Palm William J. System Dynamics

3rd edition. — New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2014. — 926 p. — ISBN: 978-0-07-339806-8.System dynamics deals with mathematical modeling and analysis of devices and processes for the purpose of understanding their time-dependent behavior. While other subjects, such as Newtonian dynamics and electrical circuit theory, also deal with time-dependent behavior, system dynamics emphasizes methods for handling applications containing multiple types of components and processes such as electromechanical devices, electrohydraulic devices, and fluid-thermal processes. Because the goal of system dynamics is to understand the time-dependent behavior of a system of interconnected devices and processes as a whole, the modeling and analysis methods used in system dynamics must be properly selected to reveal how the connections between the system elements affect its overall behavior. Because systems of interconnected elements often require a control system to work properly, control system design is a major application area in system dynamics.About the author
William J. Palm III is Professor of Mechanical, Industrial, and Systems Engineering at the University of Rhode Island. In 1966 he received a B.S. from Loyola College in Baltimore, and in 1971 a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Astronautical Sciences from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. During his forty-two years as a faculty member, he has taught nineteen courses. One of these is a junior system dynamics course, which he developed. He has authored nine textbooks dealing with modeling and simulation, system dynamics, control systems, vibrations, and MatLAB.