DYNAMIC SIMULATION AND PROCESS

CONTROL WITH ASPEN HYSYS

Robert Brunet
Politechnika Warszawska
1
Contents
1 INTRODUCTION TO DYNAMIC SIMULATION 3
1.1 Mathematical model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2 Holdup Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.3 Nozzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.4 Distributed and Lumped models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.5 Static Head Contribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.6 Heat Loss Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.7 Integration Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.8 Unit Operation Guidelines for Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.9 Rating the equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.10 Trouble Shooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2 INTRODUCTION TO DYNAMIC SIMULATION 20
2.1 Resistance Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.2 Volume Balance Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3 FUNDAMENTALS OF PROCESS CONTROL 30
3.1 3.1. Level Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.2 3.2. Choosing the Correct Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.3 Temperature Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.4 The Process Reaction Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4 NGL EXTRACTION PLANT 44
4.1 Steady-state NGL extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4.2 Moving from Steady-State to Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.3 Control Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5 INLET SEPARATION PLANT 59
5.1 Steady State model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.2 Preparing for Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5.3 Installing control strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5.4 Completing the model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
2
1 INTRODUCTION TO DYNAMIC SIMULATION
The design and optimization of a chemical process involves the study of both steady
state and dynamic behaviour. Steady state models can perform steady state energy and
material balances and evaluate dierent plant scenarios. The design engineer can use steady
state simulation to optimize the process by reducing capital and equipment costs while max-
imizing production.
With dynamic simulation, you can conrm that the plant can produce the desired product
in a manner that is safe and easy to operate. By dening detailed equipment specications
in the dynamic simulation, you can verify that the equipment functions as expected in an
actual plant situation.
With dynamic simulation, you can investigate:
Process optimization.
Controller optimization.
Safety evaluation.
Transitions between operating conditions.
Start-up/Shutdown conditions.
The dynamic mode shares the same physical property packages as the steady state model.
However, the dynamic mode needs a dierent solver with a dierent set of conservation equa-
tions to be solved.
The Steady State mode uses modular operations which are combined with a non-sequential
algorithm. Information is processed as soon as it is supplied. The results of any calculation
are automatically propagated throughout the owsheet, both forwards and backwards.
In steady state simulation material, energy, and composition balances are considered
constant in time. In addition all the specications are considered equally. For example, a
temperature specication can be replaced by a vapour fraction specication or a columns
product ow rate specication is replaced by a composition specication in the reboiler. The
simulator can solve with either specication.
In Dynamic mode material, energy and composition balances are not considered con-
stant, over time. The equations for material, energy, and composition balances include an
additional accumulation term, which is dierentiated with respect to time. Non-linear
dierential equations can be formulated to approximate the conservation principles; but an
analytical solution method does not exist. Therefore, numerical integration is used to de-
termine the process behaviour at distinct time steps and the solver should be run after the
addition of any unit operation to the owsheet.
3
Dynamic process simulation oers a high level of realism with regards to material ow
through the simulation thanks to the use of dedicated solver to calculate the pressure-ow
type of equations. Pressure and ow equations are solved simultaneously in a pressure-ow
system of equations at every integration step. Temperature and composition specications
need to be dened at every boundary feed stream entering the owsheet. Temperature
and composition through the owsheet are then calculated by means of the energy and
composition balances in a modular sequential way for every existing unit operation.
4
Learning Objectives
The contents of the module will help users to understand all the mathematical and engineer-
ing assumptions behind the dynamic engine of the process simulator. The following aspects
of the dynamic model are presented:
Mathematical model: Material and Energy Balance and Implicit Euler algorithm.
Holdup Model and Non equilibrium Flash.
Nozzles location.
Distributed and lumped Models.
Static head contribution.
Heat loss Model.
Integration Strategy.
5
1.1 Mathematical model
The dynamic mass, component and energy balances are similar to the steady state balances,
with the exception of the accumulation term. It is the accumulation term which allows the
output variables from the system to vary with time.
Material and Energy Balance
For the simple case of perfectly mixed tank, the material balance is as follows:
d(V
dt
) = F
in

