SysML as a Common Integration Platform for Co-Simulations: Example of a Cyber Physical System Design Methodology in Green Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning Systems

Current approaches to building Cyber Physical systems including Energy Management Systems (EMS) design often rely on large monolithic models to represent the EMS. These models are typically abstract and simple to aid with performance. However, they can lack fidelity and detail, particularly with regards to physical aspects. This makes it challenging to extract valuable and accurate data from these models, such as sustainability metrics. Our approach to this problem is to employ a Cyber-Physical Systems Model-Based Design methodology that enables the use of various specialised multi-disciplinary models through Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) and a common integration platform based on SysML. We apply the approach to a heating, ventilation and air conditioning case study and show how the resulting data can be used to evaluate a design. In addition, we discuss how the approach supports the inclusion of dedicated models for the generation of precise sustainability metrics.