE T SG eee beatae etx 33 Recording data with OpWriteFlle 0 SE SS eee ee See ee 34 5 2 Understanding Data Reception 34 Communication between the Console and the Target nodes 34 Synchronous Acquisition 6 37 6 Models with Multiple Sampling Rates 40 6 1 Requirements for running models in Multithread Single CPU mode 40 Determining base sampling rate uuuuunuu renun uurea 41 Making proper rate trans
8. ERROR STATUS INIT IO S FUNCTION NAME Get a proxy for the interrupt handler to kick if proxy qnx proxy attach 0 0 0 1 1 OpalPrint sfunTimertmpl Unable to attach proxy n ERROR STATUS INIT IO S FUNCTION NAME ld gt FirstTime TRUI Gl Attach to the interrupt if iid qnx hint attach INTERRUPT NB amp Myhandler FP SEG amp counter OpalPrint Unable to attach interrupt handler An ERROR STATUS INIT IO S FUNCTION NAME ld gt interruptNb INTERRUPT NB Register CB WaitForTimer ld MyFunction WaitForTimer Register CB Pause ld MyFunction DisableTimer Register CB SingleStep ld MyFunction DisableTimer fendif RT T endif MDL INITIALIZE CONDITIONS RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 71 APPENDIX 2 A1 2 6 3 mdl outputs The mdlOutputs function will check for any change in the calculating step and automatically update the timer speed as required c Os Note A1 2 6 4 A timer icon MUST perform this task in the mdlOutput function since RT LAB supports time step changes after the model is started static void mdlOutputs SimStruct S int T tid dif defined RT LocalData ld LD PTR Pointer to LocalData structure Get calculation step Paused 0 ld gt actual StepSize OpalGetCalculationStep Compare with last calculation step
9. Introduction 1 1 The Evolution of Real Time Simulation In a competitive world accurate prediction provides a significant advantage Simulation technology can cut costs minimize risks improve reliability and bring a system into operation more quickly Providing insight into the design of processes architectures or product lines before significant time and cost have been invested simulation systems make it possible to address Issues before they become problems and before investing large sums for implementation The development of analog computers during the mid twentieth century was a defining moment in the progress of simulations technology With the emergence of digital computers in the 1950s simulation systems were increasingly refined and the progress has continued to expand Just over a decade ago simulations were developed through textual coding of the model since the early 1990s graphic simulation tools have become the norm Opal RT furthers simulation technology progress designing flexible and affordable tools to make possible real time simulations Our methodology is guided by the following principles The key to real time simulation success will be advanced modeling and simulation algorithms not hardware e Real time simulation and control should be easy and affordable e Simulation architecture should be scalable e Simulation tools should look after low level details and code automatically taking users from gr
10. RI LAB User s Manual Ba OPAL RT WWW OPAL RT COM SUPPORT OPAL RT COM 1 877 935 2323 08 30 17 30 EST 1 514 935 2323 QUICK START Quick Start The MetaController application must be running when using RT LAB software Start this application from the RT LAB program group To use RT LAB 1 Open your Simulink or SystemBuild block diagram model 2 Group the model into one Console one Master and one or more Slave subsystems Name each subsystem SC SM SS and save the top level grouped model 3 Start the Main Control Panel by double clicking on the Desktop s R7 LAB MainContro program icon 4 Click on the filename to select your grouped model file and click Open Model 5 Click on the Compile button in the Main Control dialog box Set parameters as required The message Compilation finished willappear on the screen when the model has successfully been compiled 6 Click on the Assign Nodes button to assign each computation subsystem to a physical node A dialog box will appear to allow you to assign subsystems to nodes double click the physical node you want to use from the list of Remaining Physical Nodes 7 Inthe Main Control Dialog box make sure the Use mode Console option is selected Click on the Zoad button to load the files to be executed by the various nodes 8 Click on the Execute button in the Main Control Dialog box to run your simulation The message displayed in the RT LAB display window sh
11. e SC user interface includes the reference constant and slider gain as well as the scope blocks for the reference and plant response and the control signal e SM computation contains all the computational elements of the model which form the second order plant and PID controller For full details on grouping your model into its subsystems and preparing the block diagram for use with RT LAB see 3 Building a Distributed Model for RT LAB and 4 RT LAB Blocks 3 Start RT LAB 1 Double click on the R7 LAB MainContro program icon located on the desktop This will start RT LAB and open the Main Control Dialog box The MetaController application must be running when using the RT LAB software If selection of the model didn t work or froze up the Dialog box verify that the MetaController is running If it is not start the application from the RT LAB program menu See Online help for more information about panels 4 Select the Model 1 Click on the Open Model button in the Main Control Dialog box 2 Double click on the filename for the desired grouped model for the purposes of this demonstration choose r demo1 mdl Once the model has been selected its filename appears above the Open Model button S Separate Generate and Compile the model 1 To change compilation parameters right click on the Compile button If no parameters changes are required go to step 2 The following options are selected by default e Separate M
12. e all other elements are distributed into the Master and or one or more Slave SS subsystems The number of nodes in the cluster 1s restricted only by the number of processors available and any limit imposed by the communication links For complete details on how to distribute your model see 3 Building a Distributed Model for RT LAB RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 9 CHAPTER 3 Building a Distributed Model for RT LAB Any Simulink or SystemBuild model can be implemented in RT LAB but some modifications must be made in order to distribute the model and transfer it into the simulation environment The success of distributed computing with a complex model will depend on the separation of that model into small subsystems synchronized to run in parallel This should be kept in mind early in and throughout the design process To build an RT LAB model users must modify the block diagram mdl or sbd file by regrouping the model into calculation subsystems inserting OpComm communication blocks taking into account step size calculations and exchanging state variables or using Delay blocks each of these topics is covered within this chapter After these steps have been completed RT LAB begins the compilation process with the regrouped file separating the model and generating and compiling the code The user then sets execution settings which are covered in the following chapters after which point the model s simulation 1s ready to be
13. Number of samples displayed by the Console between two missed data packets Can also be used to infer average data displayed Output 3342 SystemBuild UCBs When using SystemBuild UCBs in RT LAB each UCB must have a minimum of two inputs and two outputs To add output signals Increase the number of outputs on your block by the desired number of signals The number of outputs must be equal to the number of simulation output signals plus the number of additional output signals RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 19 CHAPTER 3 3 4 3 4 1 Maximizing Parallel Communication To maximize parallel communication output data must be exchanged between your network s nodes in the most efficient way possible The order in which data are sent can be prioritized so that nodes run their main calculations without having to wait from outputs from other nodes in the network This is accomplished by identifying as state variables those calculations that can be run independent of inputs and passing input dependant variables through De ay blocks Node 1 WW ubsystem A ubsystem y5_s y2 state variable input dependent Node 2 1 ubsystem C 3 la A 1 Integrator je OpComm1 Figure 3 5 This model simulates sequentially since its data are all input dependant Input dependent data Figure 3 5 shows the model of a sample simulation on a two node
14. Reception of y5 s Calculation of y2 Calculation of y5 s Sending of y5 s Calculation of y3 Reception of y6 s Calculation of y4 The main calculations are now done in parallel Figure 3 8 Event chart for the distributed model shown in Figure 3 7 22 OPAL RT BUILDING A DISTRIBUTED MODEL FOR RT LAB In this example Node 2 does not have to wait for an input from Node 1 to start its own calculation since data are now sent at the beginning of the step The result is that the both nodes main calculations are done in parallel and the nodes spend a minimum of time idle In other words exchanging state variables between nodes in a distributed simulation will maximize the simulation s parallelism and improve your system s performance 3 4 3 Delay blocks While a system being simulated by RT LAB will have a better performance if all data exchanged between the nodes are in the form of state variables state variables can also slow your system down Sending only state variables may for example cause a model to perform too many calculations in one node and not enough in another which would unbalance the distribution and degrade performance Further since all data are transmitted simultaneously if even one input dependent variable were present in the exchanged data the model to would run sequentially see section 3 4 1 Input dependent data The alternative to exchanging state variables is to pass these variables thr
15. if 1d old StepSize Id Pactual StepSize MyChangeTimerSpeed ld actual StepSize OpalPrint Speedchanged 4f n ld gt actual_ StepSize ld old StepSize ld actual StepSize endif mdl Terminate The mdlTerminate function is called when the simulation is reset and will reset the acquisition card and set the output of the reset value Hint Disable the interrupt when using this function so that your PC will not have to handle interrupts after the model is stopped 72 OPAL RT CODING AN RT LAB ICON TO MAKE I O AND TIMER c VO wr Note This final value must be set at a safe value for any hardware that could be connected to your I O board static void mdlTerminate SimStruct S dif defined RT Paused 1 qnx hint detach iid endif A1 2 6 5 WaitForTimer The MyFunction WaitForTimer function was registered in mdlInitializeConditions using Register CB WaitForTimer This function will block until the timer interrupt is received by the timer card Since the timer is set according to the model s step time value this will synchronize the model s step execution Note The WaitForTimer function uses QNX blocking functions like Receive and Creceive Polling with a for or a while loop will increase the CPU work charge and prevent lower priority tasks like Data Acquisition from being done while the function waits for the interrupt dif defined RT stati
16. timer chip can be used as a default For I O cards with integrated timers that Opal RT does not already support our engineers can custom write a driver or you could write your own using our template Step size for running the model on 1 node 1000 us computation time 15 us overhead for 1 node system 1015 us Step size for running the model on 2 nodes 1000 us computation time 2 nodes assuming each one is waiting exactly the same amount of computation 500 us 100 us overhead for 2 nodes system 600 us Step size for running the model on 3 nodes 1000 us computation time 3 nodes assuming each one is waiting exactly the same amount of computation 335 us 120 us overhead for 3 nodes system 455 us OPAL RT BUILDING A DISTRIBUTED MODEL FOR RT LAB 3 2 Grouping the Model into Subsystems The model must be divided into subsystems each of which represents one node in the real time network Three types of subsystems are available Console e The Console subsystem is the station operating under Windows NT where the user interacts with the system It contains all the Simulink SystemBuild blocks related to acquiring and viewing data scope manual switch To Workspace type blocks etc Any of these blocks that are required by the user whether during or after the execution of the real time model should be included in the Console subsystem There can be only one Console per model
17. uses a designated real time link For communication between the Console SC and the real time nodes SM or SS RT LAB uses TCP IP Because of these communication links between nodes the simulation might not run the same way in Simulink or SystemBuild as in RT LAB In RT LAB a computation subsystem waits for reception of all signals before it is able to start calculating In Simulink and SystemBuild on the other hand computations performed on a signal start as soon as the signal is available As pass through icons that wait for all inputs before making their outputs available OpComm blocks emulate the behavior of the system as it is run in RT LAB Keep this effect in mind when designing models If you receive a message indicating that the inserted OpComms create an algebraic loop this means your model will not be able to run in real time as a deadlock has been created To correct this problem include a state variable See the full discussion in section 3 4 Maximizing Parallel Communication 2 OpComm blocks provide information to RT LAB concerning the type and size of the signals being sent from one subsystem to another 3 OpComm blocks inserted into the Console subsystem allow you to select the data acquisition group you want to use to acquire data from the model and to specify acquisition parameters Acquisition parameters are described in the following sections specific to Simulink or SystemBuild respectively 3 32 Rules for
18. when modifying a parameter that is present in the calculation of many nodes it is recommended that you send the modification to a node from the Console and then pass this modification to the other nodes through a FireWire link namely from one calculation subsystem to another instead of sending to all the computing nodes from the console Two typical parameter modification blocks which can be used to interact with the simulation from the Console are the Manual Switch and the Slider Gain gt 11 424 p Manual Switch Slider Gain Block parameters Slider Gain lei E al E gt Low Hiah CC Wu NB o Help Close Figure 7 1 Slider gain The Manual Switch block allows discrete modification of the parameter the Slider Gain block allows continuous modification over a specified range RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 49 CHAPTER 7 To modify the parameters of a filter for example Signal Generator Initial model Integrator Regrouped model Int Du 1 a in 1 as out Int 1 a out b SM_filter Signal Generator 1 as out Integrator 1 as in Figure 7 2 Modifying feedback gains using the Console OpComm 50 OPAL RT SAMPLE SIMULATION Sample Simulation A demonstration model is supplied with the system This model has been designed to function properly in the RT LAB environment and allows you to review all the
19. 5 steps of 1ms sin wave value Wee updated Figure 6 6 T O executing at the base rate of the Master 46 OPAL RT RUNNING YOUR SIMULATION Running Your Simulation After distributing the model and generating its associated C code as described in the previous chapters next in the model implementation process is compilation of the model and finally its simulation This chapter explains the procedures involved in compiling simulating offline loading your model executing its simulation and interacting with the model during simulation 7 1 Compiling Compiling your distributed model is a fully automated process initiated by clicking on the Compile button on the Main Control Panel A dialog box will present four check boxes to be completed before you proceed Right click Compileto reset the parameters When you click Compile RT LAB will Separate the Model into the SC SM and SS subsystems you defined The now grouped block diagram will be split into smaller diagrams each associated with a different processor There will be one diagram generated for each SC SM orSS subsystem Automatically generate code on the Master and Slave computers The Simulink sub models are coded into C language by the MATLAB Real Time Workshop RTW module RTW also creates a makefile according to a specified template Since real time models are executed under the QNX environment the template used is one designed for compiling u
