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In this paper, a MATLAB-Simulink based general co-simulation approach is presented which supports multi-resolution simulation of distributed models in an integrated architecture. This approach was applied to simulating aircraft thermal performance in our Vehicle Systems Model Integration (VSMI) framework. A representative advanced aircraft thermal management system consisting of an engine, engine fuel thermal management system, aircraft fuel thermal management system and a power and thermal management system was used to evaluate the advantages and tradeoffs in using a co-simulation approach to system integration modeling. For a system constituting of multiple interacting sub-systems, an integrated model architecture can rapidly, and cost effectively address technology insertions and system evaluations. Utilizing standalone sub-system models with table-based boundary conditions often fails to effectively capture dynamic subsystem interactions that occurs in an integrated system.

Future Air Force intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, such as high-altitude Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAV), may drastically change the requirements of aircraft power systems. For example, there are potential interactions between large pulsed-power payloads and the turbine engine that could compromise the operation of the power system within certain flight envelopes. Until now, the development of large-scale, multi-disciplinary (propulsion, electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, thermal, etc.) simulations to investigate such interactions has been prohibitive due to the size of the system and the computational power required. Moreover, the subsystem simulations that are developed separately often are written in different commercial-off-the-shelf simulation programs.