Fluid queue

In queueing theory, a discipline within the mathematical theory of probability, a fluid queue (fluid model, fluid flow model or stochastic fluid model) is a mathematical model used to describe the fluid level in a reservoir subject to randomly determined periods of filling and emptying. The term dam theory was used in earlier literature for these models. The model has been used to approximate discrete models, model the spread of wildfires, in ruin theory and to model high speed data networks. The model applies the leaky bucket algorithm to a stochastic source.