20. A low pass filter that counteracts the effects of aliasing A memory address that serves as the starting point for programmable registers Graphical unit that makes up part of a block diagram representing a specific operation calculation or subsystem within the system represented by the block diagram See also Block Diagram Block Library and Communication Block A diagram of a dynamic system in which the principal parts are represented by blocks that show both the basic functions of the parts and the data flow connections between them A collection of reusable blocks Library blocks are dragged from the Block Library and dropped into a model s block diagram A reserved data storage area used in RT LAB to compensate for the difference in speed when transferring data from one device to another A computer s expansion connector into which boards are inserted and through which all communication between the computer and your board occurs There are several different expansion buses available including the ISA PCI PC 104PC 104 IP Module buses See Target Node See Step Size RT LAB 7 0 USER S MANUAL 75 GLOSSARY Carrier Board CLAN Client Cluster Command Station Commercial off the shelf COTS Communication Block Communication Rate Compilation Node Computation Node Console COTS D A Converter Data Acguisition Board Computer board that can be reconfigured by inserting IP m
21. Cj BE EI gt Scope XY Graph Display Manual Switch Figure 3 1 Some Simulink blocks that may be included in the Console subsystem Master e The Master computation subsystem is responsible for the model s real time calculation and for the overall synchronization of the network In a system containing Hardware in the Loop HIL this subsystem is also responsible for VO communication The Master includes Simulink or SystemBuild blocks that represent operations to be performed on signals and or on I O icons There can be only one Master subsystem per model Slaves e Slave computation subsystems are also responsible for performing calculations in the model and are driven by the Master subsystem which synchronizes the whole network Slave computation subsystems contains Simulink or SystemBuild blocks that represent operations to be performed on signals Slave subsystems can include I O blocks but while these will be synchronized within the Slave subsystem they will not be synchronized with I O communication within the Master subsystem A CPU may contain several Slave subsystems although this set up would not allow for distributed processing and should therefore be used only in simulation mode For real time applications there can be as many Slaves as there are CPUs RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 13 CHAPTER 3 32 1 Initial model i A H i T E H i p000 1 oi To Workspace 009 Ei H i t EN at Ty DH ji
22. L a ea ya D iur eres 31 r nning 6 222 dee 48 Speedie a EE SE ER EE i 11 Q viewing o o een 7 Quadrature decoders 25 Simulink 8 Quadrature meter 32 blocks in SC 13 blocks in SM 13 blocks in SS 13 R library browser 26 Real time multiple signals 34 multi rate models 40 calculations 13 HUE simulation speed 11 communication 17 es Single Tasking mode 44 communicationlink 5 17 inele Th continuous calculations 35 Single Thread mode ases dis 40 42 execution sl TR eas 48 Slaves eee eee eee 9 13 problems 48 blocks Serie dex pattes viuda iie 13 Simulation 3 ad yc kk ees 6 Slider Gai s a dee 49 target nodes 4 State Variables 10 Real Time Workshop 47 Step Size AutoCode e 47 approximate 11 Gode ate v n RE weg is SSS 47 calculating 11 ISI C code generator 47 equation o oooooo oo 11 make ile 45 dte 47 inctedsitig 4 51 e ede pe 34 tide os haw eee ui 51 MINIMUM LL 11 RT LAB 6 2 USER S MANUAL 83 INDEX Subsystems ss se 6 Console SC 9 13 defining 10 13 Master SM 9 13 naming organizing 14 prefix ss v sue ERA was se 15 Slave SS o 9 13 Svnchronization 13 33 algorithM
23. OpAnalogin for example the block library will list the block as QOXVZAnalogin where XYZ is the card name applicable to your system The I O and synchronization module blocks discussed are e OpAnalogin e OpAnalogOut OpDigitalIn e OpDigitalOut e OpQuadDecoder OpSync WE OpAnalogIn OpAnalogin node O input for NT simulation ATC4O board 1 IP320 B Range 5 to 5V OpAnalogln Figure 4 1 OpAnalogln block This block is used to receive the value of an analog input The signal received by this input is displayed at the block s output The information is quantified through an A D converter The basic channel is always channel 0 To capture the signals on numerous channels a de multiplexing block must be inserted at the block output The signals will then be extracted at the output in the same order as the connections for the de multiplexing block with the signal at the top of the de multiplexing block being the first one Channel 0 TABLE 4 1 OPANALOGIN VOS Input Output Function Input Input is used only for the simulation It requires the value of the input signal in volts This input is directly connected to the output without the quantification error that can be generated in an analog to digital conversion 28 OPAL RT RT LAB BLOCKS TABLE 4 1 OPANALOGIN VOS Input Output Function Output The output block corresponds to the voltage value of the signal present at the inp
24. Simulation Parameters window and click on the So vertab 2 Click Fixed step 3 Specify a Fixed step size and set the Mode to Auto or Multitasking 4 Click Ok 40 OPAL RT MODELS WITH MULTIPLE SAMPLING RATES Simulation Parameters untitled a ic xi sover Workspace 1 0 Diagnostics Real Time Workshop Simulation time Start time 0 0 Stop time inf Solver options Type JFixed step Jodes Runge Kutta 7 Fixed step size 0 001 Mode Auto Dutput options Refine output Figure 6 1 Specifving a Fixed step of 0 001 with Multitasking 6 1 1 Determining base sampling rate The base step size of the Master subsystem SM 1s determined according to the value in the Fixed step size field 0 001 seconds in the above example All other step sizes are determined according to the step size parameters specified in blocks that use this information such as integrators delays etc 6 12 Making proper rate transitions In order to account for transitions between fast and slow rates and vice versa ensure that Zero Order Hold and Delay blocks are inserted according to the concepts illustrated in pages 7 11 to 7 15 of the Real Time User Guide 6 13 Compiling and Loading the model Once the Zero Order Hold and Unit Delayblocks are added the model must be compiled and loaded from the Main Control Panel The following message should be displayed in the Phindows or RT LAB display window Real Time Mul
25. a eee 45 sample andhold 48 IP carrier boards 25 26 modules 25 26 TSAvcards sr see Ses 27 Libraries RT LAB V O icons 26 Loading ss ian RIDERS 41 Main Control Panel Compile button 47 dialog box 53 Manual Switch 49 Master es eine EE 9 13 A a a RR ee 13 Dr file ia a a Rams 34 Matlab Real Time Workshop RTW 47 Minimum step size 11 Model compiling 41 47 53 designing and validating 6 dividing ls 14 executing simulation 48 generating 53 grouping into subsystems 13 interacting With 49 loading 41 48 54 modifying parameters 7 multiple sample rates 40 offline simulation 48 performance parameters 49 separating 53 separation errors 44 using RTW aoo euauaeaeaeuana 40 Multiple sample rates 40 Multiplexing icon 29 Multiprocessing 7 Multirate mode andl Os sis vt ie ec d 45 and SC vele qns 45 Multithread mode 40 Nodes assipninp eee 54 communication 34 compilation nodes 5 computation nodes 17 synchronizing L 5 latgebu s bu od S 7 9 target nodes 4 Offline simulation 48 OpComm icon mask 38 OpComm Blocks OpSync VME 32 82 OPAL RT INDEX
26. be executed by target nodes in RT LAB s distributed system Using I O devices RT LAB supports the use of Input Output devices to enable the integration of external physical components into the system This arrangement is commonly known as a Hardware in the Loop HIL configuration Real time simulations that use HIL reduce the need to simulate processing components since part of the simulation is actual hardware The optimized use of I O devices allows RT LAB to work as a programmable control system that presents a flexible real time user machine interface Interfaces for I O devices are configured through custom blocks that need only be added and connected to the graphic model s blocks RT LAB s automatic code generator will map the model s data onto the physical VO cards For a complete discussion of I O devices see 4 RT LAB Blocks OPAL RT FUNDAMENTALS 2 44 Running Simulations Once the original model has been separated into subsystems associated with the various processors each portion of the model is automatically coded in C and compiled for execution by the target nodes Target nodes are commercial PCs equipped with PC compatible processors that operate under a Windows NT or a QNX environment In the QNX environment the real time sending and reception of data between QNX nodes is performed through FireWire type communication boards typically at 200 Mb s or 400 Mb s depending on the card chosen In a Windows N
27. calculation step depends only on previously generated inputs to calculate its value This allows the variable to be calculated at the beginning of the step while other computations continue Number of calculation steps per second The time interval between consecutive calculation steps seconds per calculation step A model with a variable step size can modify its step size during its simulation a model with a fixed step size will use the same step size value throughout its simulation A system that is part of a larger system In RT LAB a model s block diagram is distributed into numerous subsystems to allow synchronization and distributed computing See also SC SM and SS Known in former versions of RT LAB as Computation Node Calculation Node or Processing Node Real time processing and communication computer on which the simulation s calculations are performed that supervises the execution of a simulation and communicates with other nodes The operating system platform of the target node Transmission Control Protocol Internet Protocol A sequence of instructions within a single process program See also Multithreading and Single Threading A discrete event used to initiate operations 80 OPAL RT INDEX A D converters 25 28 Acquisition Consoles relie pP BRA 38 data los ee se x uds 34 frames co A ALAS s 37 BIOUDS euet eR Uer NR 33 OpComm block rules for 17 parameters
28. data that represents a specific signal inside the buffer For example if you have three signals and want the data transmitted at every 5000th value the buffer will contain 15 000 samples or three frames of 5000 values each Because the NT workstation takes a certain amount of time to receive and display the acquired values and because the real time model is calculated in continuous mode it is possible that the next data frame received may not immediately follow the currently displayed frame in other words there may be holes in the data display The following figures illustrate this point n Frame 1 Frame 2 x Time required for display gt Figure 5 1 Expected signal in the data display As the time required to display Frame 1 is longer than the frame itself the portion of the calculation that is performed between dispatching the two frames will be lost creating a discontinuity in the display as shown below l Frame 1 mla Frame 2 gt Figure 5 2 A hole is generated in the data display RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 35 CHAPTER 5 It is possible to minimize this effect For a number of values per given signal an increase in the decimation factor from one acquisition per step to one acquisition for every two steps also increases the effective length of the frame diminishing the gap in values between the two data transmissions n Frame 1 gt B Frame 2 lt gt le Time r
29. for the sequentially simulated model in Figure 3 5 21 Figure 3 7 Distributed model including state variables identified to be sent as a DORI usce ra OO EER EO OO RC ates 22 Figure 3 8 Event chart for the distributed model shown in Figure 3 7 22 Figure 3 9 Output Outi shown on the left is an input dependent output the s added to the Out1 shown on the right declares this output as a priority send 24 Figure 4 1 OpAnalogIn block lisse e KK nh 28 Figure 4 2 OpAnalogOut block The module in this figure would maintain its last output value when paused and reset since their inputs have the same value as the Run input Lee 29 Figure 4 3 OpbDigitalIn bl ck 14 AI A RD RE A spi a Ro aera A 30 Figure 4 4 OpDigitalOut block OpDigitalOut maintains its last output value with Pause and Reel eleng tito e D qo OI CARO EO AA 31 Figure 4 5 OpQuad Decoder block 32 Figure 4 6 OpSync_VME block lee a 32 Figure 5 1 Expected signal in the data display 0 o oooooomoo oo 35 Figure 5 2 A hole is generated in the data display 35 Figure 5 3 Increasing the effective length of a frame by increasing the decimation A NER dE Yd tue EE 36 Figure 5 4 Display resolution error that can result from increase in decimation factor 36 Figure 5 5 Signal with no aliasing llle 37 Figure 5 6 Sine waves showing aliasing due to a non synchronized time axis 38 Figure 5 7 Interpolation in da
30. italics Click Open Keyboard keys appear enclosed in angle brackets Press Enter Filenames and folders appear in Univers Open the file model sbd Reference sources appear in Times italics See Chapter Notes are identified by a lightbulb icon Or Important troubleshooting hints are identified by Pd a lightbulb with exclamation mark icon 1 3 Getting More Help If you need more information contact Opal RT Customer Support Toll Free U S and Canada 1 877 935 2323 08 30 17 30 EST Phone 1 514 935 2323 Fax 1 514 935 4994 Email sales opal rt com info opal rt com Support opal rt com Mail 1751 Richardson suite 2525 Montr al QC Canada H3K 1G6 Web www opal rt com RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 3 CHAPTER 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 Fundamentals This chapter describes the fundamentals of RT LAB providing an overview of the simulation process from designing and validating the model to using block diagrams and I O devices to running the simulation and using the Console as a graphic interface Related hardware functions are also discussed including the Command Station and target nodes communication links and I O boards Finally the knowledge required about select hardware and software components is outlined at the end of this chapter How RT LAB Works RT LAB software runs on a hardware configuration consisting of Command Station compilation node target nodes the communication links real time and Ethe
31. mdl output functions A1 and A2 are not always regularly spaced in time This 1s due to several factors a major one being operating system activity This may be a drawback when performing IO tasks but as it will be explained later such a problem can be detoured with RT LAB A2 2 7 How to create an S Function Here is a quick step by step description of the procedure to use an S function in a Simulink or RT LAB context 1 Write the S function C source file using one of the previously mentioned templates 2 Compile this file as a dll using any C compiler or Matlab To use Matlab put this source file in one of Matlab s file paths and simply use the command mex filename c 3 Take a Simulink S function block and put it in a model 4 Double click on it and put the dll s name without extension in the first field 5 Also add icon parameters in the second field These can be either numerical values variables or strings Separate each parameter by a comma All is now ready for use in a Simulink environment The following steps are necessary for an RT LAB application 1 Click on the Configuration button from the MainControl panel 2 Press the Advanced button 3 Goto the Files amp Command tab 4 Add your C source filed in the extra files section use the Add and Browser button along with all the header files h required A2 3 SystemBuild UCBs A UCB can be visualized as a source code description of an icon s behavior Ha
32. multirate models that is models that have multiple step sizes by using the fundamentals described in the multirate RTW and Simulink documentation Before continuing with this chapter it is strongly recommended that you read Chapter 7 of the Rea Time Workshop Users Guide where the basic concepts of multirate models are explained The Real Time Workshop Users Guide is located in the following file C MATLABR11 help pdf_doc rtw rtw_ug pdf Note to Simulink Users Simulink documentation uses the terms sample rate sample time and step size interchangeably To avoid confusion we use Sample time for the period of analog to digital conversions during data acquisition and step size for the period of model computation and sample rate and step rate which are their inverses RT LAB supports three types of models with multiple sampling rates 1 Multithread Single CPU 2 Single Thread Multi CPU 3 Multithread Multi CPU Each of these options is discussed in this chapter 6 1 Requirements for running models in Multithread Single CPU mode To run your model in Multithread mode insert an OpSyncicon in the Master subsystem SM and run your simulation in Synchronized Hardware Software mode as specified from the Main Control Panel Unless these two conditions are met the model will run in Single Thread mode meaning that only one process will handle all of the model s sampling rates To select Multithread mode 1 OpenSimulink s
