System verification of flexray communication networks through behavioral simulations

Internal vehicle communication networks are becoming highly distributed systems. The increase of the internal vehicle electronic system complexity requires higher performance and reliability, and the necessity of ensuring enough bus signal integrity increases the design verification effort. In this paper we present a system verification methodology of Flexray communication networks through behavioral simulations as well as the analysis of important parameters which influence the communication. The paper presents the verification of different network topologies through mixed-mode behavioral simulations and the evaluation of the most critical aspects of the physical layer. Modifications in the original topologies have been performed, and their effects have been analyzed. Additionally, we give special attention to the computational effort required for the behavioral simulations. The different topologies have been simulated with two bus line models (a lossless and a lossy), and the results are evaluated in terms of CPU usage time and accuracy. © 2010 IEEE.