Petri nets in the qualitative modelling of systems

The paper discusses how Petri nets may be used for the qualitative modelling of physical systems. The qualitative state of a system is represented by the marking of the net. The crossing of a landmark value corresponds to the firing of a transition. Energy constraints may be introduced in the model to avoid spurious behaviors during the qualitative simulation. Two "classical" examples are fully discussed: a spring-block system and a bouncing ball system with and without energy dissipation.<
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