Tools and Languages for Modeling and Optimization of Large-Scale Dynamical Systems

High-level modeling languages are receiving increased industrial and academic interest within several domains, such as chemical engineering, thermo-fluid systems and automotive systems. One such modeling language is Modelica. Modelica is an open language, specifically targeted at multi-domain modeling and model re-use. Key features of Modelica include object oriented modeling, declarative equation modeling, a software component model enabling acausal connections of submodels, as well as support for hybrid/discrete behaviour. These features have proven very applicable to large-scale modeling problems in various fields. This contribution gives an overview of a project targeted at i) defining an extension of Modelica, Optimica, which enables high level formulation of optimization problems, ii) developing prototype tools for translating a Modelica model and a complementary Optimica description into a representation suited for numerical algorithms, and iii) performing case studies demonstrating the potential of the concept.