Page 316 - Dynamics and Control of Nuclear Reactors

APPENDIX

Matlab and Simulink:

A brief tutorial G

G.1 Introduction
Simulink is a companion program to MATLAB, and is a software system for sim-
ulating dynamic systems, both linear and nonlinear. “It is a graphical menu-driven
program that allows the user to model a system by drawing a block diagram on the
computer screen and manipulating it to simulate various system responses”. It can be
used for linear, nonlinear, continuous-time, discrete-time, single-input single-output
(SISO) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. Linear time-invariant
system models can be easily constructed using transfer functions [1]. State-space and
transfer function models and their solutions are discussed in this tutorial.
System response plots can be made during simulation and can be integrated with
MATLAB commands. This tutorial discusses the following:

• Features of Simulink.
• Example of using Simulink for a first-order system.
• Designing a proportional-integral (P-I) controller using Simulink.
• Solving state-space equations

G.2 Getting started with simulink
Start the MATLAB program by double-clicking on the MATLAB icon. At the
MATLAB prompt ▶ type simulink.
• In the Simulink Library Browser window click on create a new model icon. This
creates a new window that is untitled.
• Open the Simulink directory by clicking on the +Simulink icon. Several items are
displayed, including the following:
▪ Continuous
▪ Discontinuous
▪ Discrete
▪ Look-up Tables
▪ Math Operations
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