January 2016 - Simulating Active Feedback Control

This webinar was presented by Rick Kossik in January 2016. Below is a brief summary and video recording of the presentation. You can also download materials used during the presentation by clicking on the link(s) at the end of the article.

Most real-world models contain many interacting (positive and negative) feedback loops. Some feedback loops are “natural” and cannot be readily managed or controlled (e.g., water evaporating from a pond is an example of a process that forms a negative feedback loop). Others, however, are “intentional” negative feedback loops that are used for active feedback control of a system. That is, these are feedback loops that are part of the design of the system, and are used to make the system behave in a specified manner. A heating system controlled by a thermostat is the classic example of such feedback control. Pumping water to maintain a target water level is a simple water resource example.

In a webinar, presented by Rick Kossik, the proper way to represent such systems (e.g., by simulating a “deadband”) in GoldSim was discussed. He also illustrated how poorly represented systems can result in unrealistic oscillatory behavior. For a video recording of this webinar, click here.

Download webinar presentation materials: