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Version 3.2 (R2009b) Simscape Software

This table summarizes what's new in Version 3.2 (R2009b):

New Features and Changes	Version Compatibility Considerations	Fixed Bugs and Known Problems	Related Documentation at Web Site
Yes Details below	Yes—Details labeled as Compatibility Considerations, below. See also Summary.	Bug Reports Includes fixes	Printable Release Notes: PDF Current product documentation

New features and changes introduced in this version are

• Pneumatic Blocks Added to Foundation Library

• New and Enhanced Switches

• Intermediate Terms in Simscape Language Equations

• Local Solver Support in Physical Networks

• Simulink Manifest Tool Support

• SimState Support

• Model Reference Accelerator Mode Support

• Physical Port Rotation for Simscape Blocks

• Changes to Simscape Demos

Pneumatic Blocks Added to Foundation Library

Foundation library now contains pneumatic domain and Pneumatic block library. This library contains pneumatic elements, such as orifices, chambers, and pneumatic-mechanical converters, as well as pneumatic sensors and sources.

Use these blocks to model pneumatic systems, for applications such as:

• Factory automation — basic pneumatic linear/rotational actuators, valves (variable orifices), and air supply

• Robotics — robotic arms and haptic interfaces

• Gaseous transportation systems and pipelines

You can also use these blocks to model dry air and low pressure flows, for example, for HVAC applications.

Pneumatic block models are based on the following assumptions:

• Working fluid is an ideal gas satisfying the ideal gas law.

• Specific heats at constant pressure and constant volume, c_p and c_v, are constant.

• Processes are adiabatic, that is, there is no heat transfer between components and the environment (except for components with a separate thermal port).

• Gravitational effects are neglected.

For more information see the block reference pages, as well as Modeling Pneumatic Systems.

Compatibility Considerations

To avoid duplicate block names in different Simscape™ domains and increase naming consistency across domains, the following hydraulic blocks have been renamed:

Old Block Name	New Block Name
Constant Area Orifice	Constant Area Hydraulic Orifice
Constant Volume Chamber	Constant Volume Hydraulic Chamber
Piston Chamber	Hydraulic Piston Chamber
Resistive Tube	Hydraulic Resistive Tube
Variable Area Orifice	Variable Area Hydraulic Orifice
Variable Chamber	Variable Hydraulic Chamber
Ideal Hydraulic Flow Rate Sensor	Hydraulic Flow Rate Sensor
Ideal Hydraulic Pressure Sensor	Hydraulic Pressure Sensor
Ideal Hydraulic Flow Rate Source	Hydraulic Flow Rate Source
Ideal Hydraulic Pressure Source	Hydraulic Pressure Source

Old models containing any of these blocks will be updated automatically once you open and save them.

New and Enhanced Switches

The following switching capability enhancements have been implemented in Foundation libraries:

• New Physical Signal PS Switch block has been added to the Nonlinear Operators library. It contains three physical signal input ports, a physical signal output port, and one parameter, Threshold. If the second input is greater than or equal to the threshold, then the output is connected to the first input. Otherwise, the output is connected to the third input. The second input never connects to the output.

• Electrical Switch block has been enhanced to use a value specified in the Threshold parameter (rather than zero) for opening and closing the switch.

Intermediate Terms in Simscape Language Equations

You can now introduce intermediate terms in Simscape Language equations by using the let and in keywords. This functionality helps increase the equation readability, as well as avoid duplicating information by defining an intermediate term once and then using it in multiple equations. For more information, see the Simscape Language Guide.

Local Solver Support in Physical Networks

The Solver Configuration block now lets you use sample-based local solver with a specific sample time. In sample-based simulation, all the Physical Network states, otherwise represented as continuous, become discreet states. The solver updates the states once per time step. This option is especially useful for code generation, or hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations. For more information, see the Solver Configuration reference page.

Simulink Manifest Tool Support

Dependency analysis tools for Simscape files have been added in this release. They consist of the following command-line options:

• simscape.dependency.file — Perform dependency analysis for a single Simscape file.

• simscape.dependency.lib — Perform dependency analysis for a Simscape custom library.

• simscape.dependency.model — Perform dependency analysis on a model containing Simscape and Simulink blocks.

Manifest reports generated using Simulink Manifest Tools now also include model dependencies for the Simscape blocks. For more information, see Checking File and Model Dependencies.

SimState Support

Simscape software now supports Simulink SimState feature, introduced in R2009a. This feature allows you to save all runtime data necessary for restoring the simulation state of a model. For more information, see Saving and Restoring the Simulation State as the SimState.

Note   When using SimState to save and restore simulations of models involving Simscape blocks, please ensure both 'DstWorkSpace' and 'SrcWorkSpace' to be 'base' by using: simset('DstWorkspace', 'base', 'SrcWorkspace', 'base')

Model Reference Accelerator Mode Support

Simscape and its vertical products now fully support Model Reference Accelerator Mode, both for model simulation and for code generation.

Physical Port Rotation for Simscape Blocks

When you rotate a regular Simulink block, its ports are by default reordered after rotation, to maintain the left-right and top-down block diagram orientation convention used in control system modeling applications. This convention is not applicable to physical modeling and is potentially confusing, because it results in effectively rotating and flipping the block at the same time.

Therefore, starting with Version 3.2 (R2009b), when you rotate a Simscape block (including blocks from vertical products), its ports are not reordered. This behavior is similar to that of the masked blocks with Port Rotation set to Physical. For illustration of differences between the default port rotation type and the physical port rotation type, see Changing a Block's Orientation.

Compatibility Considerations

This change in the behavior of the ports after block rotation may result in visually crossed connection lines in some of your existing block diagrams with rotated blocks. The effect is purely cosmetic and has no impact on actual model connections or simulation.

Changes to Simscape Demos

The following demos have been added in Version 3.2:

Demo Name	Description
Pneumatic Actuation Circuit (ssc_pneumatic_actuator)	This demo shows how the Foundation Library pneumatic components can be used to model a controlled pneumatic actuator. The Directional 5-way valve, Double-acting pneumatic actuator and Pipe blocks are masked subsystems created from Foundation Library blocks.
Pneumatic Motor (ssc_pneumatic_motor)	This demo shows how the Rotational Pneumatic-Mechanical Converter block can be used to approximate the behavior of a pneumatic vane motor.
Pneumatic Motor and Directional Control Valve (ssc_pneumatic_motor_and_valve)	This model shows the pneumatic vane motor, as defined in the Pneumatic Motor demo, deployed in a typical pneumatic circuit.

Simscape Release Notes

Version 3.1 (R2009a) Simscape Software

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