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Plant simulation and optimization software apparatus and method using dual execution models

  • US 5,666,297 A
  • Filed: 05/13/1994
  • Issued: 09/09/1997
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/13/1994
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. Apparatus for simulating and optimizing operation of a processing plant, the processing plant including a multiplicity of equipment and a multiplicity of operating parameters for the equipment, the apparatus comprising:

  • a digital processor having a working memory;

    a plurality of dual mode equipment models for simulating each piece of equipment in the processing plant, the plurality of equipment models collectively forming a plant model of the processing plant, there being a different equipment model for different equipment of the desired processing plant, each equipment model being formed of a set of equations and each equipment model being executed in the working memory of the digital processor in one of two modes, for a given equipment model, execution in a first mode providing numerical definition of an output stream of the corresponding equipment, and execution in a second mode providing calculation data required for iterative simultaneous solution of a total set of equations describing the plant model;

    a sequential simulation routine executed by the digital processor in the working memory for sequentially executing the equipment models in the first mode and obtaining therefrom numerical definitions of output streams of each corresponding piece of equipment to simulate the desired processing plant, said simulation being an initial simulation of the processing plant and including a first set of values for operating parameters of the processing plant defining operating conditions of the plant;

    an optimization and solver routine executed by the digital processor for executing the equipment models in the second mode and obtaining calculation data, the optimization and solver routine utilizing the first set of values for the operating parameters from the initial simulation and the calculation data to determine values of the operating parameters at which operating conditions of the processing plant are optimal; and

    a shared data storage area common to the sequential simulation routine and the optimization and solver routine for holding both (i) the first set of values for the operating parameters of the initial simulation and (ii) a second set of values of the operating parameters at which operating conditions of the processing plant are optimized as determined by the optimization routine such that the shared data storage area is common to execution of the equipment models in the first and second modes and enables the equipment models to interchange results from the first and second modes of execution in subsequent executions of the equipment models in the first and second modes.

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