TCLab Simulator

A high-fidelity digital twin of the Temperature Control Lab (TCLab), designed for process control education and experimentation.

🚀 Live Demo

Overview

This web-based simulator provides a realistic physics simulation of the TCLab hardware, allowing users to experiment with heat transfer dynamics and feedback control without needing the physical device. It models the two-heater, two-sensor system with configurable physics parameters.

Features

🔬 High-Fidelity Physics

• Realistic Heat Transfer: Models convection, radiation, and conduction between heaters.
• Configurable Parameters: Adjust heat transfer coefficient ($U$), mass, specific heat ($C_p$), heater power factors ($\alpha_1, \alpha_2$), emissivity ($\epsilon$), and ambient temperature.
• Dynamic Visualization: 3D-style visualizer with real-time heat glow effects based on temperature and power.

🎛️ Control Systems

• Manual Control: Direct slider control of Heater 1 (Q1) and Heater 2 (Q2) power (0-100%).
• PID Controller: Built-in closed-loop PID controller with:
  • Configurable gains ($K_p, K_i, K_d$)
  • Individual setpoints for T1 and T2
  • Anti-windup protection
  • Smooth manual/auto switching

📊 Real-Time Analysis

• Live Plotting: Interactive real-time graphs for Temperature (T1, T2) and Power (Q1, Q2).
• Time Window Selection: View data for the last 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or the entire session.
• Data Export: Download full simulation history as CSV for analysis in Python/MATLAB/Excel.

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository

   ```bash
   git clone https://github.com/abe-mart/tclab-sim.git
   cd tclab-sim

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Run the simulator

   npm run dev

   Open http://localhost:5173 in your browser.

Physics Model

The simulation solves the following energy balance equations in real-time:

$$ \frac{dT_1}{dt} = \frac{1}{m C_p} [ U A (T_a - T_1) + \epsilon \sigma A (T_a^4 - T_1^4) + Q_{C12} + Q_{R12} + \alpha_1 Q_1 ] $$

$$ \frac{dT_2}{dt} = \frac{1}{m C_p} [ U A (T_a - T_2) + \epsilon \sigma A (T_a^4 - T_2^4) - Q_{C12} - Q_{R12} + \alpha_2 Q_2 ] $$

Where:

• $Q_{C12}$ is conduction between heaters
• $Q_{R12}$ is radiation between heaters

License

MIT License