Simulating Flow Control (June 2025)

Real-world water systems rely on a combination of physical components and control logic to manage processes, such as maintaining a target level in a reservoir. Pumps and valves are adjusted by automated systems or human operators to control inflows and outflows. GoldSim’s new Controller Element is designed to directly simulate this entire closed-loop feedback process. Watch the video recording of this webinar to learn how to use this powerful feature to model flow controls. We will demonstrate how you can provide the Controller with a dynamic operating target, and how it adjusts its output based on a "process variable," which reflects the state of the component it is aiming to control.

You'll see how this intuitive element simplifies model construction by replacing what would otherwise require complex, custom logic. The session will cover the differences between the Deadband, Proportional, and PID control methods using a simple example.

Below is a video recording of the webinar presentation:

Download the files used for this presentation:

• Network of Interconnected Ponds
• In GoldSim, go to the File menu and select Open Example... then browse into the General Examples folder and find the Controller folder, which contains many examples including the ones I demonstrated.