Terminate Simulink simulations in parfor loop after some run time

I am running multiple Simulink/Simscape models in parallel using a parfor loop and would like to stop simulations prematurely if they exceed a predefined time for running. Some of the simulations tend to get trapped with very small time steps, making them run for ages. These simulations need to be stopped.

I was inspired by the following piece of code:

model = 'mymodel';

load_system(model)

timeout = 10;

set_param(model,'SimulationCommand','start')

tic;

while(true)

if not(strcmpi(get_param(model,'SimulationStatus'),'running'))

disp('simulation exited')

break;

end

if toc>=timeout

disp('timout reached')

set_param(model,'SimulationCommand','stop')

break;

end

pause(1);

end

bdclose(model)

The code works nicely. However, when embedding this code in a parfor loop, I get the following error:

'You cannot use set_param to run a simulation in a MATLAB session that does not have a display.'

Is there a way to resolve this problem?

The regular 'sim' functionality does not allow to stop the simulation prematurely based on some run time. I looked for an alternative implementation in Simulink itself with a clock and 'Stop Simulation' object, but unfortunately there is no clock available which represents real-world time which can trigger the stop.

Answer 1

[Harald]

Hi,

a workaround would be to use the tic/toc functions inside a MATLAB Function block. Attachments currently don't seem to work on the platform, so I have added a screenshot. The code of the MATLAB Function block:

function y = fcn()
coder.extrinsic("tic", "toc")
persistent tstart
if isempty(tstart)
    tstart = tic;
end
y = 0;
y = toc(tstart);

Best wishes,

Harald

Answer 2

[Yifeng Tang]

Consider use the sim command to execute your model, and set a maximum simulation run time using the "TimeOut" option.

For example:

simin  = Simulink.SimulationInput("MyModel"); % simulation input for MyModel
simin  = setModelParameter(simin,TimeOut=60); % set up max wall clock
simout = sim(simin);    % run simulation

See this Documentation page: https://www.mathworks.com/help/simulink/slref/sim.html#mw_08a7f3fe-c802-4a32-908b-802508fde106

[Paul]

Also: setModelParameter