Model-Based Design Workflows for Cyber-Physical Systems Applied to an Electric-Mechanical Coolant Pump

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) connect mechanics, electrics and electronics as well as software. Considering the interactions between these domains is a major challenge in product development. Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) enables cross-domain system development, based on commonly understood system architectures. However, there is still a gap in using MBSE for development, especially in mechanics. Systematic evaluation of design decisions based on system architecture models is not done. The strong simulation methods predicting physical product behaviour are not well connected to the evolving system architecture. We propose a new approach for connecting simulation and design models in a System Modelling Language (SysML) system model using the example of a combustion engine’s cooling circuit. The electric-mechanical coolant pump is chosen for design. The design processes of the hydrodynamic pump wheel and the volume flow controller are modelled as workflows in SysML. Here, we integrate design models for the pump wheel and the controller into the workflows. Thereby, parameters of the pump wheel and controller are calculated. Design results are automatically transferred to CAD. A workflow is created, testing the cooling circuit’s behaviour against requirements, combining a Simulink control model and a Simcenter Amesim heat transfer model. The approach results in a framework for automated design and test processes.