Modeling, Simulation & Assessment

Modeling and simulation are important ways to generate research results without the cost and time spent creating working prototypes. Argonne's capabilities in modeling and simulation include sophisticated tools and software especially well suited to transportation applications. Users worldwide are benefitting from the Lab's toolbox, which includes:

Autonomie
The successor to PSAT, Autonomie has been designed to be used as a single tool throughout the different phases of model-based design of the vehicle development process. Model-based design is a math-based visual method for designing complex control systems and is being used successfully in many motion control, industrial, aerospace, and automotive applications. It provides an efficient methodology that includes four key elements in the development process: modeling a plant (from first principles or system identification), synthesizing and analyzing a controller for the plant, simulating the plant and controller together, and programming/deploying the controller. Model-based design integrates all these multiple phases and provides a common framework for communication throughout the entire design process.

Component-in-the-Loop
Component-in-the-Loop (CIL) systems and processes evaluate the impact of vehicle energy management schemes, component control unit parameters, and powertrain configurations on fuel and/or electrical consumption.

PSAT & PSAT-Pro
The Powertrain System Analysis Toolkit (PSAT) software, developed under the direction of Ford, General Motors, and DaimlerChrysler. This forward-looking model simulates vehicle fuel economy, emissions, and performance in a realistic manner--taking into account transient behavior and control system characteristics. PSAT can simulate an unrivaled number of predefined configurations (conventional, electric, fuel cell, series hybrid, parallel hybrid, and power split hybrid).

GCTool
The General Computational toolkit (GCtool), a versatile simulation software package developed by Argonne, uses a modular approach to integrate many of the detailed thermodynamic and component models developed during decades of fuel cell and power system research at Argonne and elsewhere.

GREET
GREET (Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation), a full life-cycle model, allows researchers and analysts to evaluate various vehicle and fuel combinations on a full fuel-cycle from wells to wheels/vehicle-cycle basis.

VISION
The VISION model has been developed to provide estimates of the potential energy use, oil use and carbon emission impacts of advanced light and heavy-duty vehicle technologies and alternative fuels through the year 2050.

Clean Cities Emission Benefit Tool
The Clean Cities Emission Benefit Tool will output annual carbon monoxide, volatile organic compound, nitrogen oxide, and greenhouse gas emission credits.

DOE H2A Delivery Analysis Model
The DOE H2A Delivery Analysis Model determines the scope of hydrogen delivery including everything between the production unit (central or distributed) and the dispenser at a fueling station or stationary power facility.

Idling Reduction Tools
These tools to help drivers and organizations characterize the time they idle in order to identify the most cost-effective ways to improve their idling profile.

Transportation Modeling and Simulation at TRACC
At the Transportation Research and Analysis Computing Center (TRACC), researchers create models and run simulations of transportation problems (crashes, bridge dynamics, evacuation scenarios, and more).

June 2011