ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we cover the numerical simulation of ordinary first-and second-order differential equations. We begin by discussing the difference between a numerical solution to a differential equation and an analytical solution, followed by a discussion of Euler’s method, which is the simplest technique for obtaining numerical solutions to differential equations. In practice, more sophisticated techniques are used but are not covered here. Instead, we introduce block diagrams, which are used as a way of entering differential equations into several computer software packages used for their numerical solution. Finally, we illustrate the use of one of these packages, Simulink®, to obtain numerical solutions to several mathematical models developed in earlier chapters.