33. one of them having its own memory space This SimStruc also contains a pointer that can be used by the user to point to a memory space assigned to a structure called LocalData containing user defined variables that can thus be made available to all member functions of the S function This LocalData structure can be any size and must be allocated by the user in one of the initialization functions One must be careful while using global variables S function files since such a variable will be allocated only once in a given model for all instances of a given S function Such a problem is detoured by the use of the LocalData structure A22 1 Main S Function Routines The following overview outlines Simulink s main S function routines The information presented here is just an overview Every topic will be explored deeper as examples will be explained in the following sections RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 59 APPENDIX 2 A1 2 2 2 mdlinitializeSizes Simulink calls this routine at the start of simulation to set the size of the icon input output ports and set the number of icon parameters such as the gain to be applied to the input of the S function Simulink also calls this routine while it edits the model to determine the number of input and output ports A1 2 2 3 mdlInitializeSampleTimes Simulink calls this routine to set the sample time s of the S function A1 2 2 4 mdlinitializeConditions Simulink calls this routine before the m
34. responsible for the overall synchronization of the distributed simulation The SM subsystem contains high rate elements blocks that represent operations to be performed on signals and or I O icons There is one Master per distributed simulation Transmitting two or more distinct signals simultaneously In block diagrams designed for use with RT LAB this is done using a Multiplexing Icon also known as a Multiplexor or Mux which allows multiple channels to be used so that numerous signals can be sent through one module The Multiplexing icon must be inserted at a block s input and signals will be sent to the output in the same order top to bottom as they appear in the Multiplexing icon Multiplexed signals must pass through a De mu tiplexing icon at the block s output Running multiple processes programs in pseudo parallel on a single processor machine or in parallel on a multi processor machine one using two or more processors in the same computer See also Cluster and Network System that uses multiple step sizes for a simulation A multirate system usually consists of a base step size and a set of step sizes that are integral multiples integer dividends of the base step size Running multiple processes on one or more processors Running multiple calculation threads per process See also Thread and Single Threading Two or more computers linked together and the hardware and software used to connect them Compare with Cluste
35. steps required to operate the system Using the information provided in this Manual you should be able to successfully open the demonstration file group the model into its required subsystems set its parameters and run its simulation on your cluster 1 Open the Demonstration file To access the RT LAB sample simulation s Demo file you must have properly installed hardware and software for RT LAB For full installation requirements see 4 Installation 1 Open the demonstration file 7ezof 7 using your Simulink or SystemBuild block diagram editor e For R LAB with MATLAB this file is in the directory lt RT LAB Installation dir Simulink models rtdemot For more information on opening files using the editor refer to your Simulink documentation 2 This model represents a second order system a double integrator that is controlled by a PID controller You can select the reference position you want to system to get to and you can track the controlled response of the system on the display scope RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 51 CHAPTER 8 2 Group the Subsystems The demonstration model consists of a global model divided into two subsystems as is shown in Figure 8 1 Each subsystem is then distributed to a target node TES olx File Edit View Simulation Format Tools Help D Gebuert x Noma si ET Simple second order plant with PID control RTLA r L sm_computation reference amp Gain Kp
36. the user into a target computation node subsystem to synchronize the acquisitions of the ATC 40 boards with the help of the SEDERTA SD VME 200 data acquisition board located in the VME casing TABLE 4 6 OPSYNC_VME VOS Input Output Function Input None Output None 32 OPAL RT ACQUIRING AND VIEWING DATA Acquiring and Viewing Data This chapter discusses aspects related to the acquisition and viewing of your simulation data including acquisition groups and their parameters and how to determine the speed of your simulation and optimize its synchronization Inter node communication is also discussed both between target nodes and the Console and between target nodes across FireWire or CLAN 5 1 Acquisition Groups RT LAB allows signal acquisition from the real time target nodes in the cluster Because TCP IP is relatively slow compared with most real time systems RT LAB allows users to set different groups of acquisition Each group can include many signals including the number of signals per frame to receive decimation factor etc These parameters can be defined separately for each signal For example in a system with a 1 millisecond step a user might want to acquire the data values of a slow changing signal once every 100 steps or so Signals can also be acquired only once specific conditions have been met by defining the conditions parameters in a Trigger block as described below Signals
37. until Node 2 has finished its own calculation phase once both calculations from both nodes have been completed a new simulation step may begin This example illustrates that when there 1s an exchange of at least one input dependent variable between two nodes in a distributed simulation these nodes will run one after the other Node 2 must wait until Node 1 has performed its output calculations before it can calculate it own output and vice versa This type of simulation does not take full advantage of RT LAB s distributed simulation capabilities or greatly benefit from using a multi CPU system RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 21 CHAPTER 3 342 State variables Node 1 ubsvstem jal pComm P ubsystem y5_s state variable y6_s state variable Node 2 7 s Integrator y3 Subsystem Figure 3 7 Distributed model including state variables identified to be sent as a priority If as in Figure 3 7 Node 1 s output is also a state variable y6 5 the data exchanged between Node 1 and Node 2 are states of the system under simulation which means that it 1s possible for both subsystems to receive and send this data at the beginning of a given calculation step as 1s illustrated in Figure 3 8 Node 1 Node 2 Operations Calculation of y6 s Sending of y6 s Step k Step k 1 Calculation of y1
38. 1 CAN 1 O Note In the following options interpolation suggests estimating the value between two known values TABLE 5 1 OPCOMM ICON MASK OPTIONS BUTTON FIELD FUNCTION Enable synchronization Enables the synchronization algorithm for a given acquisition group This algorithm should be used if synchronization is necessary between acquisition Console time and simulation time In case of a synchronization problem the Console will detect missing data from the target node and the algorithm will either replace the lost data with the last signal value received or will interpolate the data Enable interpolation In case of missed data from a computation subsystem the synchronization algorithm can interpolate data during a range of data loss The two images in Figure 5 7 illustrate this point The display at left shows no interpolation during data acquisition the display at shows interpolation between two frames during data loss Threshold Difference between the simulation Console time and the simulation target time Whenever this difference is exceeded the synchronization algorithm stops interpolating and re synchronizes to the new value 38 OPAL RT ACQUIRING AND VIEWING DATA Scope PALO aas Figure 5 7 Interpolation in data acquisition RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 39 CHAPTER 6 Models with Multiple Sampling Rates RT LAB supports
39. 1 then test which one is working when connecting only one of the two cards external connector The same technique can be used when more than two cards are used 4 1 2 4 PC 104 104 card Since the PC 104 bus is actually an ISA bus with a different connector type the same ISA bus addressing scheme is used Refer to the ISA section for more details on PC 104 addressing 4 1 2 5 VO Synchronize option By default the RT LAB I O blocks are executed as they would be in Simulink offline mode the blocks are executed one after the other Adding flowcharts enabled subsystems or other blocks causes computation times to vary The time interval between two calls to an I O block will vary as well depending on the computation time of the blocks that were called first This computation variation will result in an error since the time between two I O card accesses will not be constant By using the RT LAB I O block s Synchronize option I O hardware will be called before any other blocks are called to ensure constant I O access intervals at each step and eliminating the error RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 27 CHAPTER 4 4 2 4 2 1 RT LAB VO and Synchronization Module blocks The block library includes blocks for every available type of I O module Each block described in this section is available for each card type and the card type will be identified in the block s name while for the purposes of this manual an block will be referred to as
40. 2 2 2 2 2 3 How RT LAB is Used RT LAB is an industrial grade software package for engineers who use mathematical block diagrams for simulation control and related applications The software is layered on top of industry proven commercial off the shelf COTS components like popular diagramming tools MATLAB Simulink and MATRIXx SystemBuild and works with viewers such as LabVIEW and Altia and programming languages including Visual Basic and C Designing and validating the model The starting point for any simulation is a mathematical model of the system components that are to be simulated Users design and validate a model by analyzing the system to be modelled and implementing the model in the dynamic simulation software RT LAB is designed to automate the execution of simulations for models made with offline dynamic simulation software like Simulink or SystemBuild in a real time multiprocessing environment RT LAB is fully scalable allowing users to separate mathematical models into blocks to be run in parallel on a cluster of machines without subtly changing the model s behavior introducing real time glitches or causing deadlocks Using block diagrams Using block diagrams for programming simplifies the entry of parameters and guarantees complete and exact documentation of the system being modeled Once the model is validated the user separates 1t into subsystems and inserts appropriate communication blocks Each subsystem will
41. 33 synchronous 37 triggering LL 33 Algebraic loop 17 Aliasing leere 37 Analog Input ub ea a OE ere lae 28 utput i ize eh eR Rex 29 Analog to digital converters see A D converters Base sampling rate 41 Block diagram inserting icons 25 inserting OpComms 16 Using iaceo OE 6 Block Library 10 25 EE sd puer ds WE hs 34 CCG Ese eL Te vel eue 7 Calculation speed 10 Cards IP modules 26 SALA ana A Ts 27 named in icons 28 A este LR 27 PEL ee SEED rade te URE 27 Carrier board 26 O HEEN 7 Code AutoCode ss se 47 Escode L d eser 7 47 debug source code 5 generating 47 ISI C code generator 47 loading LL 5 Command Station 4 Communication DIOCKS A NE 48 CAN A oe eel is de Ru rep eN 7 delay es oe get ER RARUS 48 Ethernet 5 7 non real time 17 parallel sss e edia Tee 48 Tale hae AAA 42 real time 5 7 17 shared memory o o o o o o o 7 CPAP ad ad a 7 Compilation Node 5 Compiling 41 47 Configurations components o ooo o 4 hardware in the loop 6 Console 7 9 13 49 53 as graphic interface 7 hd P 13 communicate with target nodes 34 Grasi aere S dte n 37 Load Restt oooooooo o 54 D A convert
42. CardOutput 1d card address ld input 0 tendif A1 2 5 4 mdl terminate The mdlTerminate function will reset the acquisition card and set the output at a given reset value Note This final value must be set at a safe value for any hardware that could be connected to your I O board static void mdlTerminate SimStruct S dif defined RT LocalData ld LD PTR nosound Stop sound outp ld card address RESET VALUE 66 OPAL RT CODING AN RT LAB ICON TO MAKE I O AND TIMER endif A1 2 5 5 MvExecutelO The MyFunction ExecutelO function was registered in mdlInitializeConditions using Register CB ExecutelO and will therefore be called at each beginning of step Access the I O board through this function to set its output value CA V WT Note The value sent to the card is written into the LocalData structure by the mdlOutput function This MyExecute function simply sends the value to the I O card Most calculations should be avoided in call back functions since many ExecutelO call back function can be register and are also waiting to be executed quickly at the beginning of each calculation steps static void MyFunction ExecutelO void GenStruct LocalData ld LocalData GenStruct MyCardOutput ld card address ld gt input 0 A1 2 5 6 MyFunctionPause The MyFunction PauselO function was registered in mdlInitializeConditions using Regis
43. H fi H it i H j i Signal Generator S function To wrksp Switch out Switch in1 Model allocated for 3 CPU s Figure 3 2 Block model divided into one Console one Master and two Slave subsystems To keep in mind when dividing your model A number of conventions must be followed when organizing and naming the subsystems Consider the following example of a simple model divided for distribution on three target nodes 14 OPAL RT BUILDING A DISTRIBUTED MODEL FOR RT LAB All blocks must be included in the subsystems the top level model must only show the grouped subsystems Name the subsystems with a prefix indicating the function of that subsystem SC SM 0r SS for Console Master and Slave subsystems respectively e With RT LAB for SystemBuild the model must contain only one top level superblock All the SC SM and SC superblocks should be located one level below this top superblock in the model superblock s hierarchy e With RT LAB for SvstemBuild e A model must have one Console subsystem SC and one Master calculation subsystem SM All other subsystems must be Slave calculation subsystems SS None ofthe three types of subsystems SC SM or SS may include any other type of subsystem No RT LAB calculation subsystem SM or SS may include another RT LAB calculation subsystem 3 3 OpComm Communication Blocks This section explains how and when to insert OpComm blocks into yo
44. LAB install_dir gt simulink src sfuntmpl doc For UCBs SMATRIXX install dir help help html A2 2 Simulink S Functions An S function can be visualized as a source code description of an icon s behavior Having programmed this file all there is to do is to compile it as a dll dynamic link library and to associate it with a standard S function block in order to use it The developer has thus created an icon that has all the characteristics of usual Simulink blocks An S function is not a singular function but rather a collection of functions that can be called by Simulink while your model is executing These functions can be sorted in three different categories initialization functions used for example to set number of icon input outputs and to verify for errors in the icon s parameters e task functions these are called during model execution and perform the icon s main operation such as reading its inputs and calculating its outputs termination functions executed when the model is stopped and used for example to free allocated memory All of these functions are written in C language and are located in a single source file Each of these functions receive as parameter a pointer to a SimStruct structure that contains information to be made available to all of these functions A SimStruc 1s allocated by Simulink for each instance of an S function related icon allowing them to be fully independent from each other 1 e each
45. T environment real time communication takes places using a Giganet communication device 1 200 Mb s or shared memory for distributed computing on a single multiprocessor machine Less time critical data can be sent and received through Ethernet communication For more information about running your simulation see 7 Running Your Simulation 2 2 4 1 RT LAB simulation When the C coding and compilation are complete RT LAB automatically distributes its calculations among the target nodes and provides an interface so users can execute the simulation and manipulate the model s parameters The result is high performance simulation that can run in parallel and in real time 2 2 4 Using the Console as a graphic interface Users can interact with RT LAB during a simulation by using the Console a command terminal operating under Windows NT Communication between the Console and the target nodes is performed through a TCP IP connection This allows users to save any signal from the model for viewing or for offline analysis It 1s also possible to use the Console to modify the model s parameters while the simulation is running For complete details see 5 Acquiring and Viewing Data 2 3 Required Knowledge RT LAB is designed to integrate numerous peripheral COTS components For the best possible use of RT LAB basic understanding of these hardware and software components is required 2 3 1 Windows NT 2000 XP Since RT LAB works under the
