Compartment

A compartment is a block that acts as an integrator of quantities of materials in a model. The quantity held within this block is calculated with a differential equation, where the input and output rates are defined by the transfer and transfer coefficient blocks.

Creating a compartment

From the Projects window

  • Expand the Project to which you wish to add the compartment by clicking the + symbol next to it. Right-click on ‘Blocks’, or a sub-system in ‘Blocks’, and select Compartment from the pop-up menu.

From the Model window

  • Right click an empty diagonal cell of the matrix and select Compartment from the the pop-up menu.

From the Blocks window

  • Place the mouse anywhere over the area of this window and right-click on it. Select Create | Compartment from the pop-up menu, or

  • In the title bar, select Compartment from the Type drop-down list and click on the New button.

Editing a compartment

Note Most block properties can be edited directly in the blocks window.

The block editor is shown by right-clicking the block in a window and selecting Edit. In the Blocks window, you can also show the block editor by selecting the block and clicking the Edit button, or by double-clicking the right-most “validation” column of the block.

The block editor has three tabs:

Properties

This page lets you edit basic properties such as name, sub-system and base unit. See editing properties for more information.

Matrix

This page lets you edit the visual properties of the block in the Model window. See Editing matrix properties for more information.

Values

This page lets you specify initial conditions and other index specific properties.

Dimension - You can specify the dimension of the block by using the Type drop down list. Depending on the dimension the index drop down lists are activated. Note that compartments can only be either scalar or vector.

Data

  • Indices - For blocks that are non-scalar, the first columns will specify indices from the index lists. This allows you to specify different expressions for different indices. The top row is named “default” and can be used when the same value should be set for all indices.

  • Initial Condition - Allows you to enter an expression for the initial inventory of the corresponding material. Note that a value, a parameter or an Expression in the initial condition is evaluated when the simulation is started and time = t0. The Expression editing tool is available to help the user to enter and edit data.

  • dy/dt - Lets you add extra term to the differential equation of the compartment. This feature is useful, for instance, for a simple integration of values where it is not logical to modify the state of the compartment through transfers.

  • Non-negative – If set, the inventory of the compartment cannot be negative. Default = “disabled”

  • Abs. error tol.– Sets the absolute error tolerance for the given material. If empty, the “global” value set in simulation settings is used. Default = <empty>

  • Information - By using the Table control button you can display more columns that will help you document your model.

See also