Automation Systems and Simulation Environments: Interoperability Standards for Virtual Commissioning

Nowadays advantages achieved through the application of simulation in machine design workflow are quite evident, but actually, it is not widely applied as expected. One of the main causes of limited usage of Virtual Commissioning by System Integration Companies is the high effort that it requires. In fact, to create a complete simulation of a complex automatic machine it is necessary to model physical and behavioural characteristics of each component that are usually defined through different engineering tools characterized by different specific formats. This thesis aims to find an interoperability standard that can be used to exchange information between engineering software. The most promising one is AutomationML (AML). It is presented and a particular focus is posed on the implementation and interconnection of AML Components for modelling of automatic systems. Stand-alone and co-simulation frameworks for mechatronic simulation have been modelled through AML and tested using software such as Automation Studio and industrialPhysics. Limitations of commercial tools have been overcome through the implementation of a Python script whose role is to enable the import of AML format in industialPhysics. Two possible solutions to the synchronization issue in case of co-simulation framework are presented considering the pros and the cons of both of them. Finally, it is shown a small example of integration of mechatronic and multiphysics simulation to get a more reliable framework for Virtual Commissioning. From the analysis performed through this thesis activity is possible to highlight that AutomationML is a powerful standard, potentially it can be used to exchange data between engineering tools, but at today's stage, its integration in commercial software is not sufficient to enable an effective interoperability.