46. TO Structure used in MyFunction Typedef struct Intcard address InputRealPtrsTvpe input Doubledata output IntSvnchro LocalData dif defined RT static void MyFunction static void MyFunction endif call DH ExecutelO void GenStruct Pause void GenStruct One can also notice that the numbers of S function parameters inputs and outputs have been defined Using these definitions allows the programmer to leave the mdlInitialiseSizes function as programmed in the example untouched This last function will not be discussed further in this document Also added are all user defined function headers 64 OPAL RT CODING AN RT LAB ICON TO MAKE I O AND TIMER A1 2 5 2 InitializeConditions The mdlInitializeConditions function reads icon parameters from the icon mask and uses them to initialise variables While programming an IO icon card initialisation should occur in this function Any call back function used should be registered in mdlInitializeConditions as with the Register CB ExecutelO and Register CB Pause functions in the example below A test is made on the Synchro variable to find out if card related operations are to be executed in the MyFunction ExecutelO call back function or in the mdlOutput function Note In the case of an analog output card mdlInitializeConditions is also where the I O card s voltage range is set static void mdlInitializeConditions SimStruct S
47. Windows NT 2000 XP operating system the user must be familiar with this environment and its tasks including file access and execution process management through Task Manager etc Knowledge of TCP IP network communication is an added advantage RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 7 CHAPTER 2 2 32 2 3 3 2 3 4 Simulink or SystemBuild Simulink and SystemBuild are software packages that enable modeling simulation and analysis of dynamic systems Users describe their models graphically following a precise format based on a library of blocks RT LAB uses Simulink or SystemBuild to define models that will be executed by the real time multiprocessing system and defines its own simulation parameters through Simulink s or SystemBuild s It is expected that users have a clear understanding of Simulink s or SystemBuild s operation particularly as regards model definition and the model s various simulation parameters Users who intend to create their own icons to interact with RT LAB should know how to create Simulink or SystemBuild icons S functions and UCBs for both the Command Station and target environments MATLAB or MATRIXx MATLAB and MATRIXx are technical computing software packages that integrate programming calculation and visualization MATLAB and MATRIXx also include Simulink and SystemBuild respectively these software packages are discussed above As RT LAB works in conjunction with these environments to define models the use
48. akes you from your Simulink or SystemBuild block diagram to a distributed model ready for RT LAB and e Chapter 4 RT LAB Blocks lists the I O synchronization blocks and devices available with RT LAB and explains how to use Chapter 5 Acquiring and Viewing Data explains concepts required to refine your simulation and provides RT LAB solutions to potential data reception problems Working with multi rate models is clarified for Simulink users in Chapter 6 Models with Multiple Sampling Rates and Chapter 7 Running Your Simulation takes you through the final preparations from compiling the model to running its simulation Finally to put all the above information into practice Chapter 8 Sample Simulation walks users through the simulation process from beginning to end A Glossary of the terms used within this documentation is provided at the end of this manual For experienced users who wish to get RT LAB running quickly Quick Start instructions can be found on the reverse of this manual s cover page OPAL RT INTRODUCTION 12 1 Notation Conventions Style conventions as used in this manual are shown below with examples of their use Convention Example Text a user reads on screen appears in Courier Wait for the message Done Text a user enters into a field appears in Courier bold Type exit to close Menus and menu items appear in Franklin Gothic Select File gt Print Buttons and fields appear in Franklin Gothic
49. aphic models to hardware without requiring coding by hand e Control system models should be deployable in real life as embedded control systems running on industrial grade real time platforms Software should be flexible enough to allow users to benefit from advances in commercial off the shelf components Inreal time every microsecond counts From energy production to aerospace and aeronautics to robotics automotive naval and defense real time simulation and support for hardware in the loop modeling are increasingly recognized as essential tools for design in these and other industries Opal RT has developed the technology that enables model separation to allow distributed execution while automatically generating downloading and running real time high performance deadlock free distributed simulation software code Our software integrates the most advanced computer communication and simulation technologies commercially available to reduce design and implementation time and cost while increasing scalability and flexibility with no sacrifice in performance RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 1 CHAPTER 1 1 2 How to Use the User s Manual The first chapters of this manual provide the information required to get started e Chapter 2 Fundamentals gives an overview of RT LAB The next two chapters explain how to prepare your model for simulation with RT LAB e Chapter 3 Building a Distributed Model for RT LAB t
50. c void MyFunction WaitForTimer void GenStruct LocalData ld LocalData GenStruct Paused 0 RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 73 APPENDIX 2 Receive proxy 0 0 endif A1 2 6 6 DisableTimer The MyFunction DisableTimer function was registered in mdlInitializeConditions using Register CB Pause and Register CB SingleStep It disables the interrupts so the PC does not accumulate interrupts while in Pause dif defined RT Static void MyFunction DisableTimer void GenStruct LocalData ld LocalData GenStruct Paused TRUE ld gt FirstTime TRU El endif 74 OPAL RT GLOSSARY Glossary Acquisition Board Acquisition Frames A D Converter Aliasing Analog Anti aliasing filter Base Address Block Block Diagram Block Library Buffer Bus Calculation Node Calculation Step See Data Acquisition Board See Frames A device that converts data from analog to digital form See also D A Converter The effect of sampling a signal resulting in additional harmonics in the signal This effect is increased when the sampling rate is insufficiently fast for the signal being sampled See also Anti aliasing filter Analog systems handle information affected by continuous change and flow like voltage or current In contrast digital data 1s represented in discrete units the binary digits 1 and 0 See also Digital A D converter and D A converter
51. card ISA cards are addressed by specifying the base address of the board which is usually configured by jumpers or a DIP switch Refer to the I O card s user manual to set or get the value of the base address or for a description how to set the value for the nterrupt ine number CA vs Note ISA cards are usually manually configured by the user ensure there is no address conflict with other cards in the computer 4 1 2 3 PCI card PCI cards already posses unique Vendor and Product ID numbers which allows them to be easily found in the target computer The PCI cards card address and Interrupt line numbers are automatically assigned by the PC which ensures there is no conflict with other cards In cases where multiple cards of the same model having the same Vendor and Product ID are found in one computer the PC will assign each card a different index often called the PCI index When only one card is inserted in the PC it will always have a PCI index of zero 0 when two cards are inserted one card will be assigned a PCI index of zero 0 while the second card will have a PCI index of one 1 The PCI index ordering usually starts from the card closest to the processor but since some motherboard manufacturers do not follow this rule the best way to know which card has index zero and which card has index one is to test the cards To do so make an RT LAB simulation model with blocks for both index zero 0 and index one
52. ch disables the timer interrupt The basic idea of a synchronisation icon is to wait for a signal that will launch the beginning ofa new calculation step This signal usually comes in the form of a timer card producing an hardware interrupt IRQ The system clock can also be used to produce this interrupt like in the template example The code in the template has been prepared to run under QNX but aside from operating system specific functions and features ISRs timer access and control every information presented here is also valid for any RT LAB supported system A2 6 1 Template Header This first part of the template defines the header declarations and LocalData structure which is the structure that will contain all values that your icon needs One useful value to include in the structure could be the step size as shown below 68 OPAL RT CODING AN RT LAB ICON TO MAKE I O AND TIMER if defined RT incl incl incl incl incl de de de de de endif OpallO h OpalError h sys proxy h lt sys irgqinfo h gt lt sys kernel h gt Structure used in MyFunction call Typedef struct double double int int old StepSize actual StepSize FirstTime InterruptNb LocalData dif defined RT volatile unsigned counter pid t proxy static int iid static int Paused pragma off check stack pid t far Myhandler
53. ck input In SystemBuild the OpWriteFile block should have as many inputs as there are signals to record Each OpWriteFile block must be associated with an acquisition group number Also since the write to file block is considered an extra acquisition group an OpTrigger block can be used to write data only when certain conditions occurs For complete details about OpWriteFile and its parameters see online help Understanding Data Reception Communication between the Console and the Target nodes The Console running on Windows NT is connected to each computation node in the QNX environment by an Ethernet network Since this type of network is much slower than a FireWire type network and since an NT workstation is very resource demanding the NT workstation will probably not be able to receive and display all of the data so there is a need to be selective with respect to incoming data Often data is read only every 2 3 or even 5 calculation steps this lightens the load imposed on the Console In order to accelerate the transmission process target nodes send batches of data to the network rather than sending one batch per data item The target node contains a buffer where it gathers data from many signals for transmission to the Console The target node will dispatch its data only when this buffer reaches the level specified in the Probe Control Panel 34 OPAL RT ACQUIRING AND VIEWING DATA A frame is composed of all of the
54. d in the block diagram If no nodes appear in your Assign Nodes column see 3 Configuration to check your system configuration Double click the physical node you want to use from the Remaining Physical Nodes list This tells the system to run the subsystem SM Master on the selected physical node You can select another physical node configuration and execute the model again without having to recompile See your QNX documentation for physically connecting a new node to your system See 3 Configuration for details about adding a QNX target node to your RT LAB configuration 7 Load your model 1 Make sure the Use model Console option is selected on the Main Control Dialog box This option automatically brings up the associated Console whenever a model is loaded Click on the Zoad button This will load the files to be executed by the various nodes The MATLAB program starts automatically and the Console subsystem appears in the RT LAB display windows showing the simulation status and the communication diagnostics between each node in the system 54 OPAL RT SAMPLE SIMULATION 8 Run the Simulation 1 Click on the xecute button in the Main Control Dialog box to start simulating the system 2 Verify that the messages displayed in the RT LAB display window at startup confirm that the model is in Run mode This message is your confirmation that the model s simulation has started correctly For full detai
55. e computing subsystems rates must be taken into consideration Similarly transition from slow to fast rates must be considered for data sent from a Master or a Slave subsystem to the NT workstation for display via the Console 1 b b 1 To Consol System at 0 001 sec 0 001 sample time 1 SubSystem at 0 002 sec 0 001 sample tim 1 Pr EE b 2 E To Consol 0 004 sample time 0 001 sample time SubSystem at 0 004 sec OpComm Figure 6 4 Rate transition for sending data to the Console subsystem Using I O blocks in Multirate Mode When using I O blocks in a multirate model it is strongly recommended to place them in the Master subsystem SM Since it is synchronized using a hardware timer card the Master subsystem offers the most reliable environment for I O operation Figure 6 5 shows that even if the sine wave is generated at a rate of 0 005sec data transmitted to the hardware I O through the Op P220Ana ogOut1 are triggered at the Fixed step sizerate of 0 001ms This has the effect of a zero order hold data sent to the I O will have the same value for 5 steps until the sine wave s value changes RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 45 CHAPTER 6 Rst EN OpIP220AnalogOut Pause Board 1 Slot A Constant Termin ator1 OplP220AnaloaDut1 Sine Wave Unit Delay Sms sample t ime 1ms sample time Figure 6 5 T O in Multitasking mode same value for
56. e inserted at the output TABLE 4 3 OPDIGITALIN VOS Input Output Function Input Since it is directly connected to the module output the input is used only during simulation It corresponds to the value of one bit ofthe input port A multiplexing block can be inserted before the block to simulate the 8 bits of a port Output The output corresponds to the value of one bit of the physical port chosen 30 OPAL RT RT LAB BLOCKS 42 4 OpbDigitalOut Reset OpDigitalOut node O Pause ATC40 board 1 p Output for NT simulation IP470 C pot 0 Run Syn 1 OpDigitalOut Figure 4 4 OpDigitalOut block OpDigitalOut maintains its last output value with Pause and Reset This block allows data transmission through a physical module s output port Each block allows the transmission of bits 0 to 7 of a port TABLE 4 4 OPDIGITALOUT VOS Input Output Function Reset Input Value to be transmitted at the output when the system is reset brought back to zero If more than one bit is transmitted a multiplexing block must be used to enter the value for each bit Any bits without a given value will be initialized at a value of zero 0 Pause Input Value to be transmitted to the output when the system is paused If more than one bit is transmitted a multiplexing block must be used to enter the value for each bit Any bits without a given value will be initialized at a value of zero 0
57. ee SG Ee es es ee ee e 62 RI TAB Routines 4 EE RR EER ed aye e xev Senda pres ev E 62 Register CB Init ue ENN any a ENE Oe OO ASAS 62 Register CB Close 8 RE RAPPER ER EEN AERE 62 Register GB Executel OE ES Re ED AS passos SA ES a 63 Register CR PauselO sse da 63 A2 5 Programming an RT LAB S Function for an VO een 63 Template Header 5a A ED ed 64 InitializeConditions RR RII 65 MdlOutp ts cU EE E ERES 66 ut E Ce eee eee dem etae eg 66 MyExXxe cutelOQ z ote A RU ir REINES 67 MyEFu nctionPause ote tel de Seek Va AA aee RYAN RATER OE 67 A2 6 Programming an RT LAB S Function for a Timer icon ss 68 Template Header sin IER RE eed 68 Initializ onditions ss ii aw A Ge DE ETUR 70 mdl outputs icd a ANEN REESEN 72 ml Termanate sss letra bla EES DR Ee ele pq EOS 72 WaitForTimer zv SES EDE DE oe Ee RISE ER IE NE 73 Disable Title xoci ost Pe o SN SESS ER DRE VIS SE ENE S ENE EN 74 Glossary 75 Index 81 VI OPAL RT LIST OF FIGURES List of Figures Figure 3 1 Some Simulink blocks that may be included in the Console subsystem 13 Figure 3 2 Block model divided into one Console one Master and two Slave SUBSYSTEMS ai iia RR EER RE EER god d EE m oi 14 Figure 3 3 Inside view of the Console Master and Slave 16 Figure 3 4 SystemBuild OpComm block parameters 18 Figure 3 5 This model simulates seguentially since its data are all input dependant 20 Figure 3 6 Event chart
