Automatic abstraction of multi-discipline analog models for efficient functional simulation

Multi-discipline components introduce problems when inserted within virtual platforms of Smart Systems for functional validation. This paper lists the most common emerging problems and it proposes a set of solutions to them. It presents a set of techniques, unified in an automatic abstraction methodology, useful to achieve fast analog mixed-signal simulation even when different physical disciplines and modeling styles are combined into a single analog model. The paper makes use of a complex case study. It deals with multiple-discipline descriptions, non-electrical conservative models, non-linear equation systems, and mixed time/frequency domain models. The original component behavior has been modeled in Verilog-AMS by using electrical, mechanical and kinematic equations. Then, it has been abstracted and integrated within a virtual platform of a mixed-signal smart system for efficient functional simulation.