Integrated modeling through symbolic manipulation

• US 20050159934A1
• Filed: 01/15/2004
• Published: 07/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Jelinek, Jan, Gopal, Vipin, Haggerty, Alan
• Granted Patent: US 7,272,544 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/2
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 17/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30

Abstract

Integrated modeling and symbolic manipulation is leveraged for the derivation, construction, maintenance, and reuse of application-independent models. Related models created for different applications share a common ancestry and maintain model consistency while enabling the models to share information about the process. Environment independent proper ancestor models (PAMs) are created for generic components of a process, such as a distillation or flash column. Models underlying an application may be comprised of various representations of multiple such processes corresponding to many different physical components. PAMs contain symbolic representations of different sub processes that occur within a process or component. A user makes assumptions about the component, by indicating how sub processes are to be considered or not considered. PAMs are then modified in accordance with the assumptions to derive a specific environment model (SEM).

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of creating process models, the method comprising:

selecting a generic model for a component represented in a symbolic language;

choosing assumptions about a component to be modeled; and

applying the assumptions to the symbolic generic model to derive a component specific model reflecting the assumptions.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the generic model comprises symbolic representations that are environment independent.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the specific model reflects the environment of the process to be modeled.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the symbolic language is selected from the group consisting of Mathematica, Axiom, MAPLE and ADIFOR.

5. The method of claim 1 and further comprising maintaining a log of assumptions and applied model transformations.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the generic model comprises a proper ancestor model.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the specific model comprises a specific environment model.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein multiple specific models are derived from multiple generic models corresponding to multiple components in a process or manufacturing facility.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the generic component is a flash column.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the generic component comprises representations of parameters selected from the group consisting of the rate of change of the mass of vapor, rate of change of the mass of liquid, energy change of the vapor, energy change of the liquid, pressure equilibrium correlation, thermal equilibrium correlation, vapor and liquid enthalpy equations, equal pressure, gas law and volume correlation.

11. A system for creating process models, the system comprising:

means for selecting a generic model for a component represented in a symbolic language;

means for choosing assumptions about a component to be modeled; and

means for applying the assumptions to the symbolic generic model to derive a component specific model reflecting the assumptions.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the generic model comprises symbolic representations that are environment independent.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the specific model reflects the environment of the process to be modeled.

14. The system of claim 11 and further comprising maintaining a log of assumptions and applied model transformations.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein the generic model comprises a proper ancestor model.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein the specific model comprises a specific environment model.

17. The system of claim 11 wherein multiple specific models are derived from multiple generic models corresponding to multiple components in a process or manufacturing facility.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the generic component comprises representations of parameters for a flash column selected from the group consisting of the rate of change of the mass of vapor, rate of change of the mass of liquid, energy change of the vapor, energy change of the liquid, pressure equilibrium correlation, thermal equilibrium correlation, vapor and liquid enthalpy equations, equal pressure, gas law and volume correlation.

19. A computer readable medium having instructions for causing a computer to perform a method of creating process models, the method comprising:

selecting a generic model for a component represented in a symbolic language;

choosing assumptions about a component to be modeled; and

applying the assumptions to the symbolic generic model to derive a component specific model reflecting the assumptions.

20. A development environment for process modeling comprising:

a set of generic models, each comprising a environment independent symbolic representation of a component;

an interface that provides selectable environment specific assumptions for each component to be modeled; and

a set of environment specific representations of the components derived from the generic models based on the assumptions.