Modeling and Simulation
A model represents something real or abstract. From our birth, we build mental models of things we encounter in our daily lives. Children play with toys that are models of various real objects. In our childhood, we enjoyed building models using Lego or Er
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Abstract A model represents something real or abstract. From our birth, we build mental models of things we encounter in our daily lives. Children play with toys that are models of various real objects. In our childhood, we enjoyed building models using Lego or Erector sets. Today, it is within our grasp to build interactive models on our personal computers that can simulate problems we encounter in our personal and professional lives. Interactive models help us to understand the working of systems better than is possible with words or illustrations. They allow us to build better systems and to optimize those that are in existence. This chapter discusses the importance of modeling and simulation for understanding system behavior. It illustrates various mental, conceptual, and interactive models. It describes some of the software packages for modeling and simulation that are available in the market. It illustrates the simulation of systems, such as first-order lag, auto inventory in a dealership, and youth violence. Finally, it discusses artificial neural network for model building and the various uses of modeling and simulation.
5.1
What Is a Model?
The word “model” has many different connotations that vary between persons and situations. Children play with model trains and airplanes, which may be physically similar but much smaller and they work very differently
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 A. Ghosh, Dynamic Systems for Everyone, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-43943-3_5
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Dynamic Systems for Everyone
from real objects. On the other hand, automobile and other manufacturers build models that are prototypes to try them out before starting full-scale productions. The Oxford English dictionary defines it as “A simplified (often mathematical) description of a system to assist calculations and predictions,” which fits well from our system perspective. Thus, models are descriptions or representations of something material or abstract. They are simplified representations of real systems intended to aid in their understanding. Simulation, on the other hand, is the operation of a model, enabling one to observe the behavior of the modeled system under normal and abnormal conditions and its behavior over longer time scales than is practically possible with a real system. Engineers and social scientists often use models to represent some selected aspects of a real system or a system to be designed or built. These models are then used to simulate their behavior for better understanding, designing, implementation, and improvements of those systems. Yet there is nothing new about modeling. We carry many different models in our heads; they include our view of our immediate environment, our relationships with our friends, colleagues, and relatives, or a simple route map from our home to a grocery store. However, as mechanical, industrial, and social systems get more complex, it becomes more difficult to generate and remember those mental models accurately and more difficult to discern how they work and in
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