in
F
out

out
Where
F = flowrate
= density
V = volume
(1)
For a multi-component feed, the balance for component, would be as follows:
d(C
i
V
dt
) = F
in
C
i,in
F
out
C
i,out
Where
C = concentration
(2)
Equations (1) and (2) are a simplication of the more rigorous equations used inside
the simulator which also considers other phenomena such as vaporization, reactions, density
changes, etc... And the energy balance is as follows:
d(u+k+gz)V
dt
) = Q
in
Q
(
out) + W
in
W
(
out) + (h F )
in
(h F )
out
Where
u = internalenergyperunitmass
h = enthalpyperunitmass
k = kineticenergyperunitmass
gz = potentialenergyperunitmass
Q = headaddedorlost
W = shaftwork
(3)
The ODE Solver
The ordinary dierential equations are solved by the simulator by using the Implicit Euler
method which solves by an approximation rectangular integration.
dy
dt
= f(y) =
y(t)y(tt)
t
y(t) = y(t t) + t f(y, t)
(4)
The advantage of implicit methods, such as the one from equation (4), is that they are
usually more stable for solving a system of sti equation, meaning that a larger step size t
6
can be used.
The integrator property view allows adjusting the time step value to increase the speed
or stability of the model. The integrator property view is available by pressing CTRL+I or
selecting it from the Simulation menu.
The smaller the time step, the more closely the calculated solution matches the analytic
solution. However, this gain in rigour is being paid by the additional calculation time
required to simulate the same amount of elapsed real time. A reasonable compromise is
achieved by using the largest possible step size, while maintaining an acceptable degree of
accuracy without becoming unstable.
7
1.2 Holdup Model
Dynamic behaviour arises from the fact that many pieces of plant equipment have some
sort of material inventory or holdup. Therefore, the impact of changes in composition, tem-
perature, pressure or ow from an inlet stream to a vessel with volume (holdup) are not
immediately seen in the outlet stream. The hold-up model predicts how the holdup and
outlet streams of a piece of equipment, respond over time to input changes to the system.
Calculations included in the holdup model are:
Material and energy accumulation.
Adiabatic PH ash calculation for vapour composition and pressure eects in the
vapour holdup.
Heat transfer.
Chemical reaction.
Flash eciencies for the modelling of non-equilibrium behaviour between the feed
phases of the holdup.
The placement of feed and product nozzles on the equipment has physical meaning in
relation to the holdup. For example, if the vapour product nozzle is placed below the
liquid level in a separator, only liquid exits from the nozzle.
Calculation assumptions for the holdup model are:
Each phase is assumed to be well mixed.
Mass and heat transfer occur between feeds to the holdup and material already in the
holdup.
Mass and heat transfer occur between phases in the holdup.
In the real world, the extent of mixing the feeds with a holdup depends on the placement
of the feed nozzles, the amount of holdup, and the geometry of the piece of equipment.
In the simulator, you can indirectly specify the amount of mixing that occurs between the
feed phases and the existing holdup using feed, recycle, and product eciencies. These feed
eciency parameters can be specied on the Eciencies tab of the unit operations Advance
view.
8
1.3 Nozzles
In Dynamics mode, you can specify the feed and product nozzle locations and diameter for
any piece of equipment. These nozzle placement parameters can be specied in the Holdup
page under the Dynamics tab of the unit operation property view by pressing the Advanced
button.
If you go to the Nozzles tab you can enter the nozzles elevation and diameter.
In Steady State mode, the bottom product stream of a vessel is considered to be at its
bubble point and the vapour stream at its dew point, unless user had specied some vapour
outlet pressure drop. In Dynamics mode, the vapour fraction of a product stream depends
on the placement of feed and product nozzles on the equipment and the current liquid level:
For practical purposes, the simulator moves nozzles located at the extreme bottom or
top of the vessel very slightly. This minor adjustment is not displayed and does not impact
the static head contributions. The adjustment is mostly done so that users do not have to
consider nozzle diameters etc. carefully when setting elevations. The adjustment makes the
calculated values more realistic.
9
1.4 Distributed and Lumped models
Most chemical engineering systems have thermal or component concentration gradients in
three dimensions (x,y,z) as well as in time. This is known as a distributed system. If you were
to characterize such a system mathematically, you would obtain a set of partial dierential
equations (PDEs).
If the x, y, and z gradients are ignored, the system is lumped, and all physical prop-
erties are considered to be equal in space. Only the time gradients are considered in such
an analysis. This consideration allows for the process to be described using ordinary dif-
ferential equations (ODEs) which are much less rigorous than PDEs, thereby signicantly
saving calculation time. For most instances, the lumped method gives a solution which is a
reasonable approximation of the distributed model solution.
The process simulator used in this course uses lumped models for all unit operations.
Therefore, there are no thermal or concentration gradients present in a single phase and the
temperature and composition of each phase are the same throughout the entire hold up of
the unit operation.
10
1.5 Static Head Contribution
If the simulator is using a Lumped Model approach, does this mean that there is no pressure
gradient between the top and the bottoms of one equipment lled with liquid? The answer
is Yes by default and No if you go to the Options Tab of the integrator and activate the
Enable implicit static head contribution check box.
By selecting it, vessels can, optionally, be solved using implicit static head calculations
for the pressure contributions associated with the liquid level inside the vessel, rather than
using explicit static head calculations.
This option provides increased stability in applications where these static head contribu-
tions play a crucial role. Static head is important in vessels with a certain level of liquid,
because the liquids column exerts some pressure on the exit. For example, consider a vertical
separator unit operation that has a current liquid level of 50%. The static head contribution
of the liquid holdup makes the pressure at the liquid outlet nozzle higher than that at the
vapour outlet nozzle.
Nozzle location also becomes signicant with this respect. The pressure ow relationship
for the separator is dierent for a feed nozzle which is below the current liquid holdup level
as compared to a feed which is entering in the vapour region of the unit.
11
1.6 Heat Loss Model
The heat loss parameters can be specied for most unit operations in the Heat Loss page
under the Rating tab. You can choose to neglect the heat loss calculation in the energy bal-
ance by selecting the None radio button or select one of the two heat loss models available.
The Simple model, allows you to either specify the heat loss directly or have the heat loss
calculated from specied values.
The heat loss is calculated using the following equation:
Q
out
= U A(T
f
T
amb
) (5)
Where, UA is the overall heat transfer coecient, T
f
is the uid temperature and T
amb
is the environmental temperature.The Detailed model allows you to specify more detailed
heat transfer parameters.
The model assumes heat is lost or gained from the holdup uid through the wall and
insulation by conductivity and convection. There are three radio buttons in the Heat Loss
Parameters: the temperature prole, conduction and convention.
The temperature across the wall and insulation is assumed to be constant, and the
model considers a temperature prole composed by the uid, wall, insulation, surroundings
temperature and a temperature gradient through the thickness of the wall and insulation,
but temperature is constant along the vessel.
12
1.7 Integration Strategy
Because the pressure ow solver exclusively considers pressure ow balances in the network,
pressure ow specications are separated from temperature and composition specications.
Pressure ow specications are input using the one P-F specication per owsheet boundary
stream rule.
While pressure and ow are calculated simultaneously in a pressure ow system of equa-
tions, energy and composition balances are solved in a modular sequential fashion.
Furthermore, material, energy and composition balances in dynamic mode are not con-
sidered at the same time. Material and pressure ow balances are solved for every time
step. But, energy and composition balances are defaulted to solve less frequently. Solving
material and energy balance at every time step would be too computational expensive and
is not required in most of the gas processing simulations.
The Steady State mode uses modular operations which are combined with a non-sequential
algorithm. Information is processed as soon as it is supplied. The results of any calculation
are automatically propagated throughout the owsheet, both forwards and backwards. In
dynamic mode, information is not processed immediately after being input. The integrator
should be run after the addition of any unit operation, or any other new piece of information
to the owsheet.
Temperature and composition specications, should be entered for every boundary feed
stream entering the owsheet. Temperature and composition are then calculated sequen-
tially for each downstream unit operation and material stream using the holdup model.
You can access the Integrator view from the Simulation menu or by using the CTRL +
I hot key:
13
The Integration Time group contains the following parameters:
Units Units for the Current Time, End Time and Display Interval elds.
Current Time Displays the time that the Integrator is running.
Acceleration If running in Real Time, changing this eld can speed up or slow down
the model by taking larger or smaller steps.
End Time Allows you to specify the time at which the Integrator stops.
Real Time Activates the Desired Real Time Factor eld.