58. enu at Start gt Programs gt Accessories gt Hyperterminal path While this is the program that is typically used any similar terminal program can be used 3 Specify the COM port that you are using the one wher the cable is plugged in and specify the following parameters to be able to communicate with the QNX target PC e 9600 bits per second e 8 data bits no parity e 1 stop bit e hardware flow control RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 57 APPENDIX 2 A2 1 Coding an RI LAB icon to Make I O and Timer Icons This Appendix describes the use of Simulink S functions and SystemBuild UCBs with RT LAB The first section 42 1 Developing icons with RT LAB outlines how S functions and UCBs relate to RT LAB and describes the knowledge required to use them Sections 42 2 Simulink S Functions and 42 3 SystemBuild UCBs briefly describe S functions and UCBs and section 42 4 Creating icons with RT LAB presents the RT LAB features available to S functions and UCBs Finally sections 42 5 Programming an RT LAB S Function for an I O icon and 42 6 Programming an RT LAB S Function for a Timer icon present and explain two examples of S function programming the first for a simple I O application and the second for a synchronisation timer icon Developing icons with RT LAB S functions Simulink and User Code Blocks SystemBuild also called UCBs are computer language descriptions of icon behavior These are the tools that allow u
59. equired for display d Figure 5 3 Increasing the effective length of a frame by increasing the decimation factor Although the display will be more representative of the real time calculation performed an increase in the decimation factor can cause problems with display resolution B Frame 1 mla Frame 2 gt Figure 5 4 Display resolution error that can result from increase in decimation factor To synchronize all tracings with one another be sure that all signals you want to view pass through the same target node 36 OPAL RT ACQUIRING AND VIEWING DATA In RT LAB even with an NT console crash a real time model running on the QNX nodes will continue running After rebooting NT reconnect to the real time model and continue data acquisition See online help for Main Control Panel for more information 522 Synchronous Acquisition Remember that acquisition frames are sent when the system has time Frames sent as TCP IP packets will be sent while the model is waiting for a FireWire packet or for the synchronization pulse This results in your real time system not being disturbed by a TCP IP transmission As a result the NT display could miss some data if the Console station 1s too slow or the QNX node does not have enough time left This technique helps ensure hard real time performance Aliasing is another acquisition issue which arises with the use of small frames As was explained above it is possible that the n
60. ers 25 29 Data holes in display 35 EE tia ag 34 retrieval ou 13 transfering o oooo o o 7 VIeWIDgi G A 38 Decimation factor 36 Demonstration file 51 De multiplexing icon 28 30 Digital EE viewing ee eles id iaa 30 E Soe ease Bieta aie ae BLES 31 Digital to analog converters see D A converters Drivers CUSTOM te ite Pes 12 Ethernet vy ba Gate 5 7 34 Executing a simulation 55 Files DE SA 34 rtdemol o ooo ooo 51 FireWire 7 11 49 Frame o oo o o oo o o 35 37 RT LAB 6 2 USER S MANUAL 81 INDEX Generating code 47 Graphic interface using the Console 7 Hardware ier EE LES 45 synchronization 12 Hardware in the Loop 6 13 48 HIL see Hardware in the Loop Icons adding aes te ee aa 25 block library 10 25 OpAnalogin 28 OpAnalogOut 29 OpComm Blocks 32 OpDigitalln 30 OpDigitalOut 31 OpQuad Decoder 31 OpSync VME 32 OpSynch 22000 40 OpWriteFile 34 setting parameters 25 Input Output hardware synchronization 12 VO boards o ooooo oo 5 VO communication 13 I O devicess or es 6 IO modules 8 25 I O Synchronize option 27 inserting icons see Icons multirate
61. et The registered function can be used to de allocate memory used by the icon and set the I O to a secure Reset value 62 OPAL RT CODING AN RT LAB ICON TO MAKE I O AND TIMER A1 2 4 4 Register CB ExecutelO This routine allows users to register a function that will be called during the model s ExecutelO event The registered function is called just after the Timer Interrupt which indicates that it is time to start a new computation step This ensures that the registered routine will be called at regular intervals at the beginning of each calculation step Note The functions registered for the ExecutelO event will never be called if the model is running is simulation non synchronised mode Therefore when using the ExecutelO function the user can be assured that there will not be any problem if a user runs in Simulation mode by mistake A1 2 4 5 Register CB PauselO This routine allows users to register a function that will be called during the model s Pause event and is called whenever the simulation model is paused A2 5 Programming an RT LAB S Function for an I O icon An S Function template is supplied with RT LAB lt RT LAB install dir doc Simulink S function template sfuniotmpl c While designed as an example of parallel port writing and PC speaker control the template can be used for other purposes like Analog Input or Digital IO This section discusses the RT LAB S function code as it relates to us
62. executed This chapter explains the steps required to build an RT LAB model by modifying your Simulink or SystemBuild block diagram to ensure it is properly separated for distributed execution and to maximize its performance 1 Calculate the required step time Step size must be calculated to optimize communication between nodes and to determine the approximate simulation speed 2 Group the model into subsystems In this step you graphically group into subsystems the calculations to be performed by a given CPU 3 Insert OpComm communication blocks Communication blocks are part of a block library specifically defined for the RT LAB interface They are used by RT LAB to identify parameters required for communication between the nodes in the hardware configuration 4 Identify required outputs as state variables In order to allow for real time synchronization and to maximize the calculation speed of the system all data exchanged between the different nodes of the real time network must be in the form of state variables State variables are variables that do not depend on inputs for a given calculation step meaning that they can be calculated and sent at the very beginning of that given step Note that in a Simulink model if the output from a block functions has a direct feedthrough it is not a natural state variable OPAL RT BUILDING A DISTRIBUTED MODEL FOR RT LAB 3 1 Minimum Step Size Calculations The key beh
63. ext data frame received may not immediately follow the frame currently displayed Consequently in case of small frames like one value per frame the possibility of losing some values results in incorrect data display To illustrate this concept let s assume that we have a sine signal as in Figure 5 5 Scope Pel ala gt Figure 5 5 Signal with no aliasing If for example data is acquired once every n steps because acquisition cannot follow the real time simulation the display will show values without accordingly updating the time axis which results in aliasing the frequency of the resulting signal will be increased by a factor of n RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 37 CHAPTER 5 Scope o sel az a pd A A A a 0 0 5 1 Time offset 0 2 25 3 35 4 45 5 Figure 5 6 Sine waves showing aliasing due to a non synchronized time axis The data reception problem occurs because the Console isn t aware that data from the target node is being missed To circumvent this problem it is possible to synchronize the Console time with the simulation time to avoid data loss and data reception errors During acquisition the console subsystem acquires signals from the simulation platform allowing the user to view data Scope To Workspace type blocks etc As was mentioned in Chapter 3 Building a Distributed Model for RT LAB users can choose three options from the OpComm block mask as outlined in Table 5
64. igned 4 Assign the generated executables to the real time cluster s physical nodes Click on the Assign nodes button to bring up the list of executables These constitute the distributed model and the list of available computing nodes Each executable can then be assigned to a node in the system 5 Load the executable files by clicking on the Zoad button if the Loaq Reset Console Also option 1s checked the MATLAB MATRIXx program starts automatically and the Console subsystem file is displayed on screen The RT LAB display window will appear for the various system nodes displaying simulation diagnostics between the nodes 6 Click on Execute to start the system 48 OPAL RT RUNNING YOUR SIMULATION 122 Interacting with the model during execution You can interact with the model and change its parameters during real time execution via the Console subsystem located on the Command Station This feature is useful for adjusting parameters that control model performance gains time constants various limits etc Parameters modified through the Console will affect the simulation only after a certain amount of time has elapsed The length of this delay depends on the importance of the load handled by the TCP IP connection linking the Console to the target nodes This delay is typically of the order of milliseconds which is negligible compared with delays associated with human in the loop interaction in such systems Nevertheless
65. ind RT LAB is distributing a simulation s computations across a cluster of computers To determine how fast a simulation can run step size calculations must be done to synchronize flow of data between the network s target nodes To balance the workload across your network each node should be responsible for an equal amount of computation Step size calculations must be done in order to ensure uninterrupted and synchronized communication between nodes and to have a general idea of how fast the simulation can run Step size determines the time interval between subsystems consecutive calculation steps Models can have a vatiable or fixed step size e a model with a variable step size can modify its step size during its simulation amodel with a fixed step size will use the same step size value throughout its simulation 3 1 1 How to calculate approximate step size The basic equation for calculating step size is step size computation time us system overhead number of nodes The simulation speed on the real time system depends on the speed and the number of CPUs available It usually runs faster than the simulation on Simulink Assume that the computation time of one step of the model in Simulink is 20000us 20ms a realistic value for a complex robot controller with trajectory generation Since the model is complex assume that the speed gain due to running the model as an executable under a real time operating system will be ab
66. ing I O cards registered function by registered function including e the Template Header which defines headers and structures e InitializeConditions which starts reads icon parameters and initialises variables and IO card e MdIOutputs which reads and writes icon input outputs and accesses IO card e MdlTerminate which resets the acquisition card MvExecutelO which sets the VO board s output value should synchronisation be requested and MvFunctionPause which sets a secure pause value whenever the model is paused Note Note that the code segments presented here have been shortened for clarity purpose For the complete code refer to the abode file The code in the template has been prepared to run under QNX but aside from operating system specific functions and features like IO port addressing and access every information presented here is also valid for any RT LAB supported system RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 63 APPENDIX 2 A2 5 1 Template Header This first part of the template defines the headers declarations and LocalData structure which is the structure that will contain all values that your icon needs It can be any size and is fully customisable for any given application One useful value to include in the structure could be the card address as shown below if defined RT finclude OpallO h finclude OpalError h endif define NB PARAM2 define NBINPUTI define NBOUTPU
67. ink un dd mu EN p e OE Ba A i MUT de 5 WO Boards Eo ea o rho aL Tek yh Ma DA Ma idee LIU ma 5 23 How RISDABis O sni Eu 6 Designing and validating the model 6 Using block diagrams s ocu aie Gece ty ake a A Ee PA 6 Using VO devices ci sy envied YS RR SEE e E RS ERE UP RE edad nes 6 Running Simulations ss sw paper poe ro darias EE DEd HAD eb 7 RTSLAB simulation ee EE a e Ae ao ee EE Se 7 Using the Console as a graphic interface 000 7 2 3 Required Knowledge cenit A RR 7 Windows NT 2000 XP sese RR IRR Res 7 Simulink or System Build 8 MATEAB orMATRIXX siii rara fad Nier a t 8 VO modules eru wer DU ea eR Po Stes Beater EE ATE exe ud 8 RT LAB v 6 2 USER S MANUAL III TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Building a Distributed Model for RT LAB 3 1 Minimum Step Size Calculations o oooo oooooooo How to calculate approximate step Size ES eee ee Minimum step size Hardware Synchronization 3 2 Grouping the Model into Subsystems ses ss Ee Se se To keep in mind when dividing your model 33 OpComm Communication Blocks o o ooooooo Inserting OpComm blocks LL Rules for inserting OpComm blocks EE SG es 00 ee OpComm parameters for Simulink users OpComm parameters for SystemBuild users Integer parameters for SystemBuild OpComm blocks SystemBuild UCBs SEER a EEN Ee RR 3 4 Maximizing Parallel Communication
68. inserting OpComm blocks 1 When inserting OpComm blocks into the Console SC subsystem There must be a maximum of one OpComm block for each Acquisition Group The Acquisition Group number is specified in the OpComm mask 2 When inserting OpComm blocks into a Master SM or Slave SS subsystem There are two kinds of communication associated with target nodes real time and non real time but these cannot be sent through the same OpComm block There must be a maximum of one OpComm block for all real time communication communication between target nodes and a maximum of one OpComm block for all non real time communication communication between the Console and a target node for a total maximum of two OpComm blocks in any Master SM or Slave SS subsystem 333 OpComm parameters for Simulink users Refer to online help in order to get information about the OpComm parameters RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 17 CHAPTER 3 3 3 4 OpComm parameters for SystemBuild users 1 0 In the SystemBuild version of the OpComm only one parameter is used the acquisition group number This is due mainly to the fact that in SystemBuild the sampling time is specified as a parameter of the superblocks and similarly that the number of inports or inputs is a parameter of the block within SystemBuild ust OpComm RTSB ucb miseMOpCommhusr DpE usr pComm LS 8 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 Figure 3 4 SvstemBuild OpC
69. itions iese See SG eg Se SS ee Se ee teens 41 Compiling and Loading the model 41 6 2 Requirements for running models in Single Thread Multi CPU mode 42 Inserting blocks for proper rate transitions ie see eee eee ee ee 42 Communication Tate naeta osse feu EE DE Rb breve 42 6 3 Requirements for running models in Multithread Multi CPU mode 44 6 4 Multirate mode options 45 Using an SC Subsystem in Multirate Mode 45 Using I O blocks in Multirate Mode 45 7 Running Your Simulation 47 TI COMPIE ee Nur SI Ea qe fae s 47 7 2 Simulatin Offline iu cra ES a 48 Loading your model and executing its simulation leslie 48 Interacting with the model during execution EE 00 cece eee eee ees 49 Sample Simulation 51 Al Setting up a Serial Connection to an RT LAB Target 57 A2 Coding an RT LAB icon to Make I O and Timer Icons 58 A2 1 Developing icons with RT LAB sseseeeeeeee eee 58 Required Knowledge 59 A2 2 Simulink S Functions 59 Main S Function Routines 59 ellene eege dl GE gen ego 60 mdlInitialzeSampleTimes 60 mdlinitializeConditions 60 madlOutputs a2 mes O Nt edes EE GE a 60 RT LAB v 6 2 USER S MANUAL V TABLE OF CONTENTS nmidlTerminate EE paws ES EE set EE a bL ue uiu en E Eu bL 60 How to create an S Function o 61 A2 3 SystemBuild UGBS ise EEN ER SH e anm Ce e GR EE 61 A2 4 Creating icons with RT LAB sssssseee
70. ject to change and revisions or new editions may be issued to incorporate such changes Opal RT and RT LAB are trademarks of Opal RT Technologies Inc All other product or brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders Printed in Canada Lead Software Architect Francois Desruisseaux Documentation by Loic Schoen Gaspard Turmel Alexandre Abreu Julien Darrah Mathieu Dub Dallaire Mathieu Fortin Pierre Grondin Fawzi Hassaine Jason Michel Lambert Nicolas L chevin Djibril Ndiaye Michel Ouellet Ir ne P r s Francis Provencher Biao Yu Adam Zembala Paul Baracos Layout Janelle Mellamphy Title RT LAB v7 0 User s Manual Publication ID DO 020108JM 1c Date April 2004 Revision A OPAL RT TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents Quick Start Q Table of Contents iii List of Figures vii List of Tables ix 1 Introduction 1 1 1 The Evolution of Real Time Simulation 1 1 2 How to Use the Users Manual 2 Notation Conventions vue pe ert C E ERE UE ERE ERE SIN eed 3 1 3 Getting More Help dd eee erba ER EES RR y der ERR e 3 2 Fundamentals 4 2 1 HowRT LAB Works eee 4 The Command Station cser a it I Ibex E 4 Target nodes ie RE seine ER EER tela SR DERE EDS sabi ma C ond asil ERG 4 Compilation Node 2 e ee er Re ERREUR EN IER EG EN 5 ComimuniCatlOnms z tes ebe exe fo SEE ay IDU siet ad RD ER eve 5 FireWire real time link elite IR ES OE SEG ES ha ee e 5 Ethernet l
