Good Matlab/Simulink book

[Christopher Catto]

Question for those who have at least read some kind of a book on the above topic, or who regularly refer to it (iow it is above your desk on your bookshelf).

I was thinking of buying the following:

Mastering Simulink (Dabney, Harman)

There is also this book

Modern Control Design: With Matlab and Simulink (Tewari)

but i have not found any reviews and I do not wish to buy a control specific book unless I am forced to.

I own the Simulink Modeling Simulation Implementation book (someone was throwign it away and asked if I wanted it) which kind of explains each block in Simulink but with no real explanation as to how to apply this to reality. I wanted to start with some basic steering modelling. I know how to do this in CAD and also in Excel. Need to use my neurons to take it that step further to try out how Matlab/Simulink could help me learn. My point? Just to develop my knowledge, my skills and hopefully use it for my career. Nothing more than that. Like teaching yourself to touch type.

Now, I will try and figure out things myself but since I am not so apt for software I hope maybe someone can say "hey, i did this and this in my time at fsae and I had no clue but I read this and this and it helped a lot (possibly...)"

Any, self-declared Matlab/Simulink buffs out there? I know a couple of guys in the forum are keen on it.

Cheers http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[Christopher Catto]

Question for those who have at least read some kind of a book on the above topic, or who regularly refer to it (iow it is above your desk on your bookshelf).

I was thinking of buying the following:

Mastering Simulink (Dabney, Harman)

There is also this book

Modern Control Design: With Matlab and Simulink (Tewari)

but i have not found any reviews and I do not wish to buy a control specific book unless I am forced to.

I own the Simulink Modeling Simulation Implementation book (someone was throwign it away and asked if I wanted it) which kind of explains each block in Simulink but with no real explanation as to how to apply this to reality. I wanted to start with some basic steering modelling. I know how to do this in CAD and also in Excel. Need to use my neurons to take it that step further to try out how Matlab/Simulink could help me learn. My point? Just to develop my knowledge, my skills and hopefully use it for my career. Nothing more than that. Like teaching yourself to touch type.

Now, I will try and figure out things myself but since I am not so apt for software I hope maybe someone can say "hey, i did this and this in my time at fsae and I had no clue but I read this and this and it helped a lot (possibly...)"

Any, self-declared Matlab/Simulink buffs out there? I know a couple of guys in the forum are keen on it.

Cheers http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[B Hise]

What exactly are you trying to do as far as modeling steering?

For a geometrical steering analysis, I think regular matlab code is the most efficient route (even if you have SimMechanics). SimMechanics is great, once you figure out how to use it to get good data, kind of like starting out with Adams/Car.

However, for larger systems simulink can offer a more flexible solution. I've been running it quite a bit with great results. I haven't bought a book, I just wore out my F1 key. I would recommend hitting that key alot and making some simple models, its not too tough to get a hold of.

- Bryan

[D J Yates]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Any, self-declared Matlab/Simulink buffs out there? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes. I spent six months in the Modelling department at work (before transfering to design) where i worked with Matlab and Simulink everyday. I also used both plenty during my 3 years working in the FStudent team. I don't know everything there is to know about either product but i'm certainly at a level where, given a bit of time, i can build dynamic models of just about any mechanical system. Best of all is that apart from the first 10 mins of a lecture during the first year of my degree, i'm 100% self taught.

The ultimate reference for all things Matlab and Simulink and all that you'll ever need is the online product documentation (http://www.mathworks.com/access/helpdesk/help/helpdesk.html) on the Mathworks website. Other than that, just type "help" or "edit" in the command window, followed by a function or script name to do the obvious.

If you're wanting to model anything from steering to suspension to full vehicle models you might find Ahmed Shabana's book "Dynamics of Multibody Systems" useful. I did. It's not related to Matlab at all but does cover everything you could need to model all things mechanical. It shows all the maths in matrix and vector form, making it easily transferable to Matlab.

Also, for anyone already familiar with Matlab and Simulink, have a look at s-functions. You can represent any physical system with multiple degrees of freedom, however complex, as a single block within Simulink.

[Mike Cook]

I've spent a ton of time with matlab and sim mechanics. I never used any books. I just use the Matlab Help files. I find them to be very useful. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask. I found sim mechanics to be almost as good as adams for kinematic modeling (and much cheaper if you actually have to purchase the software).

Mike

[samphlett]

It's been many years (yikes, more than 17 now) since I first encountered Matlab. But I can still honestly say that you can learn it from the docs. There is such a low entry barrier that it's a productive tool from day one ... and then even more productive from day two, etc. Go to CSSM with questions when you get stuck (but not for homework). Duane's book is very good though.

[ben]

I learnt Matlab initially by using the help files. The best place to start online is the matlab files exchange where there are lots of white papers and user-submitted functions.

Secondly there's Cleve Moler's excellent book available free on the Mathworks website:

http://www.mathworks.com/moler/

Ben