Display Interval Visible only in Automatic Integration Control, this eld contains
the time interval at which the simulator updates the views.
Real time factorVisible only in Automatic Integration Control, this eld is calculated
by dividing a time interval for a case by the actual time required to simulate that time
interval. The Real time factor depends on the computers processing speed and the
complexity of the simulation case.
14
The Integration Step Size group contains the unit for the integrator step size and the cell
for the step size value. By default is 0.5 seconds and while the integrator is running, this
value cannot be changed.
The Execution tab contains the parameters that indicate the frequency at which the dif-
ferent balance equations are solved. The default values for Pressure ow equations, Control
and Logic Ops, Energy Calculations, and Composition and Flash are 1, 2, 2, and 10 respec-
tively. A value of 2 for the Energy Calculations means that an energy balance is performed
every 2 time steps.
Pressure Flow Solver Since pressure and ow can change rapidly, their calculations
are solved at the highest frequency and should be left at its default, 1.
Control and Logical Ops The default number should always be sucient, but you
can reduce this number for special cases. (E.g., if you need rapid control responses or
to mimic equipment where sample data can only be obtained at a low frequency.)
Energy Calculations The energy calculation, interpolates between the ash calcula-
tions. The value should be lower than that of the composition and ash calculations.
Composition and Flash Calculations If you reduce this number, the ashes will
be performed more frequently. This can slow down the calculation speed, but it may
result in more accurate results in some cases. This number can be reduced in cases
where the phase change in an individual vessel is being studied and a high degree of
accuracy is required with regard to the phase composition.
15
1.8 Unit Operation Guidelines for Dynamics
Before a transition from steady state to dynamic mode can be made, the simulation case
should be set up so that a realistic pressure dierence is accounted for across the plant. Some
basic steps you can take to set up a case in Steady State mode and then switch to dynamic
mode are:
1. Identify material streams which are connected to two unit operations with no pressure
ow relation and whose ow must be specied in Dynamic mode. These unit operations in-
clude the separator operation and tray sections in a column operation. Add unit operations,
such as valves, heat exchangers, and pumps, which dene a pressure ow relation to these
streams.
2. Size all the unit operations in the simulation using actual plant equipment or prede-
ned sizing techniques.
3. Specify one pressure ow specication for each owsheet boundary stream.
4. Identify key control loops that exist within the plant. Implementing control schemes
increases the realism and stability of the model. Disturbances in the plant can be modeled
using the Transfer Function operation.
16
1.9 Rating the equipment
Valves Rating information for the valve operation, including the valve type and Cv values,
can be input on the Sizing page in the Rating tab. Valves should be sized using typical ow
rates. The valve should be sized with a 50% valve opening and a pressure drop between 15
and 100 kPa.
Mixer and Tee It is recommended to specify the mixer with the Equalize All option
in dynamic mode. With this, the pressure of the surrounding streams of the unit operation
is equal if static head contributions are not considered. This is a realistic situation since
the pressures of the streams entering and exiting a mixer or tee must be the same. It is
also recommended that, the dynamic tee model should not use the dynamic splits as spec-
ications, so that the ow to and from the tee is determined by pressures and resistance
through the owsheet. This is more realistic than using the split fractions which can also
cause complications with regards to ow reversal. These options are set on the Specs page
of the Dynamics tab in their respective operation views.
Pump and Compressors Rating information for the dynamic compressor, expander,
and pump operations, can be input on the Curves and Inertia pages in the Rating tab. In
general, two specications should be selected in the Dynamics Specications group, in the
Specs page of the Dynamics tab, in order for these unit operations to fully solve.
Heat Exchanger The dynamic heat exchanger can be specied as having a set pressure
drop or an Overall K-Value (pressure ow) relation. This option is set on the Specs page of
the Dynamics tab in the heat exchanger property view: K-values can be calculated using the
Calculate k button on the Specs page of the Dynamics tab in the operations property view.
Heater and cooler operations are much like heat exchangers. However, they only have a sin-
gle K-value on their process side. Be cautious of Heaters/Coolers with xed duties. This can
cause problems if the ow in the heater/cooler happens to fall to zero. It is recommended
to use a controller, or a Spreadsheet function, or a temperature specication to control the
temperature of a stream.
Separator Rating information including the volume of the vessel, boot capacity, and
nozzle location can be entered on the Sizing and Nozzles pages in the Ratings tab. A sep-
arator with no valves attached to the inlet and exit streams requires at most one pressure
specication. The other two streams are specied with ows. A more realistic way to run
the separator is to attach valves to the inlet and exit streams of the vessel. The boundary
streams of the separator with valves should be specied with pressure. Vessels (Separators,
Condensers, Reboilers) should be sized for 5 - 15 minutes of liquid holdup time. Sizing and
Costing calculations can also be performed using the Vessel Sizing Utility in the Sizing page
of the Rating tab.
Separation Columns For all separation columns, the tray section parameters including
the tray diameter, weir length, weir height, and tray spacing, can be specied on the Sizing
page in the Rating tab of the Main TS property view. Tray Sizing can be accomplished for
17
separation columns using the Tray Sizing utility in the Utilities page. The trays are sized
according to the existing ow rates and the desired residence times in the tray. Any use of
Tray Sizing should be restricted to Steady State mode Adjusting Column Pressure In steady
state, the pressure prole of the column is user specied. In dynamics, it is calculated using
dynamic hydraulic calculations. If the steady state pressure prole is very dierent from the
calculated pressure drop, there can be large upsets in ow in the column when the integrator
is run. A reasonable estimate of the columns pressure prole can be calculated using the
Tray Sizing utility. This utility provides a value in the Results tab. The column pressure
prole can be calculated using this value and a desired pressure specication anywhere on
the column. You can change the value to achieve a desired pressure prole across the column.
This can easily be done by modifying the Weir height in the Rating tab in the Tray Sizing
utility. Reducing the weir height lowers the static head contributions and lowers the value.
In dynamic mode, the Nozzle Pressure Flow K-factors (found on the Dynamics tab of the
Main TS property view) can also be adjusted to better model the pressure drop across the
column. Feed and product streams entering and exiting tray sections, should be at the same
pressure as the tray section itself. Any large pressure dierences between a feed or product
stream and its corresponding tray section can result in large amounts of material moving
into or out of the column.
18
1.10 Trouble Shooting
Singular Problem This message indicates that not all of the equations in the pressure ow
solver matrix are independent of one another. This occurs when one or more equations are
redundant.
For instance, if a valve operation is using a pressure drop specication, the inlet and
exit streams cannot both be specied with pressure. The pressure drop equation becomes
redundant. It is useful to over specify a singular problem. The simulator might be able to
identify the redundant pressure ow specication and allows the case to solve.
The PF Solver failed to converge This message indicates that one or more pressure
ow specications are unreasonable. This message can also appear if there are sudden
large upsets to the simulation case. It is helpful to enter the Equation Summary View
to identify problem areas in the owsheet. Click the Full Analysis button (or Partitioned
Analysis button, if it is made available). By clicking the Update Sorted List button in
the Unconverged tab, the simulator shows the type of equation, location, and scaled error
associated with the unconverged nodes in the owsheet drop. Pay special attention to the
unit operations with the largest errors in the Uncoverged tab. Check the vessel volumes of
the uncoverged unit operations and ensure they are sized with reasonable residence times.
Check the size of the valves attached to the unconverged unit operations.
19
2 INTRODUCTION TO DYNAMIC SIMULATION
Dynamic simulation adds more realism to the model thanks to the pressure ow solver
(P-F Solver). This is a specic solving method to deal with pressure and ow related calcu-
lations.
The P-F Solver considers the integration of pressure ow balances in the owsheet. There
are two basic equations, with pressure and ow as unique variables, which dene most of
these P-F variables:
Resistance Equations - dening the ow between pressure holdups.
Volume Balance Equations - dening the material balance at pressure holdups.
In general, the resistance equation calculates ow rates from the pressure dierences of
the surroundings piece of equipment. Resistance equations are derived from the Bernoulli
equation and general friction factors for turbulent ow.
P
1
g
=
P
2
g
+ hf (6)
hf = f
D
L
D
u
2
2
(7)
Substituting equation (2) in equation (1) and introducing the mass ow rate, results on
equation (3), where all the variables that are not pressure or ow have been grouped in a
ow conductivity constant which is the reciprocal of resistance to ow.
Flow = k

