Altair EmployeeWith SimCoupler, there’s no need to choose between tools. Use both and boost the simulation power for your innovation.
Simulink/Twin Activate Legacy Models
PSIM USERS CAN ACCESS SIMULINK or Twin Activate LEGACY MODELS
PSIM is a tool specifically designed for power electronics and high-frequency switching, unlike Simulink, which many power electronics engineers find less suited for these tasks. The SimCoupler Module bridges the gap between these tools, allowing you to leverage the powerful PSIM engine with the prebuilt cotnrol setups you may have in Simulink.
To be more specific, the SimCoupler Module enables Simulink users to implement and simulate power circuits in their original circuit form, thus greatly shortening the time to set up and simulate a system that includes electric circuits and motor drives.
It's also worth noting that the connection to Altair's own integration platform: Twin Activate, functions similarly. Twin Activate provides a converter for Simulink models and multiple legacy physical models. It also provides romAI which is a game-changing artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technology for dynamic predictive models. An example of romAI's added value is the following:
Sensorless Control of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM) powered by ROM and Machine Learning
Connection to Simulink or Twin Activate works the same way:
For the Twin Activate connection, you can find more details in this tutorial:
How to use PSIM-Activate coupling instead of Simulink
For the Simulink connection, please review the video at the end of this blog.SIMULATE CONTROL
As indicated above, the SimCoupler Module allows power electronics researchers and engineers to simulate control in Simulink or Twin Activate environment, thus further enhancing PSIM’s control simulation capability by providing access to numerous Simulink/Twin Activate toolboxes.
Two key points to consider when implementing this connection:
1. Power Stage components should stay in PSIM and Control components in Simulink/Twin Activate
When integrating with Simulink/Twin Activate, PSIM should handle PWM creation. Thus, modulation signals should come from Simulink/Twin Activate, while PSIM manages the gating pulses to maintain speed.
Avoid generating gating waveforms in Simulink/Twin Activate. Instead, send modulation waveforms to PSIM. This prevents slow simulations and preserves PSIM’s advantage in accurate switch event detection and duty cycle generation. These are some of PSIM's major advantages when it comes to power electronics simulations, and we want to keep them!
2. If deemed necessary, the motor model can reside within Simulink/Twin Activate - but you should be careful how
This kind of contradicts the first point but if necessary, the motor model can reside in Simulink/Twin Activate. The full speed advantages will not be obtained, however. On top of that, this requires complex controlled-source modeling in PSIM. While PSIM integrates with Altair Flux and JMAG for motor models, if having the motor model in Simulink is a priority, you can use SimCoupler and controlled sources in the following manner:
Please investigate the following image to make sure the motor feedback is correctly setup:
VIEW THE POTENTIAL
This example shows a PMSM drive system with the power converter and motor in PSIM and control in Simulink. In PSIM, three motor currents and the speed are measured and passed to Simulink. In return, three modulation signals in Simulink are sent back to PSIM.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5f1pbWdKCg