Chrono::Electronics: an Open-Source Simulation Library for Electro-Mechanical Problems

The growing relevance of mechatronic applications, characterized by the tight interaction between mechanical and electrical domains, is driving the demand for accurate and efficient simulation tools. These simulations are particularly useful in robotics and automation, where mechanical sub-assemblies are coupled with various electric and electromagnetic devices, e.g. actuators or sensors. To support this class of applications, we present Chrono::Electronics - an open-source co-simulation solution for electro-mechanical systems. The library is designed to couple the multibody dynamics open-source engine Project Chrono, with the versatile open-source circuit simulator NGSpice, to solve complex electro-mechanical dynamic interactions. In this contribution we present the main features of the co-simulation library for electro-mechanical systems, featuring a fully reorganized structure and a renovated object-oriented architecture. The new framework introduces dedicated mechanisms for model and data handling, which improve the computational efficiency. In addition, the modular design of the utility enhances simulations results reliability and broadens the spectrum of possible applications through the introduction of subclasses for handling pre-defined, user-defined, and manufacturer-defined circuits. Beyond validating the proposed environment, we propose a novel methodology previously unexplored in this field, for the characterization of brushed DC motor parameters, based on a Bayesian Monte Carlo approach. Unlike existing techniques reported in the literature, this strategy provides a fundamentally different perspective on parameter estimation for real case applications. The method has been applied to an industrial DC motor, yielding highly accurate results and further demonstrating the framework's scalability and potential across electro-mechanical power applications where reliable modelling of electro-mechanical interactions is crucial.