Solving Differential Equations Using Matlab/Simulink

During the sophomore year, the mechanical and civil engineering technology students are required to complete a course in computer systems, programming and applications. The selected software package for this course was MATLAB designed and developed by the Mathworks 1 . Each student was provided with a student version of the programming software. After the introductory material had been covered, the latter part of the course was used to solve basic differential equations using the MATLAB symbolic equation solver and the built-in plotting capabilities 2 . Also, the students were provided instruction on Simulink. Simulink is a graphical programming language that uses MATLAB as the computational engine. Finally, methods are presented that allow the student to use both programming tools in conjunction with one another. The students were given the opportunity to contrast the techniques of solving differential equations using classical mathematical methods and the computer. The students experienced actual hands on programming time with the instructor during the laboratory period of this course. The students seemed to really enjoy these methods and were much more comfortable with the graphical results. Introduction Many applications in electrical, mechanical and civil engineering technology require solving differential equations. Often, the solutions of such equations require a substantial amount of time and effort by the student. The mathematical solution of these equations does not readily provide the student with a “graphical picture” of the result. Therefore, students are uncomfortable with the entire process of solving these types of systems. Using MATLAB/Simulink to solve differential equations is very quick and easy. It may also provide the student with the symbolic solution and a visual plot of the result. This paper will examine 3 simple applications in electrical, mechanical, and civil engineering technology requiring the solution of a differential equation. First, the author will present a method using the symbolic processing capabilities of MATLAB to quickly code a differential equation for a graphical solution. Second, the differential equations will be modeled and solved graphically using Simulink. Finally, the author will present methods which use both MATLAB and Simulink together. The MATLAB script files being used to call a Simulink model of a P ge 10128.1 Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education system. The Simulink program sending the simulation results back to MATLAB for plotting purposes. Electrical Engineering Technology Application The first order ordinary differential equation that describes a simple series electrical circuit with a resistor, inductor, and sinusoidal voltage source is as follows: R i t dt di L × − × × = × ) 150 sin( 10 For this example, the inductance (L) is 1 henry and the resistance (R) is 10 Ω. The voltage source is sinusoidal with a peak voltage equal to 10 volts and an angular velocity of 150 radians/second. The MATLAB statement written to solve the above ODE is as follows: solution_1 = dsolve(‘DI=10*sin(150*t)–10*I’,’I(0)=0’,’t’); The dsolve function symbolically solves the ordinary differential equation specified above. The first argument is the actual ODE to be solved. D denotes differentiation with respect to the independent variable which in this case is time or t. A repeated differentiation process would be required if a digit other than 1 were to follow D. The character following the D (I in this case, which is the circuit current), is the dependent variable. The remaining terms of the equation are coded as usual. The second argument is used to specify the initial conditions of the circuit. The initial current in this circuit at t = 0 is 0. The final argument is used to specify the independent variable. Note that all arguments must be contained within single quotation marks as shown. The output from the dsolve function is the symbolic solution to the differential equation. To get a quick visual understanding of the solution, the student should use the MATLAB ezplot function in conjunction with the xlabel, ylabel, and grid commands. The result is a simple graph which displays the numerical solution to the differential equation, the symbolic solution to the differential equation, and appropriate units for the x and y axes. The MATLAB statements written to provide the output to the graphical environment are as follows: ezplot(solution_1,[0 .5]),... xlabel(‘Time,Seconds’),ylabel(‘Current,Amperes’),... grid The electrical circuit defined above may be solved quickly using the symbolic solving capabilities of MATLAB. Only 1 statement was needed to define the engineering application. For plotting purposes and proper documentation of the solution, 3 more statements are required. This short program was run on the Student Version of the MATLAB software distributed to the class. The results of the program are presented in Figure 1. Page 10128.2 Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education FIGURE 1 Solution to ODE describing an RL Electrical Circuit Next, the differential equation describing the RL electrical circuit is modeled using Simulink. Simulink is a block diagram programming language that is packaged with the Student Version of MATLAB. With Simulink, the differential equation is described using blocks from the Simulink library. The blocks include an integrator, gain, summer, sine wave source, and scope. The blocks are then “wired” together to generate the differential equation. The complete Simulink model for the electrical circuit is depicted in Figure 2 FIGURE 2 Simulink model for an RL Electrical Circuit The scope block in Simulink allows the student to generate a quick “picture” of the current flowing in the electrical circuit. For this example, the x and y axes were scaled to resemble the MATLAB graph produced for Figure 1. The results of the solution to the equation using Simulink are shown in Figure 3. P ge 10128.3 Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education FIGURE 3 Simulink Results for an RL Electrical Circuit Next, the Simulink model is modified to provide simulation data (time, current) to the MATLAB workspace using the To Workspace block. All Simulink variables are now defined in the MATLAB script file and the Simulink model remains unedited. The script file calls the Simulink model and the resulting simulation data is presented using the MATLAB plot command. The script file allows the student to quickly change the parameters of the model to simulate multiple cases. The modified Simulink model is shown in Figure 4. FIGURE 4 Simulink model to send results to MATLAB Workspace The actual MATLAB m file used for this example is shown in Figure 5 and the results of the simulation are shown in Figure 6. P ge 10128.4 Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education FIGURE 5 MATLAB script file used to call Simulink model and plot results FIGURE 6 Results from MATLAB script file P ge 10128.5 Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education Mechanical Engineering Technology Application An object moving though or across a resisting medium experiences a retarding force proportional to the velocity. Applying Newton’s Law of Motion produces the following first order differential equation: v k F dt dv m × − = × For this example, the mass (m) is 1 kg., the acting force (F) is 49 N, and the viscous frictional force is equal to (k) .2 times the velocity (v). The MATLAB statement written to solve the above ODE is as follows: solution_2 = dsolve(‘DV=49-.2*V’,‘V(0)= 0’,‘t’); The MATLAB statements written to provide the output to the graphical environment are as follows: ezplot (solution_2,[0 50]),... xlabel(‘Time,Seconds’),ylabel(‘Velocity,Meters/Second’),... grid The results of the simulation are shown in Figure 7. FIGURE 7 Solution to ODE describing a Mechanical system P ge 10128.6 Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education The Simulink model for this application is shown in Figure 8. FIGURE 8 Simulink model for a Mechanical system The actual MATLAB m file used for this example is shown in Figure 9 and the results of the simulation are shown in Figure 10. FIGURE 9 MATLAB script file used to call Simulink model