Types of Models BT - Modeling and Simulation in the Systems Engineering Life Cycle: Core Concepts and Accompanying Lectures

Abstract

A model is an abstraction of some system such as a man-made system or a natural system. The various uses of models are presented. The four basic types of models are discussed: iconic, graphical, analog, and mathematical. The different kinds of each of the basic types of models are described and where the different kinds are further divided into fundamental types they are presented. For example, the three different kinds of mathematical models, empirical, optimization, and structural, are described and the two different types of structural models, analytical and discrete-event simulation are presented. Lastly a discussion is given on model selection.