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Modeling Tools for Environmental Engineers and Scientists

Modeling Tools for Environmental Engineers and Scientists

Modeling Tools for Environmental Engineers and Scientists

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would solve the problem with just m equations. When the equations are interrelated,building a general model to simulate the system by traditional methodsbecomes complex.7.4 DYNAMIC SIMULATION-BASED SOFTWARECommonly available dynamic simulation software are Extend 9 ,ithink ®10 , Simulink ®11 , etc. Dynamic simulation packages typically feature aflow diagram interface, enabling modelers to assemble a flow diagram of thesystem being modeled using graphical icons. The icons contain preprogrammed“subroutines” <strong>and</strong> can take one or more inputs, per<strong>for</strong>m a calculation,<strong>and</strong> produce an output. The icons are assembled in an ordered fashionby the modeler to represent the mathematical model. The flow diagrams arenot only mere visual representations of the system being modeled, but arealso “active” in that they can simulate the system based on the underlyingmathematical model encoded.The icons that are used to build the flow diagram are comparable, in a way,to the cells in the spreadsheet programs. Whereas the links between the cellsare “abstract” <strong>and</strong> not normally visible in the spreadsheets, the links betweenthe icons in the dynamic packages are “physical” <strong>and</strong> visible. (It is possibleto show the links between cells in Excel ® , <strong>for</strong> example, by turning on theTrace Precedents <strong>and</strong> Trace Dependents feature through the <strong>Tools</strong> > Auditingmenu.) Spreadsheets, however, represent a snapshot of a system, whiledynamic simulation packages provide an equivalent of a moving picture. Thefollowing three dynamic simulation packages are illustrated in this book:Extend , ithink ® , <strong>and</strong> Simulink ® . Specific features of these three packagesare outlined next.7.4.1 Extend The capability of Extend to h<strong>and</strong>le dynamic models enables problemsinvolving time-based variations of the inputs be modeled with ease. Extend can h<strong>and</strong>le discrete or continuous variables <strong>and</strong> linear or nonlinear systems.It has a built-in library of programmed subroutines in the <strong>for</strong>m of icons thatcan take one or more inputs, per<strong>for</strong>m some calculation, <strong>and</strong> produce an output.The icons are provided with input <strong>and</strong> output connectors, <strong>and</strong> the model is constructedin the <strong>for</strong>m of a block diagram, by interconnecting icons in an orderedfashion. The developer can also build custom icons with custom functions by9 Extend is trademarked by Imagine That, Inc. All rights reserved.10 ithink ® is a registerd trademark of High Per<strong>for</strong>mance Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.11 Simulink ® is a registered trademark of The MathWorks, Inc. All rights reserved.© 2002 by CRC Press LLC

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