DAE Tools

"DAE Tools is a cross-platform equation-based and object-oriented process modelling and optimisation software. It is not a modelling language nor a collection of numerical libraries but rather a higher level structure – an architectural design of interdependent software components providing an API for:

• Model development/specification
• Activities on developed models, such as simulation, optimisation, and parameter estimation
• Processing of the results, such as plotting and exporting to various file formats
• Report generation
• Code generation, co-simulation and model exchange

DAE Tools is initially developed to model and simulate processes in chemical process industry (mass, heat and momentum transfers, chemical reactions, separation processes, thermodynamics). However, DAE Tools can be used to develop high-accuracy models of (in general) many different kind of processes/phenomena, simulate/optimise them, visualise and analyse the results.
The following approaches/paradigms are adopted in DAE Tools:

• A hybrid approach between general-purpose programming languages (such as c++ and Python) and domain-specific modelling languages (such as Modelica, gPROMS, Ascend etc.) (more information: The Hybrid approach).
• An object-oriented approach to process modelling (more information: The Object-Oriented approach).
• An Equation-Oriented (acausal) approach where all model variables and equations are generated and gathered together and solved simultaneously using a suitable mathematical algorithm (more information: The Equation-Oriented approach).
• Separation of the model definition from the activities that can be carried out on that model. The structure of the model (parameters, variables, equations, state transition networks etc.) is given in the model class while the runtime information in the simulation class. This way, based on a single model definition, one or more different simulation/optimisation scenarios can be defined.
• Core libraries are written in standard c++, however Python is used as the main modelling language (more information: Programming language).

All core libraries are written in standard c++. It is highly portable - it runs on all major operating systems (GNU/Linux, MacOS, Windows) and all platforms with a decent c++ compiler, Boost and standard c/c++ libraries (by now it is tested on 32/64 bit x86 and ARM architectures making it suitable for use in embedded systems). Models can be developed in Python (pyDAE module) or c++ (cDAE module), compiled into an independent executable and deployed without a need for any run time libraries.

DAE Tools support a large number of solvers. Currently Sundials IDAS solver is used to solve DAE systems and calculate sensitivities, while BONMIN, IPOPT, and NLOPT solvers are used to solve NLP/MINLP problems. DAE Tools support direct dense and sparse matrix linear solvers (sequential and multi-threaded versions) at the moment. In addition to the built-in Sundials linear solvers, several third party libraries are interfaced: SuperLU/SuperLU_MT, Pardiso, Intel Pardiso, Trilinos Amesos (KLU, Umfpack, SuperLU, Lapack), and Trilinos AztecOO (with built-in, Ifpack or ML preconditioners) which can take advantage of multi-core/cpu computers. Linear solvers that exploit general-purpose graphics processing units (GPGPU, such as NVidia CUDA) are also available (CUSP) but in an early development stage."

http://www.daetools.com/