P (8)
The pressure drop, P, is the frictional pressure drop across the unit operation without
static head contributions.
As shown, a resistance equation relates the pressure of two holdups and the ow that
exists between them. The following unit operations have a resistance equation associated
with them: Heater, Cooler, Heat Exchanger, Air Cooler, LNG Heat Exchanger, Valves and
Column Trays. Following a similar approach, Pumps, Compressors and Expanders have a
resistance equation where the heat ow and the pump or compressor work dene the pressure
ow relation of the unit operation.
Valve ow Coecient
The Cv is dened as the ow of water at 60

A
o
F in US Gallons per minute that passes
through a control valve when the pressure drop is 1 psi and the valve is fully open.
Q(USGPM) = Cv 1
1(psi)
1(lb/ft
3
(9)
20
Once the Cv of the valve is known, it is possible to estimate the ow when the valve is
fully open for another pressure drop, by applying the equation:
Q = Cv

L
(10)
By introducing the relative density of the liquid it is possible to calculate the ow at
other conditions or for another uid.
Q = Cv f(x)

L
(11)
Finally, the inherent ow characteristic of a valve f(x) is introduced as the relation be-
tween the tap position, x, and the product ow rate that ows through it as a fraction of
the maximum ow rate. If the pressure drop, P in the valve is constant, it is possible to
estimate the resulting ow at other valve positions.
f(x) =
F
Fmax
(12)
Volume Balance Equation
In dynamics mode, all unit operations with hold-up represent pressure nodes. There are unit
operations like the separator which contribute with only one pressure node and others, like
the column with multiple stages, which contribute with the same number of pressure nodes
than trays in the column.
During calculations in dynamics mode, the change in volume, V, of the total material
(liquid and vapour phase) inside an equipment, is zero:
dV
dt
= 0 (13)
For a xed volume, the change in pressure node, P, is calculated as a function of the
change in temperature (enthalpy) and the change of accumulation within the equipment
(hold up).
dP
dt
= f(Temperature, flows, size) (14)
An increase in the feed ow rate, with a constant product ow rate, will result in the
holdup increasing. The accumulation of vapour occupying a xed volume will cause the node
pressure to rise. The liquid hold up causes an increase in liquid level which compresses the
vapour holdup, causing the pressure to rise.
21
Learning Objectives
After the completion of this module users will be able to understand the foundations of the
pressure ow solver:
How the simulator calculates ow between nodes.
How the simulator calculates the pressure at nodes.
Sizing vessels and valves.
The meaning of owsheet boundary streams.
How to dene pressure ow specications.
How to dene reverse ow condition.
22
2.1 Resistance Equations
In the process simulator, ows exiting from a material holdup are calculated from a volume
balance equation, specied by the user, or calculated from a resistance equation. In general,
the resistance equation calculates owrates from the pressure dierences of the surrounding
nodes. The simulator contains unit operations such as valves and heat exchangers which
calculate owrates using resistance equations. The resistance equations are modelled after
turbulent ow equations.
1.1.1. Create a new case. Use Water and Air as components. Select Peng Robinson (PR)
as Property Package. Move to the Simulation Environment.
1.1.2. Add a new stream, Stream 1, at 25

A
o
C and 4 bar with pure water as composition.
Enter 1000 kg/h as mass ow rate.
1.1.3. Add a valve, VLV-100, with 3 bar as pressure drop and stream 2 as outlet stream.
1.1.4. What are mass ow and pressure for stream 2?
If when building the simulation case we did input 1000 kg/h, this is the answer in Q1 for
the ow rate. It is then enough to calculate (P1 - deltaP) to know the pressure for stream
2: 100 kPa. However, for answering the same question in dynamics mode it is necessary to
apply the resistance equation for valves, which uses the valve ow coecient.
The mass ow rate that passes through the valve is a function of the valve ow coecient,
Cv, and of the frictional pressure drop across the valve. Therefore, Q1 cannot be answered
in dynamics mode if we do not provide at least a value for the valve Cv if the size of the
valve is required.
1.1.5. Open VLV-100 property view and go to the Sizing page under the Rating tab.
Enter 2 USGPM (US Gallon Per Minute) as Cv value.
1.1.6. Open Stream 1 property view; go to the Specs page of the Dynamics tab and
ensure that Pressure is the only active Dynamic Specication at 400 kPa.
1.1.7. The last step is the way to consider the pressure upstream of VLV-100 as a bound-
ary condition of the integration algorithm.
23
1.1.8. Repeat step 1.1.6. for Stream 2.
1.1.9. Press the dynamic mode option and make the integrator active.
1.1.10. What is the mass ow and pressure for stream 2?
1.1.11. Open the VLV-100 property view and go to the Sizing page under the Rating
tab. On the Valve Operating Characteristics group you can see that a Linear Valve, 50%
open, is selected by default. Change the Valve Opening from 50% to 100%.
1.1.12. What is now the mass ow rate?
The pressure ow matrix of the model has one equation and three variables: the two
boundary pressures and the mass ow rate. By dening two of them, the third one is calcu-
lated by the equation.
In the example, we are specifying both boundary pressures and calculating the ow rate.
But a valid alternative, could be to specify inlet pressure and ow, so we will have the outlet
pressure as calculated unknown variable.
1.1.13. Open Stream 1 property view and go to the Specs page under the Dynamics
tab.
1.1.14. In addition to the already active Pressure specication, activate the Mass Flow
one with the value you used to answer 1.1.10.
1.1.15. Then, for Stream 2, deactivate the Pressure specication.
1.1.16. What are the mass ow and pressure for stream 2?
1.1.17. What are the mass ow and pressure for stream 2, if you close the
valve from 100% to 75%?
24
2.2 Volume Balance Equations
1.2.1. Add a separator to the owsheet and connect stream 2 as inlet. Create a new stream
3, for the Vapour Outlet, and stream 4 for the Liquid Outlet.
The vessel becomes red and a message appears in the property view Volume not specied.
For simulating equipment with holdup in steady state mode, an underlying principle is that
the physical volume of the equipment, and thus, the volume of material in the equipment at
any time remain constant. This principle does not applies in dynamics mode and therefore
to run the model in dynamic mode we need to provide the volume of each equipment with
holdup.
1.2.2. Go to Sizing page of the Rating Tab and enter a volume of 50 L.
In exercise 1, we specied pressures for stream 1, P1, and stream 2, P2, to calculate the
ow, FV-100, across VLV-100:
F = Cv f(50%)

P
1
P
2
(15)
And for answering Q4 and Q5, we moved the stream 2 pressure specication, to the
stream 1 ow specication. In this way, it was possible to calculate the pressure of stream
2.
F = Cv f(50%)

