Re-use of existing simulation models for DCS engineering via the Functional Mock-up Interface

The Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) is the result of a research program initiated by Daimler AG, further industrial companies, and several institutes, with the aim of enabling the exchange of dynamic simulation models between different simulation tools as well as their co-simulation. The upcoming release of the second version of this standard in 2014 is the motivation for the current investigation into possible uses in the process industry. The standard is therefore presented and discussed in general, but with focus on the needs of the process industry. This article also illustrates how a Functional Mock-up Unit (FMU) can be coupled to widely-used simulation tools and presents a concept for its coupling and implementation. The concept uses the open and well-defined Shared-Memory-Gateway provided by the SIMIT Simulation Framework.