The Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator & Optimisation Suite Beyond the traditional concepts The Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator & Optimisation Suite offers far more than just an Operator Training System (OTS). It allows a Manufacturing Plant: Deep insight into the operating technology and full understanding of the nature of the process and control Production troubleshooting, improvements and optimisation Plant Operator and Production Engineer Training in start-up, shutdown, and emergency situations Testing alternative routes of running and controlling the production Online, Real Time and Predictive Process Simulation with offline, online and historical process data measurements Calibration of process/control models with trusted production data, online or historical Instrument reconciliation and control loop tuning, offline, online and with historical data Online monitoring of expensive equipment Online production troubleshooting Virtual measurement with soft sensors Online economic calculations The software allows a Turn-Key Engineering Company: Design or re-design of technologies in steady state and dynamics using offline, online or historical data approach Testing plant behaviour in operation, on start-up, shutdown and in emergency situations before the plant was actually built or re-constructed. Calculation of right set-points and controller settings taking the true nature of the process into account Analysis of interaction between control loops Increasing reliability and reducing costs of start-up or controller tuning for new or reconstructed plants The software The Suite consists of these pieces in one delivery: Online Process Simulation software PLANT2CC Real Time and Predictive Process/Control Simulation software PLANT2CCD Training Simulator Controller with: o Virtual Plant management o Signal Database management o Scenario Database management The Engine from Chemstations o CHEMCAD o CC-DCOLUMN o or CC-ReACS o CC-THERM Two main approaches The Suite takes two main approaches: The Online Process Simulation treats the measured (online or historical) data of the plant as the master for Process Simulation. This approach is ideal for an operating plant where data are available from visualization (SCADA) systems. The Online, Real Time and Predictive Simulation have been explained in PLANT2CC and PLANT2CCD presentation In Virtual Plant approach, a dynamic process/control model is a true blueprint of an operating or designed plant and it behaves and reacts to operator actions as if it were a true plant. The Virtual Plant can be calibrated by Online Process Simulation 1
Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator Purpose The Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator is to be used for operator training at the producing plant. Continuous, batch and semi-batch plants can be handled. Production incidents, breakdowns, equipment failures, instrument/valve upsets, planned maintenance or emergency shutdowns, manual/auto control and set-point optimisation as well as plant start-up can be practiced. The Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator is also to be used by Production, Engineering and R&D engineers to do Predictive Process Simulation what if studies. With the what if studies, optimal operating parameters and control settings for the plant can be found, production problem be troubleshot, and better design or re-design work can be done. Finally, the Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator can be used for Process Optimisation driven by real production data from the plant s control system. Six Degrees of Freedom The Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator is unique because it gives you freedom: 1. It is based on the market standard process simulation software from Chemstations (CC-ReACS/CC-DCOLUMN) that you are already using in Production, R&D and Engineering. Most of other Training Simulators do not use a process simulator for process/control model. As the effect, only the supplier has the access to the model. 2. Your operator will be trained on your own production unit model. If your technology undergoes modifications, you are free to modify the process/control model to reflect the changes made to the plant. Most of suppliers of other Training Simulators provide very general model for single equipment such as a compressor or a steam boiler. Some other suppliers provide production unit models that only they can modify as a paid consulting work. 3. The Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator is focused on a plant operator who is a Chemical Engineer, not a Control Engineer. Most of competitive Training Simulators are made by DCS vendors and are focused on Automation/Control aspects. 4. Your operator will be trained in your own graphics of visualization/scada system. Since the SCADA graphics is yours, it will already be in the language you use in your SCADA. You are free to further customize the SCADA graphics to reflect your special needs. Most of other Training Simulators come with own graphics only in English, and only the suppliers can modify the graphics. 5. The Scenario Database is open, and the Scenarios can be defined in your own language. If you would like to modify existing scenarios or add new ones, you are free to do it. Most of other simulators come with fixed scenario database you have no access to and you cannot change the language. 6. You have the freedom to do the Training in Real Time or in acceleration to real time based on Predictive Process Simulation. Most of competitive Training Simulators offer Real Time facilities only. The exclusive distributor of the Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator is Nor-Par a.s, our parent company. Our plan is to provide Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator to all technical universities in Nor-Par a.s sales territory so the students can get a valuable form of education to be later used at the process industry. 2
