The MathWorks has announced the Aerospace Blockset 2, which builds on the foundation of Simulink and Model-Based Design for aerospace vehicle modelling, simulation and visualisation.
New features bring high-quality flight simulation graphics to the desktop, where modelling and simulation is more accessible and economical than design and test conducted in a lab, according to MathWorks.
This version uses off-the-shelf, drag-and-drop representations of aerospace components from standards-based reference models. Consequently, engineers can use the Aerospace Blockset 2 to optimise vehicle subsystem configurations and perform subsequent trade-off studies earlier in the design stage.
New animation blocks in the Aerospace Blockset 2 Interface with FlightGear flight simulator software so that users can visualise vehicle dynamics in a 3-D simulation framework. Engineers can evaluate and verify complex flight dynamics before committing to a final design by using Simulink for multi-domain simulation and Model-Based Design.
The Aerospace Blockset 2 also extends support for navigation and tracking applications. Expanded modelling utilities—including transformations and equations of motion for world or Earth-Centred Earth-Fixed (ECEF) coordinates—lets engineers model high-orbiting and long-range vehicles. Similarly, point-mass models make possible the simplified representations characteristic of multiple-body modelling.
