PROPULSIM

A Model Based Design Software for Propulsion System Design

Onur Tunçer, Ferit Tunçer, Yekta Mirkan, Stanislav Grate
Melina Aero Technology Development and Design Bureau
onur.tuncer@melina-aero.com , ferit.tuncer@melina-aero.com
yekta.mirkan@melina-aero.com , stanislav.grate@melina-aero.com

th
RAENG LIF Alumni Event, September 26 2017, TÜBİTAK, Ankara

1 Stage of the project petitive advantage by providing high fidelity turbo-machinery

and engine component models within our libraries.
We have developed a rapid prototype for the core layer, one that
handles computations, under MATLAB environment. This core
2.4 Design of Experiments, Optimization
at the time being is able to solve the steady-state behavior of sim-
ple pipe networks and some turbo-machinery components. We and Statistics
also developed a user friendly graphical user interface (GUI) and Software will in-
started porting our MATLAB code into C#. Now, we can show a clude an auto-
stand-alone proof-of-concept desktop application demo that can matic design of ex- Figure 7: Aerospace and Energy Market Size
solve pipe networks that are defined by the user via drag and periments (DoE)
drop interactions. We also began implementing databases for tool in order to ex-
some standard components. As a next step we will start imple- plore a vast num-
menting Git integration which lets teams of all sizes to collaborate ber of design al- 4 The market size and opportunity
easily in a shared project. ternatives which is
impossible to do Aerospace and energy mar-
manually. Based kets globally represent a mar-
2 Short description of the project on the results of ket size of nearly a trillion
DoE analysis a re- dollars per year. In today’s
Development of power and propulsion systems is an iterative and Figure 4: Control Library Icons
sponse surface will software driven world soft-
costly task with typical design times spanning to about seven
be generated which will be used for optimization. This tool pro- ware has a large share in
years and an exponential cost . Our aim is to reduce iteration
vides insight into design alternatives and trade-offs. We will also this market, because software
cycle times at least 15%, by cutting 5% in the overall project cost.
incorporate a statistical uncertainty quantification tool into our plays a crucial role through-
Our software product ”Propulsim” is an object oriented software
software. Figure 8: Projected Market out the life-cycle. Model
for the model based design, simulation and optimization of power
Share by 2026 based design plays an ever in-
and propulsion systems, offering a concurrent and collaborative
creasing role in this lifecycle,
team design environment. 2.5 Co-Simulation and Data Exchange from preliminary design to plant control. We are estimating a
Software will have modest 1% estimate for the market share of model based design
two-way data ex- software in this market.
change capabili-
ties with third-
party proprietary
5 Route to market
applications such We outline a eight year projection from the start of the project.
as Excel, Mat-
Figure 1: Propulsim and Simenergy Logos
lab, Tecplot etc.
On top of that,
We are also developing another product ”Simenergy” which SaaS version will
shall be the energy sector counterpart of Propulsim. It will be provide data ex-
capable of solving power plant cycles (Rankine, ORC, combined change with other
cycles etc.) and targets energy customers. Both software are es- SaaS tools such
Figure 5: Sample Log File from a Simple
sentially thermodynamic cycle solvers, they have a lot in common. Pipe Network Simulation as Google Sheets,
This will enable us develop both software concurrently. Google plots etc.
Another goal is to provide co-simulation capabilities with com-
Figure 9: Discounted Cash Flow Analysis
mon third party software such as SIMULINK.
2.1 Conventional vs Model Based Design
As engineering systems be- • 2017 proof-of-concept complete
come more complicated, soft- 3 The technology and the intellec- • 2018 beta testing for Propulsim
ware dependent and com- tual property • 2019 Propulsim sold in local market
plex, model based design pro-
• 2020 First global customer for Propulsim
vides enabling technologies At the very heart of the software there is a robust differential-
for robust and cost-effective • 2021 Simenergy in the market
algebraic equation (DAE) solver which is capable of handling stiff
Figure 2: Propulsim GUI product development. Model systems of equations. What the program does actually is to con- • 2022 IPO in the AIM market of Borsa Istanbul
based development also helps vert the model defined by the user via drag and drop interactions • 2023-2026 Add-on software module development
to ensure design quality, functional safety verification and re-use into a DAE system of the following semi-explicit form. • 2026 50 million USD net present value
of design assets.Conventional silo design approach wherein each
component is optimized individually and put together in a system
only results in a sub-optimal design at the system scale. Model ẋ = f (t, x, z) 6 The Team
based design offers a holistic perfective that remedies this draw- 0 = g(t, x, z)
back. • Onur Tunçer, Founding Partner, Mechanical Engineer
Successful companies apply modeling and analysis of systems at Propulsim and Simenergy both are being built upon the MVVM • Ferit Tunçer, Computer Scientist
start of the process using model based design as early as possible (Model-View-ViewModel) architecture, and both will have two • Yekta Mirkan, Software Developer
and throughout component design, then integrating this informa- variants one a desktop application built using WPF technology, • Stanislav Grate, Aerospace Engineer
tion to address the full system. another one will be a web application using Silverlight. This not
• Nagihan Aydınlık, Graphical Designer
only minimizes redundancy, but also makes software maintenance
easier. The web application will be licensed with a Software-as- • Murat Özfırat, Business Development Consultant
2.2 Collaborative Working Environment
a-Service (SaaS) model. We believe that having a SaaS version • Mark Vellacott, Mentor
Propulsim offers a collabora- will democratize the market, empower individual and SME scale
tive working environment. A customers and reach a much wider user base generating constant
team of engineers can work revenue. 7 Investment
on the same design simulta- Software with its
neously. Within this frame- A discounted cash flow analysis puts Melina Aero’s net present
modular loosely-
work, they can either fo- value at 50 million USD in 2026.While performing the analysis
coupled yet co-
cus on different parts of the only revenues from desktop versions of Propulsim and Simenergy
Figure 3: A Turbojet Model herent architec-
in Propulsim GUI project or they may simulta- are taken into account. Revenue projections from SaaS version
ture will incorpo-
neously evaluate different al- were not considered. Therefore Melina Aero’s value for today
rate lots of de-
ternatives without hindering one another’s work. Distributed ver- is 5 million USD. We are therefore offering 20% equity in the
sign modules as
sion control offers new possibilities about how projects are shared company in exchange of 1 million USD investment.
well. These add-
and documented. This feature is expected to reduce overhead and on modules will
paperwork associated with documentation. enable the concep- Acknowledgements
tual design of en-
gine components. Figure 6: Model-View-View Model Design We acknowledge support from TÜBİTAK, and a Leaders in
2.3 Physics Based Modeling Pattern for Both Desktop and SaaS Delivery
This feature will Innovation Fellowship opportunity from the Royal Engineering
In order the simulation to be accurate fidelity of mathematical be aimed at providing a seamless preliminary-integrated-design Academy. Guidance from Mark Vellacott is also gratefully ac-
modeling must match the reality closely. We aim to gain a com- (PID) approach for the customer. knowledged.