The principle The Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator works according to the diagram below: 2. The Virtual Plant Process and Control Model in CC-REACS/CC-DCOLUMN custom built for your real plant 1. The Training Interface Operator controls, process value displays, switches, trends, alarms and history made in your own SCADA system Signals Signals 3. Scenario Database Scenarios Events 4. Training Simulator Controller Organizes data transfers and manages Scenarios as well as Signal Database of the Virtual Plant The Training Interface The operator is solely trained in the Training Interface.We use your own graphics of your visualization program (SCADA) and your SCADA program for the Training Interface. Therefore, the operators will be trained in the environment they are familiar with, and other parts of your company such as Engineering and R&D can use it to get familiar with the SCADA system used in your production. Any commercial SCADA program can be used, e.g., Intellution ifix or OSI PI. Your own SCADA graphics will be re-used. A copy of the existing graphics will be taken; all real plant signals will be disconnected from it, and signals from the Virtual Plant (see next section) will be connected to the graphics. The operator will see no difference; he/she will still operate a plant, but this time it will be the Virtual Plant, not the real operating process. Since your SCADA graphics is used, you will have the same displays, controls, alarms, trends and historical facilities as you use for normal production use. During the training, the operator will watch displays the same way he/she would do it normally in the Production. Suddenly, the operator will see that something happens wrong to the plant signals, alarms are fired, so he/she will try to handle the situation properly using available tools. For example, a shutdown of the plant according to right procedure might be required. 3
The Training Interface interacts with the Virtual Plant and the Scenario Database via the Training Simulator Controller (see later). The Training Interface is your own graphics, so it will be in the language you prefer and use in the SCADA. We will do the first connection of the Training Interface with the rest of the Nor- Par Online s Training Simulator. You have the freedom of doing further modifications on your own, or by ordering the work from your SCADA consultant or from us. The modifications in the Training Interface are easy to make. The modifications you can do include: Modifying the structure of the SCADA flowsheets to reflect changes made to the plant Adding more signals from the Virtual Plant to SCADA s Signal Database Adding displays/controller panels or modifying their behaviour Adding or modifying the Alarms and Trends Adding Virtual Plant signals to Historical database Here is a sample Training Interface graphics made in Prodigy SCADA we use internally at Nor-Par Online: No problem with your own language in Training Interface. We can provide help in English, German, Russian, Polish and Hungarian as major languages, and depending on your needs we can handle other languages of our sales area too. 4
The Virtual Plant Your real plant consists of the process part (the producing equipment) and of the measurement & control part (field instrumentation, control valves/relays/switches, wiring, I/O area, PLC/DCS control system). PLC/DCS take care of interpreting the measured signals and applying the control strategy. Part of measurement and control signals has been provided to the operator via your SCADA system. The operator can read measured process values and he has the right to take some control decisions (e.g., set-point change, manual control.) The Virtual Plant replaces your real plant and the measurement & control part with a dynamic and calibrated process/control model in CC- DCOLUMN/CC-ReACS. As it were a real plant, the Virtual Plant is able to provide process value signals and accept control signals. From the viewpoint of the trainees, they are made to believe they operate the real plant, in the same way as a pilot is made to believe he is flying a real aircraft when he sits in a Flight Simulator. Note: The trainee does not need to see the Virtual Plant at all, because the Virtual Plant can run invisibly in the PC s memory. All the training is done via the Training Interface, so the Virtual Plant is language independent. model yourself, so you are not dependent on a consulting company to do the task. The Scenario Database The Scenario Database stores Scenarios or collections of events that happen when some major incident may have happened. For example, a power loss implies, among others, that all pumps and compressors stop. The Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator sends these and other relevant events as direct specifications to the Virtual Plant model at the time defined in a Scenario s event schedule. The Virtual Plant reacts to the events and the process value signals change, reflecting the true response of the plant to the Scenario events. Several Scenarios can be scheduled to run, starting at the same time, overlapping or consecutively. For example, power loss and power up could be run in the same Scenario or in two consecutive Scenarios, depending on your preference. The Virtual Plant s engines are CC-ReACS and CC-DCOLUMN. The process/control model that is run in these programs is your dynamic flowsheet with very minor modifications. If you only have CHEMCAD, you already have steady state models of your production. It is necessary to convert these models into valid Virtual Plant (dynamic) model. You can do it yourself, or you can order this task from Nor- Par. Note: You need a license of CC-ReACS or CC-DCOLUMN to use the Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator. It is important that over the lifetime of your plant, you will be able to incorporate modifications done to the real plant into the Virtual Plant 5
A sample Scenario list: An Event is a discrete parameter change in the Virtual Plant model that occurs at specified time. One or more events simulate a real happening in the plant. It is very easy to add or modify events since an event definition is equivalent to manual setting a parameter in CC-ReACS/CC-DCOLUMN. You only need to specify the time at which such parameter change shall occur. You are free to define own Scenarios and Events as needed. You can have Scenario and Event names in your own language (e.g. English, German, French, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, etc.) This is a sample Event list for the Power loss Scenario: 6
Training Simulator Controller The Training Simulator Controller organizes all data transfers in the Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator: Preparing Signal Database for the Virtual Plant Editing the Scenario Database including Events and selections of the Scenarios to be run Starting the Virtual Plant model simulation for a specified Run Time Executing Scenario Events and sending them to the Virtual Plant Transferring signals from Virtual Plant to the Training Interface Transferring signals/actions from the Training Interface to the Virtual Plant Here is the Training Simulator Controller as used to prepare Signal Database of the Virtual Plant: 7
