physicalmodel
Physical model is a tangible representation of a system or process used to study its behavior under controlled conditions. It is designed to capture essential features—such as geometry, materials, and boundary conditions—while simplifying other aspects to enable observation, testing, or training. In some contexts the term is written as physicalmodel in software or data catalogs, but the concept remains the same: a controlled stand‑in for the real object.
Physical models are one of several modeling approaches. They differ from mathematical or computational models, which
Construction and principles: Effective physical models rely on scaling and similarity. Geometric similarity preserves shape, while
Applications include aerospace (wind tunnel and flight-model tests), civil and mechanical engineering (structural and fluid models),
Limitations include imperfect fidelity due to scaling, material differences, and finite boundaries. Some phenomena, such as