petri net framework for the simulation and control of automated systems

This thesis presents a programming framework in the C language to execute a petri net simulation and real-time control for an automated system. This framework allows for the simulation of a proposed flexible automated system, and also the simultaneous development of the real-time control. The system is based on petri nets, which are used to model the system. Basic petri net theory and the construction of models using petri nets are discussed. The program is designed to allow a hierarchical structure to the petri net model, and a modular approach to the program design is taken using some concepts from object oriented programming. The program provides a time-based diagnostic system incorporated into the framework to detect problems during the execution of the actual system. An example application is provided to demonstrate the implementation of the framework to both simulate and control an actual system.