Simulation synergy: Interconnecting simulation programs
David Andrew Bradley, Nate Blair · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · 1999
One of the drawbacks faced in increasing the use of simulation programs for renewable energy system design is that new models must be written in a specific programming language. Often times models developed for one platform must be translated to the language used by the simulation program. As an example, researchers use Engineering Equation Solver to develop steady state simulation models. However, in order to use those models within a larger system or in a transient mode with TRNSYS, the models must be rewritten in FORTRAN, a time consuming process. If better communication between programs existed, the problem would be greatly diminished. This paper describes the creation of a synergy between different simulation tools using three methods of linking programs together: calling other Windows programs, calling Dynamic Link Libraries, and using Dynamic Data Exchange.