Simulation of Discontinuous Systems
Kluwer Academic Publishers eBooks · 2006
PreviewIn this chapter, we shall discuss how discontinuous models can be handled by the simulation software, and in particular by the numerical integration algorithm. Discontinuous models are extremely common in many areas of engineering, e.g. to describe dry friction phenomena or impact between bodies in mechanical engineering, or to describe switching circuits in electronics. In the first part of this chapter, we shall be dealing with the numerical aspects of integrating across discontinuities. Two types of discontinuities are introduced, time events and state events, that require different treatment by the simulation software. In the second part of this chapter, we shall discuss the modeling aspects of how discontinuities can be conveniently described by the user in an object-oriented manner, and what the compiler needs to do to translate these object-oriented descriptions down into event descriptions.