Particle system:: Motion analysis

In this paper, we discuss use of particle systems, as understood in computer science, in modeling and simulating everyday engineering problems. Then, the task is to analyze the resulting dynamics, to differentiate physically accurate and true properties from artificial properties. For this purpose, as the main contribution in this paper, we propose a convergence based technique called simulated tendency. It is particularly suited for analysis of finite data series, that is, particle system dynamics. Moreover, for particle systems, simulated tendency reveals a necessary condition for physically accurate simulation. We also exemplify use of simulated tendency in analyzing the dynamics of a particle system modeling an inelastic bouncing wheel. Such a wheel is an intuitively clear example with well understood ideal dynamics, but for which the particle system model displays some intricacies not present in the ideal dynamics.