P
1
P
2
(16)
Because V-100 is a perfectly mixed pressure node, streams 2, 3, 4 and the vessel itself, are
all at the same pressure. However, to run the case in dynamics mode, we still need to add
more information. As mentioned above: under dynamics mode, the ow rate through any
unit operation depends on the pressure of the surrounding piece of equipment. For V-100,
the surroundings and the equipment are at the same pressure. Therefore the simulator does
not have enough information to calculate the ow for streams 4 and 5.
1.2.3. Add two valves, VLV-101 and VLV-102 and connect streams 3 and 4 as the inlets
to each one of them.
1.2.4. Dene streams 5 and 6 as the outlet streams.
1.2.5. Read the Cv of VLV-100 and enter the same value for VLV-101 and VLV-102.
25
All material streams within the simulator have to be solved for pressure and ow, and
all holdup unit operations have to be solved for pressure (only). Therefore in the owsheet
there are 13 variables to be solved, 6 streams, times 2 variables plus the vessel pressure. If
we consider that there is no accumulation in valves, we can assume the following relations
which reduce the variables from 13 to 10:
F
V LV 100
= F
1
= F
2
F
V LV 101
= F
3
= F
4
F
V LV 102
= F
5
= F
6
dP
V 100
/dt = f(T, F
V LV 100
, F
V LV 101
, F
V LV L102
, size)
(17)
Therefore, to satisfy the degrees of freedom of this pressure-ow system of equations we
must input three additional equations or pressure ow specications (7 - 4 = 3). With the
pressure and ow specications that we already have for stream 1, we are setting:
F
V LV 100
= 1503kg/h
P
1
= 400KPa
(18)
Then, we still need to add one new pressure ow specication to solve the system.
1.2.6. Move the stream 1 ow specication to a pressure specication equal to 1 atm in
stream 5.
1.2.7. Add a pressure specication equal to 1 atm in Stream 6.
The pressure-ow system of this example will be solved according to the following equa-
tions:
F
V LV 100
= Cv
V LV 100
f(50%)(P
1
P
V 100
)
1/2
F
V LV 101
= Cv
V LV 101
f(50%)(P
V 100
P
5
)
1/2
F
V LV 102
= Cv
V LV 101
f(50%)(P
V 100
P
5
)
1/2
dP
V 100
/dt = f(T, F
V LV 100
, F
V LV 101
, F
V LV L102
, size)
(19)
26
1.2.8. Run the simulator.
1.2.9. A new message appears: it indicates that, at process conditions, the uid in the
separator is only liquid. This enters in conict with the default specication of 50% liquid
volume level. Then the simulator asks the modeller what to do to initialize the liquid in the
vessel:
1.2.10. Click on 100% Liquid option and allow the simulator to run for a pair of minutes
of simulation time.
1.2.11. Press CTRL+D for accessing to the Databook and select the Variables tab.
1.2.12. Press the Insert... button and add the following variables.
1.2.13. Move to the Strip Charts tab.
27
1.2.14. Click the Add button to include a strip chart with default name DataLogger1
in the list of available strip charts.
1.2.15. Click the Active checkbox for each variable that you want to display in this strip
chart.
1.2.16. In the View group, click the Strip Chart... button to view the selected strip chart
or just double-click the name of the strip chart you would like to view.
1.2.17. Run the integrator.
1.2.18. How much is the liquid percent level in V-100?
1.2.19. What would you do to decrease it to 50%?
1.2.20. If the feed valve, VLV-100, is fully closed and the bottoms valve, VLV-
102 is fully open, why the level is not decreasing?
1.2.21. Go to the PFD and observe the pressures, (Shift+P). There is no pressure drop
between the vessel and the boundary streams.
1.2.22. Decrease stream 6 boundary spec pressure to 70 kPa.
1.2.23. Observe the mass ow rates, (Shift+M). Now, there is a positive ow rate at the
vessel bottoms. However, you should observe as well that, the vessel pressure is lower than
the boundary pressure specication for stream 5. This means that, reverse ow is, likely to
happen and that stream 5 is feeding the vessel through VLV-101.
1.2.24. What is the composition of this unexpected vessel feeding?
If it is wanted to drain the liquid out of the vessel, some other material has to substitute
the volume of the liquid being drained. In any real plant, there will be air from atmosphere
or nitrogen from a blanket, feeding back the vessel or, if external feeding does not exist,
28
internal vacuum is then created.
1.2.25. Open stream 5 and go to the Dynamics Tab.
1.2.26. Press the Product Block... button.
1.2.27. In the Conditions tab, leave temperature as specied variable, and its default
value, 25

