How to Run a Simulink Model from a MATLAB Script

Learn how to seamlessly run a Simulink model from a MATLAB script with detailed steps and essential commands to streamline your simulation processes. Perfect for engineers and researchers using MATLAB and Simulink.
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Running a Simulink model from a MATLAB script can significantly enhance your workflow by allowing you to automate simulations, integrate them into larger scripts, and parameterize them more easily. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to achieve this.

Step-by-Step Guide

Setting Up Your Environment
Before you start, ensure that both MATLAB and Simulink are properly installed on your system. Open MATLAB and make sure you can access Simulink.

Create or Open a Simulink Model
You can either create a new Simulink model or open an existing one. For this example, we'll assume you have a model named my_model.

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Configuring Model Parameters
You might want to configure various parameters of your Simulink model programmatically. This can include setting solver options, start and stop times, and other configuration parameters.

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Running the Simulink Model
To run the model from your MATLAB script, use the sim command. This command allows you to specify the model name and any additional simulation options.

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The sim function returns a Simulink.SimulationOutput object that contains the simulation results, which you can analyze or process further.

Parameterizing Your Model
You can pass parameters to your Simulink model from your MATLAB script, which is useful for running simulations with different sets of inputs without manually changing the model each time.

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Handling Simulation Results
After running the simulation, you can access the results stored in the simOut object. For example, to get the simulation output time and data:

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You can then plot or analyze this data as needed.

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Example Script
Here’s a complete example script that puts it all together:

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Conclusion
Running a Simulink model from a MATLAB script provides flexibility and automation capabilities that are essential for complex simulations and model-based designs. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can efficiently control and run your Simulink models directly from MATLAB, enabling a smoother and more integrated workflow.