Real Time (RT) vs. Predictive Process Simulation (PPS) Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator offers both Real Time (RT) and Predictive (PPS) training capabilities. Real Time means that the Virtual Plant works at the same speed as the real plant would. The trainee will spend 2 hours by the computer to handle all events that would happen over 2 hours of true plant operation. It is common to train a plant operator in RT mode, as this reflects the reality of control room life. However, a fresh plant operator is not familiar yet with the nature of the process he/she is to handle, and it is difficult to take right decisions without good understanding how the plant really works. A better way of providing initial training is to give the new operator a chance to self-practice by taking what if decisions. Let the trainee take a decision and let him/her see what would happen to the plant as the consequence of such an action. Is it practical to wait two hours to see the consequences? Certainly not, and this is why the Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator offers the Predictive Process Simulation mode. In the PPS mode, the Virtual Plant works 2-20 times faster that the real plant would (the acceleration factor can be predefined.) Therefore, the trainee can try many decisions and learn the consequences very quickly. The trainee can determine in, say, 3 minutes what would happen to the real plant after 30 minutes. After taking a wrong decision, the trainee can reset the Virtual Plant to the initial state, take a better decision and see the results very soon. This kind of what of studies mode gives the trainee very good understanding of how the plant works, and this sort of training is only practical in the PPS mode. The PPS feature in Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator helps you: In Production 1. Better understand the behaviour of your plant 2. Find optimised process parameters (such as set-point) for more efficient and stable operation 3. Improve the control strategies 4. Find weak points in your production or troubleshoot them In Engineering and R&D: 1. Make a better design or reconstruction of a plant 2. Analyse the effect of equipment construction and size on actual plant operation 3. Running History files of SCADA for an existing plant, find weak points and the ways to improve the re-design 4. Calculate optimum controller settings and set-points and analyse interactions between control loops Example of PPS The plant engineer wants to see what would happen if he had: 1. Changed the set-point of controller 14TIC19 from 190 C to 210 C 2. Used integral term in PID controller of I = 45 min and then used I = 2 min in the next trial In the example as shown in this brochure, the realistic Acceleration Ratio of PPS is 10x against the real time. The engineer has used the Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator and has got these results for 35 minutes of real time (each of two runs took him 3.5 minute sharp only): The what if studies in PPS mode can be also done by the Production, Engineering and R&D employees to find optimum operating parameters of the plant, troubleshoot production problems or make better design. 8
Trend Displays: T (C) Controlled tray T with different integral gain of the 14TIC19 215 210 205 200 195 190 185 0 20 40 t (min) I = 45 [min] I = 2 [min] Q [MJ/h] 16500 16000 15500 15000 14500 14000 13500 Effect of integral gain I on heat exchanger performance 0 20 40 t [min] I = 45 [min] I = 2 [min] Opening % Steam valve position with different integral gain of the 14TIC19 54 52 50 48 46 44 0 20 40 t [min] C3 loss in time against integral gain I = 45 [min] I = 2 [min] The results of the study are: 1. From control viewpoint, there is no problem. The valve response is adequate to setpoint change and the set-point is reached quickly, especially for I = 2 [min] 2. From the process viewpoint, the change in set-point is the right decision since less propane is lost. The propane recovery does not really depend on the integral term of the PID controller setting. However, the I = 2 min is wrong from the viewpoint of heat exchanger performance. Maximum rated heat duty of this heat exchanger is 16000 MJ/h (and this value happens to be exceeded at times with I = 2) so with short integral term operational problem would occur. Moreover, the energy consumption for this controller setting is excessive. C3 lost [kg/h] 30 25 20 15 10 5 I = 45 [min] I = 2 [min] Said the above, the plant engineer would then run a third study with the integral term of perhaps I = 5 [min] to find the controller setting that would allow reaching set-point and optimum heat exchanger performance as well as reasonable energy consumption. The engineer would get over the same time many more parameters than presented here. 0 0 20 40 t [min] 9
Process/Control Model Calibration; Troubleshooting; Equipment Monitoring; Process Optimisation To have a true Virtual Plant model good for operator training, what if studies and further process optimisation, it is necessary to calibrate the model using trusted production data from Control System. This can be achieved by connecting the real plant s signals to the Virtual Plant model for online inputting the trusted measured data. PLANT2CC/PLANT2CCD Online Process Simulation tools serve the Virtual Plant calibration purposes. The Virtual Plant s parameters are being adjusted as long as the Virtual Plant begins producing similar signals as those measured at the real plant. As the effect, the Virtual Plant model becomes a true blue-print of the real production. From this moment, the user can analyse the process in the Nor-Par Online s Training Simulator to find out:! What are the reasons of the production problems this is Troubleshooting! Whether the plant could be operated better, perhaps by set-point changes and controller tuning this is Process Optimisation! Whether minor changes in the equipment could help this is also Process Optimisation! Whether the equipment works properly. If not, what should be done to improve the performance. For example, low heat transfer coefficient at a heat exchanger may mean the exchanger needs cleaning; very low tray efficiency at a distillation column might be a result of corroded trays, etc. - This is Equipment Monitoring Nor-Par Online A/S 10