C.
1.2.28. Go to the Composition tab and dene reverse ow composition as pure air.
1.2.29. Run the integrator.
1.2.30. How much is the percent liquid level of V-100?
29
3 FUNDAMENTALS OF PROCESS CONTROL
In the second course module a vessel in dynamics mode was modeled but it was not
possible to control the liquid level. In this module the basics of Process Control will be cov-
ered by the practical example of controlling the liquid level and the temperature of the vessel.
The PID Controller operation is the primary means of manipulating the model variables
in Dynamics mode. It adjusts a stream OP (output) to maintain a specic owsheet variable
PV (process variable) at a certain value SP (set point).
A variety of Feedback, Feedforward and other control schemes can be modeled by modi-
fying the tuning parameters in the PID controller operation. Controller parameters can be
modied to incorporate proportional, integral and derivative action into the controller.
Besides the PID controller other ve controller operations can be modeled:
Split Range Controller Several manipulated variables are used to control a single
process variable. Here both manipulated variables are driven by the output of a sin-
gle controller. However, the range of operation for the manipulated variables can be
independent of each other. Typical examples include the control of the pressure in a
chemical reactor by manipulating the inow and outow from the reactor.
Ratio Controller In the Ratio Controller the objective is to keep the ratio of two
variables, the load and the manipulated, constant.
MPC Controller The Model Predictive Control (MPC) controller addresses the prob-
lem of controlling processes that are inherently multi-variable and interacting in nature,
in other words, one or more inputs aects more than one output.
DMC Plus Controller The DMCplus Controller engine runs in Aspen DMCplus
Online. You are required to have the DMCplus link, Aspen DMCplus Online, CIM-
IO kernel and ACO Base licenses to run DMCplus in the Process simulator. With
DMCplus controller the Process Simulator works like a Real Plant.
Prot Controller The Prot Controller (only available in UniSim Design) allows the
user to congure the models, create Prot Controller and run it in the simulation to
evaluate the model and controller design...
A Digital On/O control operation is also available. The Process Variable (PV)
that needs to be monitored and the output (OP) stream which is manipulated are
dened. When the PV reaches a specied Threshold value, the Digital Point either
turns the OP On or O, depending on how the Digital Point has been set up.
30
Learning Objectives
In this module we will cover an overview of the basics of Process Control Theory. Further-
more, the user will learn how to implement a PID controller in the simulation model.
31
3.1 3.1. Level Control
3.1.1. Open the case you were working with in the rst module, where it was not possible
to control the liquid level percentage of V-100 or just the starting case for this workshop.
3.1.2. Add a PID controller to the PFD and double click on its icon to get access to the
Connections tab. The Connections tab allows you to select both, the Process Variable, PV,
and the Manipulated Variable or Output Process for the controller, OP. It is comprised of
the objects described in the table below:
3.1.3. Press the Select PV button and select Object V-100 and Variable Liquid Percent
Level. The Process Variable, or PV, is the variable that must be maintained, or controlled
at a desired value.
3.1.4. Press the Select OP button and select Object VLV-102 and Variable Actuator
Desired Position (ADP).
3.1.5. Go to the Parameters tab. By default you get access to the Conguration page.
The Conguration page allows you to set the process variable Range, controller Action, op-
erating Mode, and depending on the mode, either the Set Point, SP, for the Process variable
or the Operating Point, OP, for the Manipulated Variable, as well as the Tuning of the
controller.
32
If we open VLV-102, positive OP, the bottom output ow of the vessel increases and
we expect that the liquid percent level will decrease. Therefore, we have a negative steady
state gain and our action mode has to be Direct.
For the Controller to become operational, we must dene the minimum and maximum
values for the PV (the Controller cannot be switched from O mode unless PVmin and
PVmax are dened).
The process simulator converts the PV range into a 0-100% range, which is then used
in the solution algorithm. The following equation is used to translate a PV value into a
percentage of the range:
PV (%) =
PV PV
min
PVmaxPV
min
100 (20)
3.1.6. Select Direct Action.
3.1.7. Enter 0% and 100% as minimum and maximum PV values respectively.
3.1.8. Once you provide these values (as well as the Control Valve span), you may select
the Automatic mode, and give a value for the Set point.
3.1.9. Switch the Mode to Auto.
33
3.1.10. Type 50% as Liquid Percent Level SP.
You can select where the signal from the controller is sent using the drop-down list in
the Execution eld. If you select Internal, the controller connes signals generated to stay
Within the simulator. If you select External, the controller sends the signals to a DCS, if a
DCS is connected to the process simulator.
3.1.11. Leave the Default Execution option, Internal.
34
3.2 3.2. Choosing the Correct Control
The Tuning group allows you to dene the constants associated with the PID control equa-
tion.
You should consider what type of performance criteria is required for the set point vari-
ables, and what acceptable limits they must operate within. Generally, an eective closed
loop system is expected to be stable and cause the process variable to ultimately attain a
value equal to the set point. The performance of the controller should be a reasonable com-
promise between performance and robustness. A very tightly tuned or aggressive controller,
gives good performance, but is not robust to process changes. It could go unstable if the
process changes too much. A very sluggishly-tuned controller delivers poor performance, but
is very robust. It is less likely to become unstable.
In the paragraphs below you will nd some details of the dierent congurations that
can be implemented for a feedback controller.
Digital On/O
The most rudimentary form of regulatory control is on-o control. In the process simulator,
it is implemented using the Digital Point operation. An excellent example of on-o control
is a home heating system. Whenever the temperature goes above the SP, the heating plant
shuts o, OP=0%, and whenever the temperature drops below the SP, the heating plant
turns on, OP=100%.
Since the controller cannot throttle the actuator, but only turn it on or o, the primary
characteristic of on-o control is that the PV is always cycling about the SP.
The rate at which PV cycles and the deviation of PV from the set point are a function
of the system dynamics or dead time and capacity. The On/O controller is an appropriate
controller if the deviation from the set point is within an acceptable range and the cycling
35
does not destabilize the rest of the process.
Proportional Control
Proportional control is the simplest continuous control mode that can damp out oscillations
in the feedback control loop. This control mode normally stops the process variable, PV,
from cycling but does not necessarily return it to the SP.
P-only control is implemented in the Process Simulator by setting the values of Td and Ti
to empty in the PID Controller operation. With P-only control, oscillations that occur in
the process variable due to disturbances or changes in the set point dampen out the quickest
(have the smallest natural period) among all other simple feedback control schemes.
The output of the proportional control is dened as:
OP(t) = K E(t) + b (21)
As it could be observed in the below gure, the larger is the controller gain, the lower
is the error. However, increasing K makes the loop unstable. If K has a value such that
the loop gain is equal to one, the loop will oscillate with a period that is a function of the
natural characteristics of the process and it is called the natural period.
In general Proportional control is suitable when a fast response to a disturbance is re-
quired. However a sustained error occurs where the PV does not return to the set point even
when steady-state is reached. The sustained error is called oset and is undesirable in most
cases. Therefore it is necessary to eliminate oset by combining proportional control with
the integral control mode.
36
Proportional + Integral Control
The action of integral control is to remove any error that may exist. As long as there is an
error present, the output of this control mode continues to move the FCE.
OP(t) = OP(t
0
) +
1
Ti
E(t)dt (22)
When Proportional and Integral control are combined, oscillations can be dumped out
and return the process variable to the set point. Under PI control, the gain has an eect not
only on the error, but also on the integral action.
OP(t) = K(OP(t
0
) +
1
Ti
E(t)dt) (23)
When we compare the equation for a PI controller to that for a P-only controller, we see
that the bias term in the P-only controller has been replaced by the integral term in the PI
controller. Therefore, the integral action provides a bias that is automatically adjusted to
eliminate any error.
Typically, the response period of PV under an I controller is much slower than for a P
controller, therefore because the addition of the P action, the response period under PI is
longer than a P controller and shorter than an I controller. The integral time, Ti, is dened
as the amount of time required for the controller output to move an amount equivalent to the
error. Because the relationship between Ti and the control action is reciprocal, increasing Ti
results in less integral action, while decreasing Ti results in greater integral action. Therefore
by increasing Ti we have less integral action and a shorter response and a behavior closer
to only proportional controller. Thus, the integral time should be decreased just enough to
return the process variable to the SP.
PI is the most common controller found in plants and it is suitable when osets cannot be
tolerated. PI controller combines accuracy (no oset) with a relatively quick response time.
37
However, the added integral action acts as a destabilizing force which can cause oscillations
in the system and cause the control system to become unstable.
Proportional Integral Derivative Control
The purpose of derivative action is to provide lead to overcome lags in the loop. In other
words, it anticipates where the process is going by looking at the rate of change of error.
For D action, the output equals the derivative time, Td, multiplied by the derivative of the
input, which is the rate of change of the error. When PI is combined with the D action, this
one adds the additional response speed required to overcome the lag in the response from
the integral action.
OP(t) = K(E(t) +
1
Ti
E(t)dt + Td
dE(t)
dt
) (24)
The addition of the derivative mode in the PID controller provides a response similar to
that of a P-only controller but without the oset because of the integral action. Therefore
a PID controller provides a tight dynamic response but, since it contains a derivative block,
it cannot be used in any processes in which noise is anticipated.
The following is a list of typical controller tuning parameters appropriate for various
processes. There is no single correct way of tuning a controller. The objective of process
control is to provide a reasonable compromise between performance and robustness in the
closed loop response. These initial values are a kind of suggestion. They help to obtain tight
control. They can be later adjusted further if the closed loop response is not satisfactory.
Tighter control and better performance can be achieved by increasing the proportional gain.
Decreasing the controller gain would result in a slower, but more stable response.
38
Generally, proportional control can be considered the principal component of the con-
troller equation. Integral and derivative action should be used to trim the proportional
response. Therefore, the controller gain should be tuned rst with the integral and deriva-
tive actions set to a minimum. If instability occurs, the controller gain should be adjusted
rst. Adjustments to the controller gain should be made gradually.
39
3.3 Temperature Control
3.3.1. Add an energy stream to your simulation, Q-100, and connect it to V-100.
3.3.2. Enter 0.0 kJ/h as heat ow value for this stream.
3.3.3. Add a PID controller.
3.3.4. Select Vessel Temperature of V-100 as Process Variable Source.
3.3.5. Select Q-100 as Output Target Object and Control Valve as its variable.
The Control Valve button appears if the Output Target Object is a material or energy
stream instead of a valve unit operation. By pressing it, we have access to the Flow Control
View, FCV.
The FCV that appears for an energy stream is dependent on the type of duty stream
selected:
Direct Q duty consists of a simple power value (in other words, BTU).
Utility Fluid takes the duty from a utility uid (in other words, steam) with known
properties.
40
The type of Duty Source specied can be changed at any time by clicking the appropriate
radio button in the Duty Source group.
The default option is Direct Q. In this view option, the SP appears, and you may specify
the minimum (Min. Available) and maximum (Max. Available) cooling or heating available.
You need to dene these values in a way that your OP works at around 50% under your
steady state target conditions.
3.2.6. Enter 0.0 kJ/h as the minimum available duty and 2.0e+05 kJ/h as the maximum
one.
3.2.7. Go to the Parameters option in the Conguration page and enter 0

