Abstract for: Quantitative systems dynamics: Comparison of modeling techniques for the simulation of electro-mechanical systems

This paper presents some comparative examples of the use of system dynamics (SD) for the modeling of electro-mechanical systems. The authors argue that many simulation models coming from sciences can be easily translated to SD, with a large number of advantages. The work has been developed in a multidisciplinary environment, where a lack of knowledge transfer between practitioners of these dierent disciplines is appreciable. In everyday practice, it does not exist a clear methodology to evolve from a classical engineer education to a system dynamics approach, from mathematical thinking to SD thinking. As engineers are xed to quantitative results to specic problems, they need strictly quantitative models, and this use to be a critical point to SD where there is a large amount of qualitative modeling and quantitative modeling with soft variables. Through the comparison of the same problems solved with dierent modeling techniques, it is possible to show the advantages and disadvantages of each of them, and improve to a better understanding of both approaches.