71. k S function or SystemBuild UCB the I O will be accessed in the corresponding output section The result is that you are not ensured that the delay between two calls to this function will be constant as displayed with mdl output functions A1 and A2 on figure X 1 There is no way to know whether the model is paused or to include multiple initialisation or termination functions In the case of a digital output icon used to generate a square wave inconsistent delays may cause a variation in the signal frequency The RT LAB function solves these problems by allowing the user to register callback functions with some events For instance by using the ExecutelO callback a routine can be executed at the beginning at each step to ensure constant intervals between the routine s calls It is also possible to register a Pause routine that will allow the user to set the I O output to secure values RT LAB Routines The following routines can be used to register a callback function For complete information please refer to the OpalIO h file lt RT LAB install dir common include target A1 2 4 2 Register CB Init This routine allows users to register a function that will be called during the model s initialization phase The registered function can be used to allocate the memory required by the model and initialise the I O board A1 2 4 3 Register CB Close This routine allows users to register a function that will be called when the model is res
72. l Bus can connect up to 64 devices and transmit data at up to 400 megabits per second See Step Size A group of consecutive data signals See cLAN Graphical User Interface A system is hard real time when it guarantees time constraints will always be met within a given margin Configuration where external hardware components are physically integrated into the simulation system See Command Station For the purposes of hardware installation for an RT LAB cluster this unique name translated into an IP address by a domain name server identifies each physical node on the network Input Output See also I O Address and I O Board A unique address given to a peripheral I O board RT LAB 7 0 USER S MANUAL 71 GLOSSARY VO Board I O Card I O Device I O Module IP Address IP Module Master Multiplexing Multiprocessing Multirate System Multitasking Multithreading Network Node Non Real Time Computer board dedicated to exchanging data between a computer and external components I O boards include AD and DA converters I O binary ports I O modules carrier boards com cards quadrature decoders etc See I O Board See I O Board See I O Board Internet Protocol address shown in numeric form 123 231 32 2 See also Host Name Industry Pack module A small piggy back I O board that connects to ISA PCI or PC 104 carrier boards and is used to configure them The Master is
73. lized with a value of zero Pause Input This input should be connected It is the value to be transmitted at the output when the system is paused If numerous signals are sent a multiplexing block must be inserted in order to enter values for each channel Any channel without a given value will be initialized with a value of zero RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 29 CHAPTER 4 CAN di Note 4 2 3 TABLE 4 2 OPANALOGOUT VOS Input Output Function Run Input This value corresponds to the desired voltage at the converter s output Keep in mind that the physical output will contain a quantification error due to the digital to analog conversion This input can be connected to the Resetand or Pause inputs to maintain the last output values when the system is reset and or paused Output None Connecting a simple constant to the Pause and Resef inputs will not make this value apply to all channels This value will apply only to the first channel and all other channels will take the default value 0 Use a multiplexing block to define Resetand Pause values for all channels OpDigitalln OpDigitalln node O input for NT simulation gt ATCAO board 1 IP470 C port 1 Figure 4 3 OpDigitallIn block This block is used to read the bit values of a physical module port The output value corresponds to one bit of the port To read all 8 bits of the port a de multiplexing block must b
74. ls on compiling a model and executing a simulation see 7 Running Your Simulation 9 View your Data At the end of the preceding step you will have confirmed that the simulation 1s running properly 1 Start the simulation by clicking on the Pay button on the Simulink Console if it is not started The Console is your link with the real time simulation The simulation output can be viewed through the scope provided in the SC Console subsystem Double click on the adjust reference block of the simulink console You can adjust the reference value from 0 to 100 The first scope will display the reference signal as well as the system s actual position The other scope will display the control signal computed by the PID controller m BER Je B ABB OS o 0 BET a EER 4 gt control signal 7 Low High EaloPPlABBUBE 0 100 100 Help Close Figure 8 3 ri demol scope display For full details see 5 Acquiring and Viewing Data RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 55 CHAPTER 8 10 Quit To stop the simulation in order to make alterations to the current model 1 Click on the Resetbutton in the Main Control Dialog box to stop the simulation s execution 2 Click on Zd tto modify the original block diagram To close the current model and open another one 1 Click on the Disconnect button to disconnect the first model 2 Click on the Open Model button to open the next model To
75. n is particularly useful for isolating various problems that may exist within the model During real time execution problems can arise at many levels in the system making it hard to determine the exact source of the problem By running the grouped model s simulation off line you can investigate any results associated with delays caused by parallel communication or by the sample and hold of VO communications without having to worry about problems related to the peripheral hardware communication boards memory allocation bad connections etc Additionally those using RT LAB in a HIL context can modify and check the command system offline which reduces the risk of damage to the hardware Loading your model and executing its simulation To start simulation execution 1 Start the Main Control Panel by double clicking on the MainContro exe icon on your desktop 2 Select the Simulink or SystemBuild file for the grouped model the mdl or sbd file by clicking on the Open Model button 3 Select the target platform and then click on the Compile button in the Main Control Panel This automatically starts the following processes separation of the grouped model into subsystems e C code generation for each subsystem code compilation for the various subsystems for real time execution At the end of this step an executable file is generated for each subsystem of the model Each file is executed by a target node as previously ass
76. ndent variables passing through a Delay block RT LAB will generate an error message if a Slave sends an input dependent variable directly to the Master 3 4 5 Prioritizing data transmission with Simulink To exchange all data that are available at the beginning of a simulation step and maximize communication between your network s nodes the variables priority must be declared so RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 23 CHAPTER 3 3 4 6 that the RT LAB scheduler will most efficiently send the outputs In Simulink this is done by adding an underscore followed by an s s as is shown in Figure 3 9 where the s stands for Start by sending Adding this notation will instruct RT LAB to start the calculation step by sending the output data identified by the s X A Out1 Out1 s Figure 3 9 Output Outl shown on the left is an input dependent output the s added to the Out shown on the right declares this output as a priority send Adding an s to the end of an output s label does not mean input dependent data will automatically become state variables ready to send at the beginning of the step Whether an output is input dependant or a state variable is a property inherent to the nature of that variable in the system so changing a variable s name will not affect its behavior Whenever input dependant data is to be sent as a priority a De ay block must be used Prioritized data transmission in SystemBuild In SystemBuild data i
77. nder the QNX operating system The ISI C code generator AutoCode is used to translate SystemBuild models into C code RT LAB provides template files for AutoCode when generating C code for SystemBuild models It also modifies a template makefile according to the C program generated to be used when compiling under the QNX operating system During execution of the model s real time simulation the SC model can interact with the simulation since C code is not generated for the Console Automatically compile the C code The sub model files now coded in C are then compiled within the QNX environment Files required for compiling are transferred by Ethernet link from your NT workstation to a workstation operating under QNX This QNX station compiles all C files for the sub models to generate files ready for execution on the target nodes e Automatically apply panel settings After the code is generated and the model compiled the user must set execution options before running the simulation These options discussed in Chapters 6 through 10 deal with assigning the model to physical CPUs in the network and setting the configuration parameters through the Configuration panel RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 47 CHAPTER 7 7 2 7 2 1 Simulating Offline Models can be simulated offline that is within their Simulink or SystemBuild environments even after subsystems have been defined and communication blocks inserted This optio
78. nsfer the data onto the NT station after the simulation stops the data transfer is not automatic Sometimes in simulations with fast sampling times the acquisition data loss on the NT is too significant to clearly understand what is happening in the real time model The Simulink library 7oFile block cannot be used in real time simulations since it does not have a buffering system Using this block in a real time context without a buffer would significantly increase the real time simulation s effective step size A real time write to file block OpWriteFile can be inserted into the computation subsystem This block allows data in MATFILE format to be saved to the real time node s hard disk The generated MATFILE mat file can be transferred to the NT workstation and analyzed using MATLAB or Xmath with a mathscript file lt RT LAB Installation dir SystemBuild lib readOpFile msc The write to file does not affect the simulation step size in synchronized mode since all writing is done during the simulation s spare time The OpWriteFile blockblock uses a circular buffer architecture that allows continuous data acquisition If the circular buffer is full it will be emptied completely before starting again For simulations with small step size a large buffer size is recommended to avoid discontinuous data in the write to file The Simulink block has one input the signals to be saved You can save multiple signals by using a vector as the blo
79. odel separation of the grouped model into sub models Generate Code generation of the C code for each sub model e Compile Generated code code compilation for the various subsystems The following option is available only if with RT LAB for QNX target e Transfer files transfers all the appropriate files to your compilation node for compilation and processing Diagnostics are displayed in the RT LAB display panel which appears on the screen RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 53 CHAPTER 8 Click on the Compile button on the Main Control dialog box If this is the first time the model is being compiled on your system a check box will appear that allows you to compile your model under different environments and with different parameters The message Compilation finished appears on the screen when the compilation process is completed The user should carefully examine any messages displayed on the screen to make sure the model separation code generation and compilation have been successfully accomplished 6 Assign Nodes At the end of the preceding step an executable file is generated for each subsystem of the model 1 Click on the Assign Nodes button to assign each computation subsystem to a physical target node A dialog box will appear allowing you to assign subsystems to the nodes in your cluster In the sample Demo model provided only SM Master appears since this is the only computation subsystem define
80. odel executes to initialize the icon In the case of an icon that is writing to a file the file will be opened This function is the best place to initialize variables and allocate memory prior execution of the S function s main body This is also where the memory for the LocalData structure is allocated A1 2 2 5 mdlOutputs Simulink calls this routine during simulation each time the S functions outputs need to be updated This is usually where the main task of the S function is programmed since this function is called every calculation step A1 2 2 6 mdlTerminate Simulink calls this routine to perform tasks at end of the simulation If the S function has no termination tasks to perform this routine will be empty In the case of an icon that is writing to a file icon the file will be closed in this function The following figure shows the execution of an icon during a model execution Initialization MdlOutput of each icon and S Function Terminate Synchronization hardware Figure A2 1 Execution of a Simulink model The Initialisation function B is called once at the beginning then the mdl output functions A1 and A2 are called at each step of the execution Point C corresponds to the 60 OPAL RT CODING AN RT LAB ICON TO MAKE I O AND TIMER synchronisation interrupt that indicate the beginning of a step Finally the Terminate function D is called when the model is reset As one can notice on the figure the
81. odules into its sockets Giganet Inc s server cluster Local Area Network This 1000Mb s network uses a cable to link computers into a cluster and bypasses operating system interfaces to provide a direct path for applications In a Client Server computer architecture the client makes requests to the Server Two or more computers linked together to function as one system Clustered computers usually have specialized hardware to connect them Compare with Network Known in former versions of RT LAB as the Host The computer that serves as the user interface housing RT LAB s control panels and used to design control and analyze simulations Readily available commercially Also known as an OpComm block this is a simple feed through block that receives all signals coming into the subsystem into which it 1s placed Communication blocks provide information to RT LAB about the type and size of signals being sent between subsystems They are also designed such that the behavior of the system is the same when simulated on the Command Station or when distributed across target nodes Rate at which data is exchanged between nodes Known in former versions of RT LAB as the Development Node The computer in RT LAB that compiles C code loads the code into each target node and debugs source code See Target Node Loaded onto the Host the Console is the command terminal program that serves as the user interface and communicates with the
82. of each board depends on the application s requirements When loading the model the target subsystem where the I O block has been inserted SM or SS will have to be assigned to the target node with the corresponding I O card I O block parameters by card type For each block inserted into a simulation model different parameters must be set to tell RT LAB where to locate the card or module that corresponds to the block The following section describes the different types of cards used with RT LAB and the typical parameters associated with each of them Parameters specific to the functioning of the board Gain Channel etc are discussed in the section IP Modules An Industry Pack or IP module is a small I O card that connects to an ISA PCI or PC 104 IP carrier board Depending on the model carrier boards can handle from 2 to 5 IP modules making IP modules an ideal solution for systems with many I Os but having a limited amount of ISA or PCI slots on the target node IP module block parameters include the carrier board parameters and the IP module s location Carrier board parameters are discussed in the sections specific to ISA PCI and PC 104 sections of this chapter The IP module s location can be identified by looking at the IP carrier board the board is labelled with letters from A to E where A corresponds to the first IP slot B corresponds to the second and so on 26 OPAL RT RT LAB BLOCKS 4 1 2 2 ISA
83. omm block parameters 18 OPAL RT BUILDING A DISTRIBUTED MODEL FOR RT LAB 3 3 4 1 Integer parameters for SystemBuild OpComm blocks There are eight integer parameters a number of which are illustrated in Figure 3 4 The first is reserved the others must be specified by the user These parameters are each set as in the Simulink OpComm block except Threshold which requires a specific value TABLE 3 1 SYSTEMBUILD OPCOMM INTEGER PARAMETERS BUTTON FIELD FUNCTION Acquisition Group This parameter specifies the acquisition group number for all signals that pass through the OpComm block Input Synchronization Enables the synchronization algorithm to keep the right signal s shape Input Interpolation Enables the linear interpolation between two values during data loss Input Threshold Input Missed data Number of data lost from the simulation platform Due to network congestion or CPU use the Console SC is unable to refresh the display with all the data coming from the simulation target platform In this case a reception algorithm reacts to the situation to keep the Console synchronized with the simulation target Output Simulation time Time elapsed since the beginning of the simulation s execution on the target platform Output Simulation offset Time elapsed since the Console started acquiring data from the simulation target platform Output Samples second
84. ough De ay blocks If a node sends an input dependent variable and this variable passes through a De ay block the node will send the value calculated in the previous step rather than waiting for the result of the new calculation This gives the input dependent variable the same properties as a state variable the data can be sent at the beginning of the calculation step IMPORTANT IMPOIRTANT Using De ayblocks will change your system s behaviour Consider the effects of Delay blocks offline before running your simulation and before operating hardware in the loop 3 4 Key points about network communication Ina distributed simulation two nodes will run their calculations sequentially one after the other when one or more input dependant variables are exchanged between them e Parallelism is maximized for any two nodes in a distributed simulation when state variables are exchanged between them Parallelism can be maximized for any two nodes in a distributed simulation when input dependent variables are exchanged between them by passing each input dependent variable through a De ay block before sending it to another real time node The effect of these Delay blocks should first be assessed offline In order to best synchronize communication between the nodes in your system e all data sent from Slave subsystems SS to the Master subsystem SM must be sent at the beginning of the step using either state variables or input depe
85. ould confirm that the model is in Run mode 9 Click on the Play button in the Console if it is not started 10 To stop execution of the model s simulation click on the Resetbutton in the Main Control Dialog box To quit the program once a model has been reset click on the Close button in the Main Control Dialog box To open another model without closing RT LAB click on the Disconnect button in the Main Control Dialog box to disconnect the first model and then open the next model OPAL RT RI LAB User s Manual Ba OPAL RT WWW OPAL RT COM SUPPORT OPAL RT COM 1 877 935 2323 08 30 17 30 EST 1 514 935 2323 Publication Information O Opal RT Technologies Inc 2002 All rights reserved The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement The software may be used or copied only under the terms of the license agreement This documentation contains proprietary information of Opal RT Technologies Inc No part of this documentation may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic mechanical recording or otherwise without prior written permission of Opal RT The information in this document was prepared by Opal RT with all reasonable care and is believed to be accurate However Opal RT does not assume responsibility for losses or damages resulting from any omissions inaccuracies or errors contained herein This documentation is sub
86. out 20 That makes our computation time on the target equal to 20000 20 1000 us Let us assume for this example that a minimum of data is bring exchanged over the FireWire network so that we can neglect transmission time 31 1 1 Minimum step size Minimum step sizes will vary depending on the number of target nodes that make up your network since complex node synchronization will involve more overhead As a general rule an additional CPU will add another 20 us to the minimum step size Consider the following example If for a single node the minimum step size 15 us one node no FireWire transmission no synchronization model running as fast as possible then for 2 nodes the minimum step size 100 us constants sent from slave node to master node and returned to the Slave node and for 3 nodes the minimum step size 120 us 2 nodes slave node sending 1 data double to master node and the Master node is returning this data to the slave node 2 RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 11 CHAPTER 3 Note 3 12 The results will be slightly better with a real model however since Slave nodes would not send their data at the same time Hardware Synchronization When using hardware make sure that data on the VO board is acquired with the same step size as the model A timer card can be used to generate an interrupt message to synchronize all access to VO boards Numerous timers are supported the ISA ACL 8454 using 8254
87. quit the program once a model has been reset 1 Click on the Close button in the Main Control Dialog box 56 OPAL RT SETTING UP A SERIAL CONNECTION TO AN RT LAB Setting up a Serial Connection to an RT LAB Target RT LAB provides the option of setting up a serial link between the Command Station and any target node This option is of benefit to users who for example may want to change network configuration from within the field but whose target node does not include a monitor It also provides alternate access 1n addition to Ethernet to the target in case the Ethernet interface should malfunction or not be set up To configure your target node for serial connection Access the target through Ethernet or by using a monitor and a keyboard 1 Open the target node s initialization file etc config sysinit x where x is the target s node number 2 Change the last line in the file which contains the tinit command so that it reads tinit T con t conl T serl E In this case ser1 designates the COMI serial communication port of the RT LAB target node 3 Type shutdown f to reboot This will reset the target system To set up a serial link Once the target is configured physically connect the two nodes with a Laplink DB9 or DB25 RS232 crossover cable 1 Logonto the target machine 2 Launch a terminal program such as HyperTerminal The Windows terminal program is found under the operating system s Start m
88. r See Compilation Node and Target Node A non real time simulation is one that runs either faster or slower than real time depending on the complexity of the model and the speed of the processor 78 OPAL RT GLOSSARY NT Target Offline Simulation OpComm Block Parallel Peripheral Device Ping Packet Internet Gopher QNX Compilation Node QNX Target Quad processor Real Time Sampling Period Sampling Rate Sampling Time SC Server Single threading Slave Target node whose operating system is Windows NT or Windows 2000 Simulation executed in a non real time environment like Simulink or SystemBuild without using RT LAB See Communication Block See Distributed See I O Board Way to test or time the response of a TCP IP connection A PING sends a request to a node and waits for a reply When you PING an address you get a response telling you the number of seconds it took to make the connection See Compilation Node Target node whose operating system is QNX See Multiprocessing A real time simulation simulates events in the time frame in which they would naturally happen A real time system 1s one that guarantees that calculations will be performed within specified time constraints usually measured in milliseconds or microseconds See hard real time and non real time See Sampling Time The frequency usually uniform at which a signal is sampled the number of analog
89. r must be familiar with aspects of MATLAB as related to Simulink and aspects of MATRIXx as related to SystemBuild Users intending to gather data from one system and then process the data offline for example must know how to save the data and retrieve it using MATLAB or MATRIXx and to display data through the different on screen tools available within the software I O modules Those intending to use RT LAB in a HIL context must know how to specify the characteristics of their communication boards and those of the attached modules Since I O communication is defined through special blocks in the model characteristics such as the function and location of each IP module are specified as parameters for these blocks RT LAB works with many different COTS I O products standard I O boards carrier boards com cards etc Vendor product sheets and links to vendors sites are available on the Opal RT web site at www opal rt com p rt lab devices html OPAL RT FUNDAMENTALS When the model is separated in RT LAB each subsystem is assigned to one machine or target node within a cluster That is once the user has separated the model into subsystems RT LAB asks to which target node each subsystem should be downloaded Elements are distributed among the subsystems according to their type e all display elements are placed within the one Console SC subsystem high rate elements are placed within the one Master SM subsystem and
90. received on the Console SC_ subsystem are grouped into twenty five groups The acquisition group for a signal is specified in the OpComm communication block through which the signal passes 5 1 1 Acquisition parameters Acquisition parameters are shared by all signals included in a given acquisition group These parameters are specified by the user in the Probe Control Panel on the tabs numbered with the appropriate acquisition group number For more details on how to control data acquisition parameters see online help for Probe Control Panel 5 12 Triggering Acquisition By default each acquisition group is always triggered meaning that a new data packet 1s filled as soon as the previous packet is sent Sometimes however you may want to receive data only when a certain condition occurs For this reason the Op7rigger block can be inserted into the subsystem containing the acquisition group signals The Op7rigger block is used to acquire data triggered by a specific signal allowing users to acquire information from a specified parts of the simulation only For complete details about Op7rigger and its parameters see the online help RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 33 CHAPTER 5 5 1 3 5 2 5 2 1 Recording data with OpWriteFile To obtain all data for any particular signal use the OpW riteFile block Data recorded with the help of this block will be stored on the QNX real time node s hard drive The user will have to tra
91. rnet and the I O boards RT LAB software is configured on a Windows NT or Windows 2000 computer Windows 2000 is an NT platform so when this Manual refers to Windows NT it is referring to either Windows NT or Windows 2000 called the Command Station Simulations can be run entirely on the Command Station computer but they are typically run on one or more target nodes For real time simulation the preferred operating system for the target nodes is QNX When there are multiple QNX nodes one of them is designated as the compilation node The Command Station and target node s communicate with each other using communication links and for hardware in the loop simulations target nodes may also communicate with other devices through I O boards The Command Station The Command Station is a PC workstation that operates under Windows NT and serves as the user interface The Command Station allows users to edit and modify models see model data e runthe original model under its simulation software Simulink SystemBuild etc generate code separate code control the simulator s Go Stop sequences Target nodes The target nodes are real time processing and communication computers that use commercial processors interconnected by an Ethernet adapter These computers can also OPAL RT FUNDAMENTALS include a real time communication interface like FireWire or cLAN depending on the selected OS as well as I O board
92. s automatically sent at the beginning of a calculation step so there is no need for additional notation to specify a priority send SystemBuild users must therefore exchange state variables and or use De ay blocks for input dependent variables 24 OPAL RT RT LAB BLOCKS RT LAB Blocks RT LAB comes with a library of blocks that can be added to your model These allow access to different types of VO modules and other functions I O and synchronization module blocks serve to control external equipment generic RT LAB blocks provide other network communication and timing functions This chapter will discuss the need use and parameters of the I O blocks synchronization blocks and other generic blocks that can be used with RT LAB RT LAB block libraries can be found in the Simulink or SystemBuild library browser Note This chapter is based on the use of IP modules and an IP carrier board RT LAB supports other types of boards For a list of supported I O boards and for pin out information for supported I O boards go to http www opal rt com p rt lab devices html To add blocks to your model and set their parameters 1 Click on the RT LAB block that corresponds to the desired function of the I O card you are using 2 Drag and drop the RT LAB block into your simulation model 3 Double click the RT LAB block to change its parameters This will open a parameters control box for the block in question 4 1 VO and Synchroni
93. s for accessing external equipment The real time target nodes perform real time execution of the model s simulation real time communication between the nodes and I Os initialization of the I O systems acquisition of the model s internal variables and external outputs through I O modules implementation of user performed online parameters modification recording data on local hard drive if desired supervision of execution of the model s simulation and communication with other nodes 2 12 1 Compilation Node The compilation node is used to compile C code e load the code onto each target node e debug the user s source code S function User Code Block etc 2 1 3 Communication 2 1 3 1 FireWire real time link The real time communication link works using FireWire IEEE P 1394 or cLAN interfaces Both ensure real time communication between slaves and between the target nodes and the I O synchronization between the I O boards and target nodes 2 1 3 2 Ethernet link An Ethernet link is used to transfer simulation models and run time data between the Command Station and the target nodes 2 1 3 3 I O boards Both analog and digital VO boards are supported by RT LAB These allow connection to external equipment for applications such as HIL See 4 RT LAB Blocks for a detailed description of I O boards and how to install them RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 5 CHAPTER 2 2 2 2 2 1
94. sers to create icons for use in models Just as icons can be made to simulate special dynamics they can also be used to access I O cards This document explains how to develop I O and timer S functions or UCBs using features specific to RT LAB The information presented here is also generic enough to help developing any kind of basic S functions and UCBs RT LAB is designed to work with any S function or UCB that is compatible with Simulink Real Time Workshop and SystemBuild However to maximize RT LAB s full potential it is possible to add some RT LAB features to a standard S function or UCB The RT LAB feature will allow you to Execute an I O triggering accessing routine at the beginning of the model step CB ExecutelO Execute a routine when the model is paused CB Pause Execute a routine when the model is reset CB Reset Wait for the timer interrupt in the case of a timer icon CB Wait for timer Execute one or more initialisation routines CB Init available as of RT LAB 4 2 Execute one or more termination routines CB Close available as of RT LAB 4 2 58 OPAL RT CODING AN RT LAB ICON TO MAKE I O AND TIMER A2 1 1 Required Knowledge It is expected that users are familiar with C language S functions and UCBs are introduced here but detailed instructions are provided with Simulink and SystemBuild software For S functions MATLAB install_dir gt help pdf_doc simulink sfunctions pdf MAT
95. system The data exchanged between Node 1 and Node 2 is input dependent This means that for any given step Node 1 must receive its input y5 5 before it can calculate y2 Similarly Node 2 cannot begin calculating y4until it has received y2 While Node 1 requires an input before being able to calculate its output the data exchanged between Node 2 and Node 1 is a state of the system or a state variable which means that for any given step Node 2 does not require an input to determine its output value only the input from the previous step is necessary That is to say it is possible to get the value of y5 s at the very beginning of the calculation step even before y2 for this step is available as is illustrated in Figure 3 6 20 OPAL RT BUILDING A DISTRIBUTED MODEL FOR RT LAB Operations Step k Step k 1 Node alouiation off OM Reception of yb s Calculation of y II Sending of y2 Idle Node Zalculation of Ww Sending of y5 Is Calculation of yB Y Reception of y2 Calculation of y4t The main calculations are done sequentially Figure 3 6 Event chart for the sequentially simulated model in Figure 3 5 Node 2 must remain idle until y2becomes available since Node 2 requires y2to make its main calculation Since y2is not a state of the system it will be sent by Node 1 at the end of its calculation phase Once y2is sent Node 1 becomes idle waiting