A
o
C and 100

A
o
C
as controlled variable range PV values.
3.2.8. Which has to be the Control Action for this controller?
3.2.9. Switch the controller to Manual Mode.
3.2.10. Create a New chart. Go to Tools/Databook and select Strip Charts tab. Press
the Add button.
3.2.11. Open the property view of the Temperature Controller and go to the Congura-
tion page. Drag and drop the SP, PV and OP values to the new strip Chart.
3.2.12. Run the integrator until you get the steady state behaviour.
41
42
3.4 The Process Reaction Curve
The process reaction curve is probably the most widely used method for identifying dynamic
models. Its simple to perform and although it is the least general method, it provides
adequate models for many applications and it is very helpful to tune PID controllers from
general guidelines.
The process reaction curve method involves the following four actions:
Allow the process to reach steady state.
Introduce a single step change in the input variable.
Collect Input and output response data until the process reaches again steady state.
Perform the graphical process reaction curve calculations.
Change the OP of TIC-100 from 50% to 75% and run the integrator to the new steady
state. You should get a response like the one in the gure.
The graphical calculations determine the parameters for a rst order with dead time
model represented by the following equation:
Y (s)
X(s)
= K
p
e
s
s + 1
Where
Y (s)istheoutputofthesystem
X(s)istheinputofthesystem
Kpisthesteady stategain
istheTimeconstantofthesystem
isthedeadtomeoftheprocess
(25)
43
4 NGL EXTRACTION PLANT
Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) consist of hydrocarbon components in a produced gas
stream which can be extracted and sold in their respective market. NGL extraction is
typically justied:
To meet a gas sales specication requirement such as a hydrocarbon dewpoint or
to upgrade the market value of the produced gas and liquid streams.
Condensation processes are the most widely used processes for the extraction of NGL
from natural gas. In this workshop we will build a NGL extraction process by Mechanical re-
frigeration. Mechanical refrigeration plants utilize a commercial refrigerant such as propane
or R-22 to chill the gas. Process temperatures are seldom less than about -40

C. This
process is used both for hydrocarbon dewpoint control and NGL sales.
The workshop is divided in three exercises. In the rst one, the process model is built in
steady state. In the second one, we cover all the aspects for the transition from steady state
to dynamics mode: 1) adding resistance unit operations, 2) rating all the equipment and 3)
dening pressure boundary streams. Finally the third exercise is focused on the addition of
controllers and strip charts to follow the process dynamics.
44
Learning Objectives
After completion of the module, users would have had the opportunity to develop the dy-
namic model of an mechanically refrigerated plant to extract the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL)
of a gas mixture.
Users will be able to size equipment, dene pressure ow specications and add strip
charts and controllers.
45
4.1 Steady-state NGL extraction
The gas produced in the inlet separation section is dehydrated and sent to the NGL Sepa-
ration section. In this case, an external refrigerated process will be modelled. The thermo-
dynamic method and the rst unit operations will be incorporated now in the simulation
model:
The process and equipment data are given in the following tables:
46
47
Continue to build the chiller plant. Figure below shows the process schematic for this
additional part:
The new equipment data and operating conditions are provided in the below table:
48
4.2 Moving from Steady-State to Dynamics
Adding unit operations
4.2.1. Identify material streams which connect two unit operations with no pressure ow
relation. Notice that boundary streams are coming from holdups or going to holdups. There-
fore, if they are connected to a hold-up unit operation, a new unit operations which dene
a pressure ow relation, such as valves, heat exchangers and pumps, have to be added to
these streams. It is also possible to specify a ow specication on these streams instead of
using an operation to dene the ow rate.
4.2.2. Which streams in this owsheet connect two unit operations with no
pressure ow relation and will need an additional pressure ow relation or its
ow must be specied?
4.2.3. Add a new valve and name it VLV-103.
4.2.4. Connect Stream 11 as inlet of VLV-103. Create an outlet stream and name it 12.
Enter 1800 kPa as outlet pressure.
4.2.5. Add a new valve and name it VLV-102.
4.2.6. Connect Stream 7 as inlet of VLV-102. Create an outlet stream and name it 17.
Enter 3900 kPa as outlet pressure.
4.2.7. Add a new valve and name it VLV-101.
4.2.8. Connect Stream Inlet Gas as outlet of VLV-101. Create an inlet stream and name
it 1. Enter 1550 kPa as inlet pressure.
4.2.9. Equipment sizing. All unit operations in the simulation need to be sized using the
dimension of the actual plant equipment or by using pre-dened sizing techniques.
49
Sizing the Valves
4.2.10. Open VLV-101 property view and go to the Specs page of the Dynamics tab.
4.2.11. Under the Dynamic Specications group, there are two possible dynamic speci-
cations you can choose to characterize the Valve operation. If the Total Delta P checkbox
is activated, a constant pressure drop is assumed across the Valve operation. With this
specication, the ow and the pressure of either the inlet or exit stream must be specied
or calculated from other operations in the owsheet. The ow through the Valve is not
dependent on the pressure drop across the Valve.
4.2.12. If the Pressure Flow Relation checkbox is activated, the ow rate through the
Valve is calculated from the valve equation, so will be the pressure of the streams entering
and exiting the Valve. If this option is selected the user must provide the valve size.
4.2.13. If the user does not have this information (valves Cv), it is possible to size the
valve on the Sizing page in the Ratings tab.
4.2.14. For sizing a valve the following information is required:
Valve operating characteristics group (Linear, Quick Opening Equal Percentage our
User Table).
Stream Conditions (Normal Valve Opening, Pressure Drop, Mass Flow Stream Com-
position, Inlet Pressure and Temperature).
Sizing Method (Cv and Cg).
4.2.15. The sizing calculation method is the same for all valve manufacturers and types,
with the exception of the Simple Resistance Equation. All valve manufacturers and types
50
have Cv and Cg methods to calculate the ow rate. The dierence between the manufactur-
ers and types is the equations and constants used to calculate the ow rate within the valve.
4.2.16. A valve should be sized using typical ow rates with a 50% valve opening and a
pressure drop between 15 and 100 kPa.
Sizing the Separators
4.2.17. In the Geometry group under the Rating Sizing page , you can specify the vessel
orientation, shape, and volume. The geometry of the vessel is important in determining the
liquid height in the vessel. There are four possible vessel shapes: at cylinder, sphere, hori-
zontal ellipsoidal cylinder, horizontal hemispherical cylinder. The liquid height in a vertical
cylindrical vessel varies linearly with the liquid volume. There is a nonlinear relationship
between the liquid height, and the liquid volume in horizontal cylindrical and spherical ves-
sels.
4.2.18. Open D-1 Scrubber property view and go to Sizing Rating page. Select Vertical
orientation for a Flat Cylinder and press Quick Size button.
4.2.19. The Quick size option is sizing the vertical vessel for L/D ratio equal 3.0 and 5
minutes of residence time. Vessels (Separators, Condensers, Reboilers) should be sized for 5
- 15 minutes of liquid holdup time. Sizing could be also performed using the Vessel Sizing
utility.
Sizing the Heat Exchangers
4.2.20. The dynamic heat exchanger can be specied as having a set pressure drop or a
Overall k-Value (pressure-ow) relation. This option is set on the Specs page of the Dynam-
ics tab in the heat exchanger property view: K-values can be calculated using the Calculate
K button on the Specs page of the Dynamics tab in the operations property view.
4.2.21. Open E-100 property view and go to Dynamics Specs page. Press the Calculate
k button and activate the Overall k dynamic Specication.
4.2.22. Enter 0.5 m3 as Volume.
4.2.23. Special caution has to be taken with Heaters/Coolers with xed duties. This can
cause problems if the ow in the heater/cooler happens to fall to zero. It is recommended
to use a controller, or a Spreadsheet function, or a temperature specication to control the
temperature of a stream.
4.2.24. Select Product Temp Spec within Model Details sub window and enter 45

