Subject: Exploring engineering ideas using Stock & Flow Models

Posted by Paul Newton on 10/20/2009
In Reply To:Exploring engineering ideas using Stock & Flow Models Posted by Robert Christopherson on 10/19/2009

Message:

Robert,

One cool example I've used with high school sophomores, and that they really enjoyed modeling, is on how a toilet works. I'm pretty sure the lesson (and solution) for this is from either Jay Forrester's "Principles of Systems" book, but it may be from "Study Notes in System Dynamics" by Michael Goodman, both of which are available from pegasuscom.com.

Another example I've used several times early in a short course on system dynamics that I teach to practicing engineers is from the 1996 book "Control System Dynamics" by Robert N. Clark. Chapter 2 introduces many simple control system examples and I use a model I built of the example in Section 2.2, entitled "Mass, Spring and Damper System." You can see a little about this on google books at http://books.google.com/books?id=lAJCIYxsSEwC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false. I traveling now, and so can't check, but it may be that I've lost my model of this in a computer crash I had late last year. But the equations are there and it shouldn't be hard to re-create the model.

Good luck!

Paul