Simulation controls for model variability and randomness

• US 7,801,710 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2007
• Issued: 09/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Morse, Richard A., Sturrock, David T.
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, THAI Q
• Application Number:
  US11/864,685
• Publication Number:
  US 20090089027A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,089 Days
• Field of Search: 703 22- 24, 703/2, 703/5, 711/163, 717/106, 717/135
• US Class Current: 703/2
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 17/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30

Abstract

A tool for simulating an industrial control system is provided. The tool includes a simulation component to emulate one or more simulation models according to a simulated execution environment. A switch component is associated with the simulation component to selectively enable or disable variability in the simulation models.

Claims

1. A tool for simulating an industrial control system, comprising:

a simulation component that executes one or more simulation models according to a simulated execution environment; and

a switch component associated with the simulation component that allows to selectively enable or selectively disable variability in the one or more simulation models, wherein disablement of the variability in at least one stochastic simulation model in the one or more simulation models transforms the at least one stochastic simulation model into a deterministic simulation model.

2. The tool of claim 1, the one or more simulation models are related to at least one of a device model, an industry model, or a manufacturing model.

3. The tool of claim 1, the simulation component allows randomness in the one or more simulation models to be enabled or disabled based on an application of the industrial control system.

4. The tool of claim 1, the switching component is provided as part of a user interface.

5. The tool of claim 1, the simulation component enables a manual mode and an automatic mode for testing of the one or more simulation models.

6. The tool of claim 1, the simulation component enables creating one or more expressions to allow modifications of one or more parameters returned from execution of the one or more simulation models when the variability in the one or more simulation models is disabled.

7. The tool of claim 6, at least one expression in the one or more expressions is modified programmatically through simulation instructions executed by the simulation component.

8. The tool of claim 1, the simulation component enables a user variable to be generated and tested at runtime to determine if the variability is enabled.

9. The tool of claim 1, the simulation component enables returning a calculated mean of a distribution that characterizes the variability in the one or more simulation models.

10. The tool of claim 1, the simulation component processes at least one of failure considerations, branch block instructions, or schedules.

11. The tool of claim 1, the simulation component provides a customization component to customize behavior of at least one simulation model in the one or more simulation models.

12. The tool of claim 11, the customization component allows failures to be converted to fixed failure intervals.

13. The tool of claim 11, the customization component provides options of one or more parameters to return from distributions.

14. The tool of claim 1, the simulation component provides an expression to allow modification of a parameter returned from an executed simulation model in the one or more simulation models when variability in the executed simulation model is disabled.

15. The tool of claim 1, the simulation component provides a variability factor expression.

16. The tool of claim 1, further comprising a knowledge database to store historical data related to applications, components, and systems.

17. The tool of claim 1, the simulation component includes one or more parameters relating to device parameters, instruction parameters, message parameters, network parameters, equipment parameters, or controller parameters.

18. A method of providing interface options for a simulation system, comprising:

executing one or more simulation models according to a simulated execution environment; and

providing simulation switches for selectively enabling, disabling, or partially disabling at least one of variability or randomness in the one or more simulation models.

19. A simulation tool for an industrial control system, comprising:

means for collecting data relating to an industrial control system simulation or model thereof

means for determining variability options for the industrial control system simulation or model thereof, wherein the variability options include at least one of disabling variability or enabling variability of the industrial control system simulation or model thereof; and

means for switching the variability options for the industrial control system simulation or model thereof.