Modelica and Dymola for education in vehicle dynamics at KTH

Abstract

Dymola and Modelica have been used in research at KTH Vehicle Dynamics since 2000. With the introduction of new templates and standard components, Modelica has become increasingly accessible for researchers and students in the field of vehicle dynamics and therefore a project was initiated to evaluate its usefulness as an educational tool. The general idea is to introduce Dymola in smaller assignments, aiming to familiarise the students with the basic functions of the tool while demonstrating its use through simulation examples. Four exercises were studied: a truck braking system model, a friction disc clutch model, a controllable torque clutch model and a combined driver and vehicle model. The conclusions from this pilot study were that Dymola offers several ways to enhance the quality of vehicle engineering education, mainly due to the ease of modelling and the rich animation functions which make the simulation exercises more interesting.