What are the Different Types of Simulation Modeling?

There are many different types of simulation modeling used within businesses throughout the world. Computer simulation modeling is not only the primary method for designing buildings and aircraft, but it is also used to track sales and productivity in many other types of businesses. Another type of simulation modeling would be when corporations build scaled-down prototypes to test them in real-world scenarios like fierce winds or a strong tide. Many computer applications also use simulation modeling to add graphics to different processes so that they will appear more user-friendly.

Before the invention of the microchip and the modern computer, simulation modeling primarily referred to building a three-dimensional object that was the same scale as the intended project. Once this process was completed, scientists could then test their model in real-world conditions and simulate hundreds of years worth of stress and erosion in a matter of days. Items like wind machines, ultraviolet lasers, and other devices are used to reap havoc on the model in every possible scenario, and this technique would help identify design flaws that needed to be updated. Although many of these research techniques are now automated on a computer screen, several industries still employ these same tactics when it comes to checking the structural integrity of their creations.

Simulation modeling in the architecture industry allows contractors to create structures in completely unique shapes and sizes that have never before been tested. While this may not seem like much of an accomplishment, it is essential to ensure that the geometric shapes created will be sturdy enough to support tremendous amounts of downward pressure throughout the building's lifetime. The mathematics involved with verifying these calculations would previously take architects months to compute without the aid of simulation modeling, and this advancement allows for the design of schematics that were previously never thought possible. In fact, almost every product created for consumers goes through a modeling process.

Many other industries use simulation modeling for different purposes. An accountant, for example, would track the changes in a client's revenue to determine future probabilities, while a printer would use this process to determine the most cost-effective way to prepare a project for a client. Corporations typically love using simulation modeling is sales presentations to show the quality or durability associated with their products, and the same types of automated spreadsheets can often be found within classrooms and colleges as a teaching aid. Another type of simulation modeling is popular within sporting venues to determine every factor of the competition before it takes place in order to predict a winner.