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The trend of moving towards model-based design and analysis of new and upgraded aircraft platforms requires integrated component and subsystem models. To support integrated system trades and design studies, these models must satisfy modeling and performance guidelines regarding interfaces, implementation, verification, and validation. As part of the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Integrated Vehicle and Energy Technology (INVENT) Program, standardized modeling and performance guidelines have been established and documented in the Modeling Requirement and Implementation Plan (MRIP). Although these guidelines address interfaces and suggested implementation approaches, system integration challenges remain with respect to computational stability and predicted performance over the entire operating region for a given component. This paper discusses standardized model evaluation tools aimed to address these challenges at a component/subsystem level prior to system integration.

An allocation algorithm for optimally assigning the various subsystem simulations, within a distributed heterogeneous simulation, to a specific set of computational resources has been developed. This algorithm uses a cost function that approximates the simulation execution time for each of the subsystems based upon the model complexity and the performance parameters of the available computer resources. The cost function is then evaluated to determine the optimal allocation that ensures the overall simulation execution time is minimized. In this paper, the allocation algorithm is applied to a large-scale power-electronic-based aircraft electrical power system. This study system is comprised of ten component simulations that together are modeled by 85 state variables and include 74 switching devices. Both optimal and sub-optimal allocations are considered and the predicted simulation run times are verified experimentally.