DiscreteRate Sandbox
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sim time t = 0

Fast-Slow Drain · tank view

Same physical tank rendered three ways. Watch how each worldview's level updates as the simulation runs — smooth, stepped, or snapped.

CONTINUOUS smooth, every time slice 0 % ~thousands of time slices DISCRETE EVENT step per drop in / out 0 % events 0 DISCRETE RATE events on rate change only 0 % events 0 current phase: FILLING (rate +)
~1000Continuous slices
0DES events
0DRS events

Fast-Slow Drain · level over time

Discrete event is a staircase (one step per integer-% change). Discrete rate is piecewise-linear with 10 anchor points — start, 4 FULL, 4 EMPTY, end. The fill slope (+0.7 ton/min after cycle 1) and drain slope (−1.1 ton/min) are asymmetric — that's the “fast slow” in the name.

sim time → level (%) Continuous Discrete Event Discrete Rate CONT DES DRS 0 0 0 event density — one tick per simulation event  |  right-edge count = events fired so far

Hamburger Duo · line view

5-stage line, two worldviews on the same clock. DES (top) tracks each burger; DRS (bottom) shows stage rates as bars. An Amber DRS bar = stage throttled by downstream backpressure.

DES DRS Source 300 / 300 DEFROST 0.20/min Thawed 0/15 COOKER 0.25/min Cooked 0/5 SEASONING 0.18/min Served 0 / 300 Source 300 / 300 DEFROST Thawed 0/15 COOKER Cooked 0/5 SEASONING Served 0 / 300 events 0 events 0
0DES events
0DRS events
0Burgers served
SeasoningBottleneck (0.18/min)

Hamburger Duo · cumulative throughput

Same plant, same simulated clock, both worldviews. DES renders as a staircase (one step per burger arrival). DRS renders as a smooth diagonal (continuous flow). Both reach the same place at the same time — calibration holds.

sim time → burgers served DES staircase DRS linear

Valdez Tanker · harbor view

Pipeline (flow) fills the tank; tankers (items) arrive, dock, and load. The flow-to-item transition is where pipeline oil becomes ship cargo.

PORT OF VALDEZ · ITEMS + FLOW PIPELINE ↓ (flow) STORAGE TANK (flow) 1200 tb Flow → item BERTHS (loading) 3 berths TUG POOL 3 / 3 tugs available ——— VALDEZ HARBOR ——— ← ARRIVE empty (from Seattle) DEPART full → (to Seattle · unloading off-screen)
30Cycles loaded (365 days)
4500Tons delivered
12.5dMean cycle interval
150 tbTanker cargo
EVENT STREAM · Arrivals · docks · departures · loadings

Valdez Tanker · geographic view

The real Valdez Marine Terminal in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Watch the tanker traverse the canonical route — Marine Terminal → Valdez Narrows (the actual narrow bay) → past Bligh Reef → through Hinchinbrook Entrance to the Gulf of Alaska, then ~1,800 nautical miles south to Seattle (off-map).

Sim day Cycle / 30 Phase Distance traveled nm
30Cycles loaded (365 days)
4500Tons delivered
12.5dMean cycle interval
~1800 nmOne-way to Seattle

The sandbox is yours

Use it freely. Discrete Rate Simulation has been ChiAha's modeling primitive since 1990 — book a short call if you'd like to talk through your own model.