Looking to draw this block diagram in Tikz

Question

I'm looking to create something like this in Tikz environment. Any tips? help?

Answer 1

Using TikZ, some styles, the positioning, fit and calc libraries. Adjust the settings according to your needs:

The code (comments included):

\documentclass[border=10pt]{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{positioning,fit,calc}

\colorlet{mygreen}{green!80!black}
\colorlet{myblue}{blue!80!black}
\colorlet{myred}{red!80!black}

\begin{document}

\begin{tikzpicture}[
std/.style={
  draw,
  text width=2.5cm,
  align=center,
  font=\strut\sffamily
  },
rnd/.style={
  draw=#1,
  rounded corners=8pt,
  line width=1pt,
  align=center,
  text width=3cm,
  minimum height=2cm,
  font=\strut\sffamily
  },
vac/.style={
  text width=2.5cm,
  align=center,
  font=\strut\sffamily
  },
ar/.style={
  ->,
  >=latex
  },
node distance=0.5cm and 3cm    
]
%The nodes for the left
\node[std] (va)
  {Vehicle Age};
\node[std,below=of va] (fs)
  {Fan Strength};
\node[std,below=of fs] (vs)
  {Vehicle Speed};
\node[std,below=of vs] (cv)
  {Cabin Volume};
\node[std,below= 1cm of cv] (fr)
  {Fraction of Recirculation};
\node[std,below=of fr] (ac)
  {Ambient $CO_{2}$ Concentration};
\node[std,below=of ac] (op)
  {Occupant Parameters};

%The nodes for the center
\node[rnd,right=of va,yshift=-12.5pt] (aer)
  {Air Exchange Rate Determination};
\node[rnd=myblue,below=of aer] (cdm)
  {Carbon Dioxide Built-in Module};
\node[rnd=myred,below=of cdm] (vcm)
  {Vehicle Cabin Module};
\node[rnd=mygreen,below=of vcm] (hvac)
  {\textsc{hvac} Module};

%The nodes for the right
\node[vac,right=1cm of cdm] (occ)
  {Output $CO_{2}$ Concentration};
\node[vac,right=1cm of vcm] (the)
  {Thermal Environment};
\node[vac,right=1cm of hvac] (col)
  {Compressor Load};

%The dashed fitting node
\node[draw,dashed,inner sep=8pt,fit={(va) (cv)}]
  (fit) {};

% Some auxiliary coordinates for the arrows
\coordinate (aux1) at ( $ (va.east|-aer.west)!0.25!(aer.west) $ );
\coordinate (aux2) at ( $ (va.east|-aer.west)!0.50!(aer.west) $ );
\coordinate (aux3) at ( $ (va.east|-aer.west)!0.75!(aer.west) $ );

%The arrows from left to center
\draw[dashed,ar]
  (fit.east|-aer) -- (aer);  
\foreach \Nodo in {fs,vs,cv}
{
  \draw[ar,myred]
    ([yshift=5pt]\Nodo.east) -- ([yshift=5pt]aux3|-\Nodo.east) |- (vcm);  
}
\foreach \Nodo in {fs,vs,fr}
{
  \draw[ar,mygreen]
    ([yshift=-5pt]\Nodo.east) -- ([yshift=-5pt]aux2|-\Nodo.east) |- (hvac);  
}
\foreach \Nodo in {op,ac}
{
  \draw[ar,myblue]
    (\Nodo.east) -- (aux1|-\Nodo.east) |- (cdm);  
}
\draw[ar,myblue]
  ([yshift=5pt]fr.east) -- ([yshift=5pt]aux1|-fr.east) |- (cdm);  
\draw[myblue]
  ([yshift=-5pt]cv.east) -- ([yshift=-5pt]aux1|-cv.east);  

%The arrows from center to right
\foreach \Ori/\Dest in {cdm/occ,vcm/the,hvac/col}
{
  \draw[ar]
    (\Ori.east|-\Dest) -- (\Dest);  
}
\end{tikzpicture}

\end{document}