Automated system modelling

System modelling can be viewed as a sequence of transformations taking a physical system through a sequence of representations to obtain an appropriate system model, in any of a number of forms. The first transformation is probably the most difficult to accomplish and always depends on the skill of the engineer: thus it probably cannot, and certainly should not, be completely automated. For this reason, it is important that the first representation should be `close´ in some sense to the physical system. Equally, it should contain enough information to generate all of the required models. Bond graphs are therefore chosen for the first representation in continuous system modelling. The intermediate transformations probably can, and certainly should, be completely automated. A set of tool for the purpose is described