External pathways provide a mechanism by which
external program modules for contaminant transport (e.g., analytical, finite
element or finite difference transport models) can be directly integrated into
GoldSim. These modules are linked into GoldSim as DLLs (Dynamic Link
Libraries) at run time.
You determine the manner in which the External pathway operates on the contaminant mass it receives: the External pathway may be a simple one-dimensional representation, or could be a complex three-dimensional model.
You define the manner in which the External pathway is linked to the rest of the pathway network by specifying the input mass flux links (i.e., the pathway(s) which discharge mass to the External pathway) and the output mass flux links (i.e., the pathway(s) to which the External pathway discharges mass). GoldSim then automatically calls the function representing the External pathway at the appropriate times, passing the appropriate information back and forth between GoldSim and the function.
Integrating external contaminant transport modules into GoldSim requires that you develop a "wrapper" (or "shell") around your existing function, and in most cases, this will require only a limited number of programming modifications.
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