21-02-2012, 11:43 AM
Continuous Simulation
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Why do we do this?
So far, we saw discrete event simulations. This is useful when our
problem is like a queue of events, sorted by the simulation time at
which they should occur.
Definition of continuous simulation
Continuous simulation concerns the modeling over time of a
system by a representation in which state variables change
continuously with respect to time.
An easy predator-prey model
Let the prey population at time t be given by x(t), and the
predator population by y(t). Assume that, in the absence of
predators, the prey will grow exponentially according to x0 = ax for
a certain a > 0. We also assume that the death rate of the prey
due to interaction is proportional to x(t)y(t), with a positive
proportionality constant. So:
