How to couple Simscape Thermal Liquid/Thermal models with an Electrical Subsystem in Simulink?

Hi, I am building a closed-loop heating system powered electically in Simulink with Simscape using:

Yellow blocks: Thermal Liquid (pipes, tank, valves)

Orange blocks: Thermal domain (to model heat losses, etc.)

Electrical subsystem: done in Simulink ( black blocks)

I am making the main "components" of the heating system: E-boiler, Heat Pump, Water Tank and heating demand, made of the different types of components mentioned above. The water gets heated at the heat pump and e-boiler, gets stored in the water tank and then goes to the heating demand.

I’m stuck on how to connect the electrical part to the thermal/thermal-liquid part. For example, the e-boiler in the thermal-liquid loop is being electrical powered then it heats the water that then flows though the whole heating system. Is this possible?

I was also considering for a while to remake the electrical part with Simscape electrical, thinking it would be easier to connect. Is that the case?

I tried looking for components that can do this directly, but couldn’t find any.

My experience with MATLAB/Simulink is mostly from school projects, so I’m sure I’m missing a lot of things.

Any tips or advice would be very helpful. Thank you!

Answer 1

[Leepakshi]

Hey Sara,

To connect the thermal part to the electrical part in MATLAB Simulink, you typically use Simscape components with thermal ports or interface blocks that allow energy exchange between domains. Electrical elements like resistors, semiconductors, and batteries often have thermal ports that model heat generation from electrical losses, which can be connected to thermal networks for temperature effects.

Refer to Documentation on Buck Converter with Thermal Dynamics and Thermal Modeling and Management:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/sps/ug/buck-converter-with-thermal-dynamics.html

https://www.mathworks.com/help/sps/thermal-modeling-and-management.html

Thanks