Flows
The Flows Property is made available when the ST-Sim Stocks and Flows Add-On is enabled within the Library Properties. A Flow in ST-Sim represents the movement of a measurable unit in or out of a Stock. Inflows are flows that add to the quantity of a stock, while outflows are flows which deplete a stock.
Flow Type
All possible Flow Types within a system can be defined in the Flow Type sub-node. An example of Flow Types as applied to ecosystem carbon would be Emissions and Humidification, with units measured as tons of carbon. The fields for Flow Type are Name and Description (optional). Add optional fields to the table by selecting them from the right-click Context Menu.
Flow Group
Flow Groups are used for aggregated reporting of Flow Types, and are defined in the Flow Group sub-node. Certain stock/flow model parameters such as flow rate multipliers can be applied against Flow Groups. The fields for Flow Group are Name, Description (optional) and Units (optional). Add optional fields to the table by selecting them from the right-click Context Menu.
Flow Multiplier Type
Flow Multiplier Types are used to categorize the multipliers that can be applied against flow rates. There may be occasions where multiple multipliers can be applied against the same flow rate. For example, an annual variability multiplier may be applied against an NPP flow rate from atmosphere to biomass, while a climate trend multiplier may be applied against the same flow rate. To apply more than one multiplier against the same flow rate, each multiplier must be categorized as a distinct Flow Multiplier Type.