Steps for Defining a Lookup Table

The dialog for a Lookup Table element looks like this:

The following steps are required to define a Lookup Table:

1. You first specify the Table Dimensions. To do so, you select one of three radio buttons: 1-D, 2-D or 3-D. This determines how many independent variables the Lookup Table has.

2. You specify the Units in which the data in the table will be specified for each independent variable. For a 1-D Table, you must specify the Row Units. For a 2-D table, you must specify the Row and Column Units. For the 3-D Table, you must specify the Row, Column and Layer Units. In all cases, you must also specify the Result Units. These are the units in which the data in the table will be specified for the dependent variable (i.e., the result or output of the table).

3. You can optionally specify a Name for each independent variable. This simply adds labels to the data table (in step 4 below) to make it easier for you to enter (and view) the data.

4. You specify data points which define your table. This consists of a dependent variable value for each of a number of specified combinations of the independent variables. You can specify this data table manually (by typing or pasting in the data), you can import the data from a text file, or you can link the data directly to an external data source (such as a spreadsheet file).

5. GoldSim determines the value of the dependent variable for any combination of values of the independent variables by interpolating between the data point supplied in the table. You must specify how you want to carry out the interpolation (e.g., linear, log, next lower), and how you want GoldSim to handle combinations of variables that are outside the range of data supplied in the table (e.g., should GoldSim extrapolate?).

Steps 4 and 5 are discussed in detail in the topics below.