LMCS 2008: National Day for 0D/1D Modelling and Simulation

In the context of the clubs led by the scientific department of the IFP and of “Printemps de la recherche” at EDF, the National Day for Users of Modelling and Scientific Calculation Software (LMCS) took place on April 17^th, 2001, at EDF – R&D site at Chatou (France, 78)

The purpose of this open day is to enable participants to share their 0D/1D modelling and simulation experiences in different fields using free or commercial software: Scilab/Scicos (Inria), Amesim (Imagine), Matlab/Simulink (The Mathworks), Modelica (Modelica Association), Dymola (Dynasim), Maple (Maplesoft), Comsol Multiphysics (Comsol), Mathematica (Wolfram Research), etc.

This day makes it possible to highlight the applications that can be produced using modelling software, and also to open the discussion on the advantages or disadvantages of the use of scientific software in the context of modelling and simulation.

This event is organised by:

• IFP Energies nouvelles (Institut français du pétrole) Applied mathematics department (as part of the scientific management clubs),
• EDF (Électricité de France) Step (Simulation and information processing for the operation of production systems) department,
• Acsystème (automation and signal processing expertise),
• Esilv (École supérieure d’ingénieurs Léonard de Vinci) Computer science and information intelligence department.

The LMCS 2008 Day for 0D/1D modelling and simulation was held in Chatou (France, 78) on April 17, 2008, and brought together more than 80 researchers, engineers and academics from different backgrounds, with the theme of system-wide modelling.

The day was opened by Jean-François Hamelin, Director of Information Systems at EDF, and closed by Zakia Benjelloun-Dabaghi from IFP. Participants attended 15 presentations, which aimed to share experiences in developing and using 0D/1D modelling and simulation tools. These presentations addressed simulation at its different levels, from the formulation of models to the development of interfaces, including the problems of coupling, calibration, and the choice of tools.

We have noted, alongside the still well-represented commercial software (Matlab, Maple, Comsol), the emergence of open-source simulation codes in industry and university research (Scicos and Modelica). The concern of manufacturers to free themselves from licensing costs and dependence on commercial publishers was illustrated in presentations by CNES, IFP, and EDF.

The advantages of computer algebra were also presented through several commercial solutions, such as Maple (presented by the publisher and Renault), Dymola (EDF) and Scicos/Modelica (Inria) or “open-source”, such as Carins and Cardim (developed by CNES). They were highlighted by the presentations concerning the calibration problems encountered in the face of the increasing number of model parameters, and the development of automatic calibration tools.

The plenary conference held at the beginning of the afternoon was given by Professor Pierre Rouchon, from the École des Mines de Paris. He showed us how, in the processing of nonlinear dynamic systems, it is possible to approach, accurately and efficiently complex mathematical concepts qualitatively, taking the example of the proportional integral regulator and the constraint of anti-windup, then that of the phase-locked loop (PLL).

The presentations clearly illustrated the multi-domain aspect of 0D/1D modelling: automation, thermodynamics, hydraulics, aeraulics, chemistry, signal processing, etc. They made it possible to share the approaches adopted by industrialists and universities and the solutions proposed by the software suppliers, in the face of the problems posed by system modelling.