96. t 10ms in this model RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 43 CHAPTER 6 6 3 CA di Note Requirements for running models in Multithread Multi CPU mode Multithread Multi CPU blends the previous two cases Both the Master and Slave subsystems can each run at multiple step sizes All of the model s OpComms must have the same rate equal to the communication rate This rate is defined as the fastest rate which the Master subsystem can use to communicate with all subsystems to which it 1s connected Master Slave1 Slave2 BaseRate CZ i Not supported i H Not supported i Not supported i E Not supported 16 ms sample time i 16 ms sample time 2 Fixed step size zn Fixed step size BaseRate SubSystem base rate E Communication rate 77 Fixed step size of original model 2 Fixed step size Figure 6 3 Multithread Multi CPU possible sampling times in a model that would run on 3 CPUs In the above example the Fixed Step Size in the Simulink Simulation Parameters must be 0 001sec and the mode must be set to Auto Multitasking mode is not recommended for this type of simulation Even if the original model is Multitasking it is possible that the subsystems will require execution in Single Tasking mode if any of them only holds one rate This situation would generate the following errors at the model separation stage Error using gt make rtw Error using gt rtwgen Model Name does not con
97. ta acquisition llle 39 Figure 6 1 Specifying a Fixed step of 0 001 with Multitasking 41 Figure 6 2 The Master runs at 1ms and the Slaves run at 10ms in this model 43 Figure 6 3 Multithread Multi CPU possible sampling times in a model that would run ON G i U l 44 Figure 6 4 Rate transition for sending data to the Console subsvstem 45 Figure 6 5 I O in Multitasking mode ee ss RR ER n n n n n 46 Figure 6 6 I O executing at the base rate of the Master 46 Figure 7 1 Slid r gaihz z eer ERE EER WA M Rx rs 49 Figure 7 2 Modifying feedback gains using the Console 50 Figure 8 1 Grouping of an original model 52 RT LAB 6 2 USER S MANUAL VII LIST OF FIGURES Figure 8 2 Final regrouped model 52 Figure 8 3 rt_demol scope display eee 55 Figure A2 1 Execution of a Simulink model 60 VIII OPAL RT LisT OF TABLES List of Tables Table 3 1 SystemBuild OpComm integer parameters 0000 0 ee 19 Table 4 1 OpAnalogIn VOS css ees Sete eee e EE E Be Se 28 Table 4 2 OpAnalogOut VOS is ss coli ls uas d a EE GR se 29 Table 4 3 OpDigitalin Os esrb bue rox S chaos wee tad g 30 Table 4 4 OpDi italOut VOS chee DEE el Re Ra BERE EE EE EER Rg IE 31 Table 4 5 OpQuad Decoder VOS LL 32 Table 4 6 OpSync VME VOS iii a NEEN 32 Table 5 1 OpComm icon mask options GE ES EE EE ee eee 38 RT LAB 6 2 USER S MANUAL IX LisT OF TABLES X OPAL RT INTRODUCTION
98. tain multiple sample times You must specify solver mode as Auto or Single Tasking In this example the OpComm blocks connecting the Slaves to the Master must have their sampling times set to 0 004 As in the first case Zero Order Hold and Unit Delay blocks should be inserted to properly accommodate all rate transitions inside a given subsystem Slave subsystems cannot have rates faster than the communication rate This is due to the fact that the Master subsystem is synchronized using a timer card while the Slaves are synchronized using communication with the Master subsystem 44 OPAL RT MODELS WITH MULTIPLE SAMPLING RATES 6 4 6 4 1 6 4 2 Multirate mode options Using an SC Subsystem in Multirate Mode Since the Console is executed in Simulink mode on the NT station the concept of Multithread is irrelevant to the SC subsystem The user must be careful to properly insert the Zero Order Hold and Unit Delay blocks in order to achieve communication between the Console and the real time subsystems For any given subsystem receiving data from the Console the OpComm connecting the two must have the Fixed step sizerate the rate at which the Console operates This rate has to be the same as the communication rate The Fixed step size can be imposed by setting the OpComm block s Sample Time parameter to 0 Depending on the computing subsystem s rates transition from a faster rate Console s Fixed step size to a slower rate th
99. target nodes The Console subsystem SC contains all element blocks related to viewing data and sending commands See Commercial off the shelf A device that converts data from digital to analog form See also A D Converter Computer board dedicated to reading data from external components 76 OPAL RT GLOSSARY Decimation Factor Development Node Digital Distributed Dual processor Embedded System FIFO FireWire Fixed Step Size Frame Giganet GUI Hard Real Time Hardware in the Loop HIL Host Host Name VO VO Address When a signal is decimated by a factor N every nth sample of that signal will be acquired See Compilation Node Digital data is represented in discrete units comprised of the binary digits 1 and 0 See also Analog A D Converter and D A Converter Separated into parts or units A distributed model is one whose calculations have been divided among a number of subsystems that are represented by blocks Distributed computing involves dividing computations across a cluster of processors A distributed simulation is one done using distributed computing See Multiprocessing A system where hardware and software combine to form a component of a larger machine A First In First Out memory buffer where the first data received and stored Is the first data sent out of the buffer The informal name for High Performance Serial Bus IEEE 1394 The High Performance Seria
100. ter CB PAUSEIOY This function is called when the model is paused and sets the output value of the I O board to a secure pause value static void MyFunction Pause void GenStruct LocalData ld LocalData GenStruct nosound MyCardOutput ld gt card_address PAUSE VALUE RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 67 APPENDIX 2 A2 6 Programming an RT LAB S Function for a Timer icon A timer icon uses a hardware timer to synchronize the execution of a model The main purpose of the RT LAB Timer S Function is to wait for the synchronization interrupt to occur Synchronization is usually done using icons like OpSyncDccXp When using your own hardware timer card to synchronize IO you ll have to create a timer icon as described in this section The template supplied with RT LAB can be used to develop RT LAB timer icons lt RT LAB install dir doc Simulink S function template sfuntimertmpl c The template is also an example that uses the QNX system clock instead of a card in guise of timer This section discusses the RT LAB S Function code as it relates to timer icons registered function by registered function including e the Template Header nitializeConditions e MdilOutputs and MdlTerminate as with programming an RT LAB S Function for an I O icon and MvFunction WaitForTimer which blocks the simulation until the timer interrupt is received and e MyFunction DisableTimer whi
101. titasking mode Multi Thread If this message is not displayed make sure the Hardware Synchronized or Software Synchronized option is selected in the Main Control Panel Messages about processes associated with the different rates are also displayed For example Executing baseRate 0 001 pid 160 prio 27 Executing subRate 0 002 pid 154 prio 26 Executing subRate 0 004 pid 156 prio 25 RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 41 CHAPTER 6 6 2 6 2 1 6 2 2 For the purposes of this discussion we will refer to the above three messages as A B and C Message A has the highest priority and cannot be interrupted by any other process Messages B can be interrupted by Message A since it has a lower priority level than A but can not be interrupted by Message C Message C in turn can be interrupted by both Messages A and B since it has the lowest priority level Requirements for running models in Single Thread Multi CPU mode In Single Thread multirate simulation the Master subsystem SM has one fixed sampling rate which is specified in the simulation s Parameters window The Slave subsystems SS are all at the same rate consequently all OpComm blocks contained in the Slave subsystems must have the same sampling time but this rate is different from the Master subsystem s rate Inserting blocks for proper rate transitions Single Tasking mode specified in the So verpage of the Simulink Simulation Parameters windo
102. to digital conversions per second This term also indicates the rate at which a discrete time system executes In a multirate model the base sampling rate is the step size Known in previous versions of RT LAB as the sampling period The time period between samples the number of seconds per analog to digital conversion See sampling rate Prefix added to the name of the subsystem related to the Console In a Client Server computer architecture the server answers requests from one or more clients Processing one transaction at a time See also Thread and Multithreading Slave computers perform calculations and are synchronized by the Master The Slave subsystems SS contain operations to be performed on signals and all elements other than display elements which are found in the SC_ subsystem and high rate elements which are found in the SM subsystem RT LAB 7 0 USER S MANUAL 79 GLOSSARY SM Snapshot ag State Variable Step Rate Step Size Subsystem Target Node Target Platform TCP IP Thread Trigger Prefix added to the name of the subsvstem related to the Master A Snapshot is a record of a simulation s values that can be taken at anv point during the simulation RT LAB s Snapshot feature also allows for generating a report of these values Prefix added to the name of the subsvstems related to the Slaves In RT LAB a state variable is an independent variable that within anv given
103. ur block diagram and discusses OpComm parameters that are specific to Simulink users and those specific to SvstemBuild users The following figure demonstrates these points with an example of OpComm icon inserted in a Simulink model RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 15 CHAPTER 3 3 Insertion of the communication blocks Out1 To wrks ss slave1 P Switch out P gt Switch in Switch in1 sc console Out2 sm master ss slave2 Signal Generator SubSystem1 In2 OpComm1 SS_Slave2 Step SM_Master SS_Slave1 3 3 1 OpComm SubSystem To Workspace Switch out Manual Switch Switch in1 S function SC console Figure3 3 Inside view of the Console Master and Slave Inserting OpComm blocks Once the model is grouped into Console and computation subsystems special blocks called OpComm blocks must be inserted into the subsystems These are simple feed through blocks that intercept all incoming signals before sending them to computation blocks within a given subsystem OpComm blocks serve three purposes 1 When a simulation model runs in the RT LAB environment all connections between the main subsystems SC SM or SS are replaced by hardware communication 16 OPAL RT BUILDING A DISTRIBUTED MODEL FOR RT LAB links For communication between real time target nodes SM and SS RT LAB
104. ut of the physical module In simulation mode this output is directly connected to the input 422 OpAnalogOut Reset OpAnalogOut node O OpAnalogOut Figure 4 2 OpAnalogOut block The module in this figure would maintain its last output value when paused and reset since their inputs have the same value as the Run input This block corresponds to a physical module with an analog output When simulating signals sent to this block will be routed to the analog output module located at the specified address The signal applied is also sent to the block s output for use within the model Depending on which module is used the information is quantified and sent to a D A converter The base channel is channel 0 To use multiple channels insert a multiplexing block before the inputs all signals sent to the multiplexing block will be sent to the module At the output these signals will be in the same order as they are in the multiplexing block with the signal at the top of the block being the first channel channel 0 TABLE 4 2 OPANALOGOUT VOS Input Output Function Reset Input This input should be connected It is the value to be transmitted at the output when the system is reset brought back to zero whether internally or using the Probe Control Panel If numerous signals are sent a multiplexing block must be inserted in order to enter values for each channel Any channel without a given value will be initia
105. ving programmed this file the only step left is to compile it as an object file and to associate it with a standard UCB block in order to use it The developer has thus created an icon that has all the characteristics of usual UCB blocks A UCB a singular function that is called by SystemBuild while executing the model Tests are made on a variable to know the phase of execution of a model whether it is initialization or main execution This function receives a long list of parameters among which are number inputs outputs and parameters A pointer is also received in order to be used for accessing user allocated memory space for UCB specific variable These variables are grouped in a structure that RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 61 APPENDIX 2 A2 4 A2 4 1 we will refer to as LocalData allocated by the user in the initialization This allows all instances of an UCB to be fully independent from each other One must be careful while using global variables in UCB files since such a variable will be allocated only once in a given model for all instances of a given UCB Such a problem is detoured by the use of the LocalData structure Creating icons with RI LAB Most of the features that RT LAB adds to S functions and UCBs are intended for I O and timer applications They allow among other things to ensure that I Os will be accessed at regular intervals and to set I Os before simulation is paused or reseted With a standard Simulin
106. w does not require users to insert Zero Order Hold and Unit Delay blocks However it is recommended to insert these blocks even if they are not required to allow for the possibility of running the model in Multitasking mode see below The OpComm in the Master subsystem must have the same sampling time as the Slave OpComms Even though the Master subsystem runs at a different rate this rate is determined by the fixed step size in the Simulink model s simulation parameters The value in the OpComms defines the communication rate which is the rate of the slowest node in the system that of the Slave subsystems Communication rate In the example shown in Figure 11 2 the Master runs at a step size of 1ms and communicates with the Slave subsystems once every 10 steps while the Slave runs at a step size of 10ms and communicates with the Master subsystem at this rate The Master holds and uses the same input values for its intermediate steps so the communication rate is 10ms The following message should appear in each of the Phindows or RT LAB display window when you load the model Common sample time 0 010000 Non real time Single Tasking mode 42 OPAL RT MODELS WITH MULTIPLE SAMPLING RATES sc user interface sm master sm master discrete transfer function sine wave discrete transfer function Block Parameters OpComm Figure 6 2 The Master runs at 1 ms and the Slaves run a
107. zation Module blocks I O modules allow users to control external equipment These modules may be digital to analog D A converters analog to digital A D converters input output I O binary ports and quadrature decoders among others Synchronization modules synchronize computations and communication between nodes Note I O blocks have no effect in offline simulation without RT LAB RT LAB comes with a library of blocks that allow access to different types of I O modules The library modules are listed by their type ISA PCI PC 104 IP Module followed by RT LAB v7 0 USER S MANUAL 25 CHAPTER 4 4 1 1 4 1 2 4 1 2 1 their vendor name the product name and the block The A7 LAB 10 library can be found next to the R7 LAB library in the Simulink or SystemBuild library browser To find the RT LAB I O block library In Simulink the blocks are located under R7 LAB J Oin the Simulink library browser Type opal lib in the Matlab command window then press Return e n SystemBuild the blocks are located under R7 LAB J Oin the SystemBuild palette Click on the palette under R7Lab OpallO Using VO blocks in RT LAB An I O module is not independent it must be inserted onto a supporting board which usually has two to four module connectors A supporting board with four ports for example could include four A D converters or two converter modules an 8 bit port module and a D A converter module The configuration

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