Home Appliances Controls Development Using Model-Based Design

In past two years, Model-Based Design has been extensively used at Whirlpool for embedded software development to overcome various difficulties and complexities that typically arise during the design lifecycle of embedded software for closed-loop control systems. With Model-Based Design, Whirlpool can provide a single design environment so that developers can use a single model of their entire lifecycle for data analysis, model visualization, testing and validation, and ultimately, product deployment, with or without automatic code generation.

This presentation discusses how Whirlpool has deployed Model-Based Design, starting with a single platform (home appliances) and spreading across all four different platforms (cooking, dishwasher, and refrigeration), for controls algorithm development due to the numerous advantages the workflow offers. It also explains how the team has brought maturity into the testing process using different MathWorks tools. Whirlpool has deployed a model-based methodology, following these steps:

• Requirement capturing and review
• High-level and low-level requirements
• Review and finalization
• Importing Dymola Plant Model into Simulink^® using FMU Import (FMI Co-Sim and Model Exchange Interface)
• Development of control model using MATLAB^®, Stateflow^®, and Simulink
• Data management using data dictionaries
• Model verification using Model Advisor
• Model design error checking using Simulink Design Verifier™
• Model validation using Simulink validation and verification tools and Simulink Test™
• Model validation using rapid control prototyping
• Software-in-the-loop checking
• Code generation