About MFM

A bit of history

In the early 1980's Professor Sten Bay Jørgensen and his group at the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) at Kongens Lyngby in Denmark developed a graphical modelling tool called DYQUID, which allowed engineers to discuss system behavior with operators and technicians at chemical plants without the details of the mathematical equations needed to describe the system behavior.

At the end of the 1980's Professor Morten Lind at the Department of Electrical Engineering also at DTU in a parallel development created Multilevel Flow Modelling or MFM based on the action ideas of von Wright, and began modelling technical systems in the goals - means dimensions at different abstraction levels.

Develop MFM with Us

MFM is continuously being developed at a number of locations around the world: Harbin in China, Okayama in Japan, Malmø in Sweden and Kongens Lyngby in Denmark. If you want to be involved in MFM developement, then contact people at one of these locations, see the contact a group page.

Are you new to MFM?

If you are new to MFM, then our publications and reports section provide links to a number of publications about MFM and the application of MFM.

Do you believe in MFM?

Most human activity is based on achieving some goal using the means at our disposal. This holds for design of a new chemical plant, for operation of a nuclear power plant, or any other man made technical system (some in the community believe, that it also holds for non-technical systems, i.e. living cells and systems in the biosphere). Therefore is seams natural to model a technical system in the goal and means dimensions. This is what MFM is all about.

This MFM Community Portal envision a not to distant future, where engineers start by specifying a system goal and the means available to achieve this goal, and then using an MFM toolbox the engineer specifies the sub-goals to be achieved and prioritize conflicting goals, and then the MFM toolbox propose a design, which best achive the overall goal.