Methodology for synchronizing Discrete Event Simulation and System Dynamics models

Integrating Discrete Event Simulation (DES) and System Dynamics (SD) simulation methods require synchronization of their simulation clocks to ensure that actions are executed in an orderly manner. This paper presents a synchronization methodology for integrating DES and SD models. A hybrid simulation-based method consisting of SD components at the higher decision level and DES components at the lower decision level is expected to benefit from the developed method. The proposed methodology integrates DES and SD models on a single platform, which enhances the simulation of construction operations. It consists of three elements: (1) advancing mechanism, (2) DES advancing algorithm, and (3) messages sequence mechanism. The paper provides a description of the three elements of the synchronization method. An illustrative preliminary experiment that utilizes DES and SD engines is presented to demonstrate the use of the developed synchronization method and to illustrate its capabilities.