ABSTRACT
Simulation models of plant or actuator dynamics are utilized throughout the development cycle of new control systems. They can be used to validate the performance of a single controller in the presence of parameter variation or to investigate the behavior when the control loop is embedded within a larger system model. The models may be for desktop analysis or as part of a real-time test harness to validate the response of hardware components to simulated inputs. Whatever the application, efficient models are required whenever large numbers of simulations are to be carried out or where there are limits on the time available to update the model at each time step. To achieve this efficiency often requires that some simplifying assumptions must be made. This chapter aims to develop a systematic approach to developing models that maintain the inherent nonlinear behavior of a hydraulic circuit but that are based on a simplified representation of fluid dynamics.
