Modelling for environmental engineering students using MATLAB and SIMULINK

A teaching project is being developed with the aim of enabling students to quickly develop their own simulation models of water based eco-systems without the need to write computer programs. The vehicle for this is the commercial software MATLAB and SIMULINK. Initially, the method is being applied to model dissolved oxygen and BOD in a water body receiving a waste discharge. Simulations can include reaeration, nitrification, photosynthesis and respiration. Students are supplied with field data and their task is to identify the dominant processes, configure an appropriate model, select values for the kinetic constants and carry out model runs.