I'm trying to model a vacuum pump (for moving large amounts of water) in simscape, but I've run into some problems using check valves. I've been using 'Varaible Head Three-Arm Tank' as the tank unit and have check valves controlling in- and out flow. The problem is that changes in the tank pressure is not available upstream (tank pressure is available, but I only observe changes at port A and not C (see figure in documentation)) and therefore the check valve is not working as intended.
I thought about replacing the valve with a Matlab function, but I don't know how to get the flow through (I'm not sure if it's possible?).
Any suggestions for how to fix this?
It's typically very difficult to debug a Simulink/Simscape model without the model. I'd recommend getting in touch with MathWorks tech support if you're observing unexpected behavior in your model.
To model a vacuum pump, you could also take a look at the various pump blocks available in the product. With the right parameters they might just do the trick.