Specifying the Inputs to an Information Delay

The properties dialog for an Information Delay A delay element that delays information signals, and does not enforce conservation of the signal. It is intended to be used to simulate delays in measuring, reporting, and/or responding to information. element looks like this:

Within the Information Delay properties dialog, the Display Units The units (e.g., m, g, $/day) in which an output is displayed within GoldSim. determine the dimensions An output attribute for an element that defines the dimensionality (in terms of Length, Time and other fundamental dimensions) of the output. of the Information Delay’s output. This output can only be specified as a value (it cannot be a condition), and can be specified as a scalar An output consisting of a single value or condition., a vector A one-dimensional array. or a matrix A two-dimensional array.. You can specify whether the Information Delay is a scalar, vector or matrix by pressing the Type... button. By default, the output of a new Information Delay element is a scalar, dimensionless value. You can, however, use Information Delay elements to operate on and create vectors and matrices.

The Input Signal and the Initial Value inputs to the Information Delay must have the same attributes (order and dimensions) as the output.

Note: The Initial Value must be a number or a link from a static variable (e.g., a constant Data element An input element intended to represent constant inputs in a model. or a Stochastic).

The Delay Time must have dimensions of time and must be positive.

Note: The Delay Time for an Information Delay must be greater than or equal to the timestep A discrete interval of time used in dynamic simulations.. That is, GoldSim cannot delay a signal for a smaller time period than a timestep. If you enter a Delay Time which is less than a timestep, GoldSim internally treats the Delay Time as being equal to a timestep. Delay Times that are less than or equal to zero will result in a fatal error.

The Dispersion drop-list provides three choices: “None” (the default), “Erlang n”, and “Std. Deviation”.

If one of the latter two is selected, you must enter a value which quantifies the degree of dispersion to the right of this field. If “Erlang n” is selected, you must enter a dimensionless value greater than or equal to 1. If “Std. Deviation” is selected, you must enter a value with dimensions of time. The value must be greater than or equal to zero and less than or equal to the Delay Time.

If the Information Delay is specified as being an array A collection of variables that share common output attributes and can be manipulated in GoldSim elements or input expressions. (i.e., a vector or a matrix), you can specify whether the Delay Time and Dispersion are defined as scalars (with the same value being applied to all items of the array), or as arrays (with different values applied to each item of the array). This is done via the Use scalar delay time and dispersion checkbox. If this box is checked (the default), the Delay Time and Dispersion must be entered as scalars. If the box is cleared (which is only possible if the element is specified as an array), the Delay Time and Dispersion must be entered as arrays.