Component-based software engineering has been championed because they can be used to shorten the development cycle of system and therefore lower the costs. This research presents a modeling method that integrates the principle of divide and conquer and the use case concept to help model component-based software effectively. A real-world case is modeled and a system is developed to illustrate the concepts, application, and the advantages of using proposed methodology.

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test platform for planetary rovers was designed, fabricated and tested in the present work. The ability for planetary rover designers and mission planners to estimate the rover’s performance through software simulation is crucial. HIL testing can further the benefits of software simulations by allowing designers to incorporate hardware components within traditionally pure software simulations. This provides more accurate performance results without having access to all hardware components, as would be required for a full prototype testing. The test platform is designed with complete modularity such that different types of tests can be performed for varying types of planetary rovers and in different environments. For demonstrating the operation of the test platform, however, the power system operation of a solar powered rover was examined. The system consists of solar panels, a solar charge controller, a battery, a DC/DC converter, a DC motor and a flywheel. In addition, a lighting system was designed to simulate the solar radiation conditions solar panels would experience throughout a typical day. On the software side, a library of component models was developed within MapleSim and model parameters were tuned to match the hardware on the test bench. A program was developed for real-time simulations within Labview allowing communication between hardware components and software models. This program consists of all the component models, hardware controls and data acquisitioning. The GUI of this program allows users to select which component is to be tested and which component is to be simulated, change model parameters as well as see real time sensor measurements for each component. A signal scaling technique based on non-dimensionalization is also presented, which can be used in an HIL application for obtain scaling factors to ensure dynamic similarity between two systems. A demonstration of power estimation was performed using the pure software model simulations as well as the pure hardware testing. Hardware components were then added into the software simulation progressively with results showing better accuracy as hardware is added. The rover’s power flow was also estimated under different load conditions and seasonal variation. These simulations clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of an HIL platform for testing a rover’s hardware performance.

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test platform for planetary rovers was designed, fabricated and tested in the present work. The ability for planetary rover designers and mission planners to estimate the rover’s performance through software simulation is crucial. HIL testing can further the benefits of software simulations by allowing designers to incorporate hardware components within traditionally pure software simulations. This provides more accurate performance results without having access to all hardware components, as would be required for a full prototype testing. The test platform is designed with complete modularity such that different types of tests can be performed for varying types of planetary rovers and in different environments. For demonstrating the operation of the test platform, however, the power system operation of a solar powered rover was examined. The system consists of solar panels, a solar charge controller, a battery, a DC/DC converter, a DC motor and a flywheel. In addition, a lighting system was designed to simulate the solar radiation conditions solar panels would experience throughout a typical day. On the software side, a library of component models was developed within MapleSim and model parameters were tuned to match the hardware on the test bench. A program was developed for real-time simulations within Labview allowing communication between hardware components and software models. This program consists of all the component models, hardware controls and data acquisitioning. The GUI of this program allows users to select which component is to be tested and which component is to be simulated, change model parameters as well as see real time sensor measurements for each component. A signal scaling technique based on non-dimensionalization is also presented, which can be used in an HIL application for obtain scaling factors to ensure dynamic similarity between two systems. A demonstration of power estimation was performed using the pure software model simulations as well as the pure hardware testing. Hardware components were then added into the software simulation progressively with results showing better accuracy as hardware is added. The rover’s power flow was also estimated under different load conditions and seasonal variation. These simulations clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of an HIL platform for testing a rover’s hardware performance.

The development and expansion of the federal universities throughout the past years, due to the plans of expansion implemented with the funds from REUNI (The program of supporting for the restructuring and expansion of Federal Universities), suggest the necessity of improving the electrical installations of these institutions in order to meet the new power demand in a planned and efficient way. The subject which is related to the growing costs of electrical energy and investments in electrical installations in teaching institutions, faced with its economic relevance, represents, nowadays, an extremely relevant theme. Therefore, currently, it is possible to observe efforts directed to enhance the procedure of quality and efficiency diagnosis of the electrical energy of a campus. Embedded in this context is this dissertation, which is linked to a measurement plan, analysis methods and data comparison with reference values and the use of tools for modeling and computer simulation. This way, the present work presents four different kinds of contribution to the current state-of-the-art. The first contribution is associated to the obtention of typical charge curves and tax modal analysis chart which seem to be most adequate for a university campus. The second contribution is associated to the methodology of data analysis and the installation diagnosis in terms of power quality. As a third contribution of this work, we have the modeling of the electrical system of installation with the use of the ATP (Alternative Transients Program) computer tool. As a final contribution one can highlight the computer modeling and simulation to identify the harmonic contributions both to the local power utility and to the campus installations, together with the point of common coupling. The obtained results show that the methodology in use is very useful in the daily management of the processes associated with the use of the electrical energy in the installations of a university. / O crescimento e a modernização da carga das universidades federais ao longo dos últimos anos, em função de seus planos de expansão propostos e financiados com recursos do Programa de Apoio a Planos de Reestruturação e Expansão das Universidades Públicas (REUNI), sugerem a melhoria das instalações elétricas destas instituições para atender as novas demandas de energia elétrica de forma planejada e eficiente. O assunto relacionado aos crescentes custos com a energia elétrica e investimentos nas instalações elétricas em instituições de ensino, diante da sua relevância econômica, representa, na atualidade, tema de extrema importância. Por conseguinte, constata-se, no momento, esforços direcionados para melhor consubstanciar os procedimentos de um diagnóstico de eficiência e qualidade da energia elétrica de um campus universitário. Nesse contexto se insere a presente dissertação de mestrado, a qual se encontra associada a um plano de medição, a métodos para análise e comparação de dados com valores de referência e ao uso de ferramentas para modelagens e simulações computacionais. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho apresenta quatro contribuições ao estado da arte atual. A primeira contribuição está associada com a obtenção de curvas de carga típicas e de tabelas de análise da modalidade tarifária mais adequada para um campus universitário. A segunda contribuição do trabalho, por sua vez, está vinculada com a metodologia de análise de dados e de diagnóstico da instalação quanto à qualidade da energia elétrica. Na sequência, como terceira contribuição do trabalho, tem-se a modelagem do sistema elétrico da instalação em estudo utilizando-se a ferramenta computacional ATP (Alternative Transients Program). Finalmente, propõe-se uma modelagem e simulação computacional para identificar as contribuições harmônicas tanto da concessionária de energia elétrica local quanto das instalações do campus, junto ao ponto de entrega de energia elétrica. Os resultados obtidos mostram que as metodologias utilizadas são de grande utilidade na gestão diária dos processos associados ao uso da energia elétrica nas instalações de uma universidade. / Mestre em Ciências