A
o
C
as Product Temp specication.
51
4.2.25. Repeat the last three steps for E-102 with a Product Temp Spec equal to -25

A
o
C.
4.2.26. The heat exchanger model in Dynamics shares information with the Dynamic
Rating mode. Therefore, it is good practice to converge the steady state owsheet with
Dynamic Rating Mode before moving to Dynamic Simulation.
4.2.27. For solving E-101 with the dynamic rating mode you need a recycle operation for
Stream 10.
4.2.28. Add a recycle and a new stream as outlet, 10 bis. Connect 10 bis to the HX
instead of stream 10.
4.2.29. Open E-101 property view and go to the Model page of the Dynamics tab. En-
ter 0.5 m3 and 3 m3 for the Tube and Shell volumes and 1.0e+5 kJ/C-h as Overall UA value.
52
4.2.30. Go to the Dynamics Specs page and press the Calculate Ks button.
4.2.31. Go to the Design Parameters page and switch from the Weighted model to the
Dynamic Rating model.
4.2.32. Go to the Dynamics Specs page and switch from Delta P Specication to k spec-
ication in the shell and tube cells.
53
4.2.33. Because the Dynamic rating model calculate pressure drops from the Dynamic k
Specication, the Delta P values in the Parameters page of the Design tab must be deleted
to avoid inconsistencies.
Sizing the Compressor and the Pump
4.2.34. In general, two specications should be selected in the Dynamics Specications group
in the Specs page of the Dynamics tab in order for Compressors, Expanders and Pumps to
fully solve. Eciency is one of the recommended specs and either Head or Pressure rise is
the second one. If available, compressor pump curves make excellent specications.
4.2.35. You should be aware of specications, which cause complications or singularity
in the pressure ow matrix. Some examples of such cases are:
The Pressure rise checkbox should not be checked if the inlet and exit stream pressures
are specied.
The Speed checkbox should not be checked if the Use Characteristic Curves checkbox
is unchecked.
Duty specs on pumps can only be used if a recycle and pressure control to protect the
pump are modelled. Otherwise use a pressure rise spec.
4.2.36. Go to the Specs page of the pump Dynamics tab and select 62% eciency and
power as dynamic specications.
4.2.37. Go to the Specs page of the compressor Dynamics tab and select 72% eciency
and duty as dynamic specications.
Boundary Stream Specication
4.2.38. Pay special attention to equipment with xed pressure drops. Any xed pressure
drop specications in equipment can yield unrealistic results, such as ow occurring in the
direction of increasing pressure.
4.2.39. The last specication that needs to be included before the case can be moved to
the dynamic mode is to add Pressure specications to all Boundary Streams.
4.2.40. Go to the top right corner palette and modify the code of colours from Default
Colour Scheme to Dynamic P/F Specs.
4.2.41. Add the following Boundary Specs.
54
55
4.3 Control Strategy
4.3.1. Press the Dynamics mode.
4.3.2. Run the Solver for a few minutes.
Feed Flow Control
4.3.3. Add ow controllers according to the following information.
4.3.4. Add a level controller according with the following information.
4.3.5. Add a temperature controller according with the following information.
56
4.3.6. Go to the Model Details in the Specs Dynamics page of E-102 and switch from
Product Temp Spec to Supplied Duty.
4.3.7. Press [CTRL+F] to get access to the Face Plates window.
4.3.8. Select LIC-102 and TIC-102 and press the Open button.
4.3.9. Run the integrator and observe if the SP is achieved.
4.3.10. Add a Level controller according with the following information.
57
58
5 INLET SEPARATION PLANT
A lean gas condensate enters a separation plant where the dierent uids will be sep-
arated for further processing. The purpose of this separation in stages is to reduce the
pressure on the produced uids in steps to maximize each phases recovery. If the separator
pressure is too high, large amounts of light components will remain in the liquid phase at
the separator and will be lost along with other valuable components to the gas phase in the
stock tank. Conversely, if the pressure is too low, large amounts of light components will
be separated from the liquid, and they will take with them substantial quantities of inter-
mediates and heavier components. Consequently, it is necessary to optimize the separators
pressure in winter and summer seasons. Considerable gains can be realized by performing
process simulations to optimize the separator pressure.
Knockout drums, 2 and 3-phase separators, valves, coolers, heaters, pumps and compres-
sors of a typical Oil & Gas separation plant are added to the model in steady state.
Later, additional information is added to the model to adapt it for dynamic simulation:
sizing information, pressure drop relationships, and boundary conditions will be included in
a stepwise manner to systematically understand each step.
A control strategy is implemented to have the system working in closed loop. PID and
ono controllers are going to be used in this Module.
59
Learning Objectives
The content of the module will help users to understand how to install, connect and
solve unit operations rst in steady state mode and later in how to move that model to a
dynamic operation. The guided exercises will show how to install unit operations of four
dierent types:
Simplied heat exchange devices: Cooler, Heater.
Flash Separators: 2 & 3-phase separators.
Piping equipment: Valves, mixers.
Rotating equipment: Pump, compressors.
At the end of the module students will have learned how to use unit operations in dynamic
simulation models to calculate stream conditions and power requirements to accomplish
certain process working conditions. In later modules these unit operations will be dened
with a higher degree of rigorousness.
60
5.1 Steady State model
Through a guided exercise, the below owsheet will be modelled in steady state mode to
obtain initial results for moving it later to the dynamic environment.
5.1.1. Create a New Case and install a Fluid Package, with a Component List containing
the following Traditional components: N2,CO2, C1, C2, C3, iC4, nC4, iC5, nC5, nC6 and
H2O. And the following Hypothetical components:
5.1.2. Use the Peng-Robinson equation of state as Property Package.
5.1.3. Create a Material Stream with the conditions in Table below.
61
5.1.4. Install a valve downstream of Produced Fluids (that will be later used for ow
control) and specify an outlet pressure of 64.8 bar. Name that valve Manifold.
5.1.5. Install a 2-phase separator to split the stream into one gas and one mixed-liquid
stream. Name it HP Separator.
5.1.6. The HP Separator vapour stream enters an exchanger to decrease its temperature
down to 27 oC.
5.1.7. Install a Cooler to perform such simulation. Consider that a 50 kPa pressure drop
takes place in the cooler.
5.1.8. The 2-liquid phase stream leaving the HP Separator is ashed through a valve
before entering the intermediate pressure separator.
5.1.9. Install a valve and x its outlet pressure at 23.1 bar.
5.1.10. Install a 3-phase separator and name it IP Separator. Use the valve outlet
product as the feed for this separator.
62
5.1.11. The light liquid product stream is ashed again in a valve and warmed up to
compensate the Joule-Thompson eect.
5.1.12. Install a valve, then a heater with a 50 kPa pressure drop, and specify the outlet
heater pressure to be 5.5 bar and the temperature, 85 oC.
5.1.13. Install now the low pressure separator (LP Separator) to split the resulting three
phases.
5.1.14. Install the pump by double-clicking its icon in the Object Palette and specify its
working conditions to be 70% adiabatic eciency to obtain an outlet pressure of 70 bar.
5.1.15. Place again a valve (50 kPa pressure drop) and a Cooler (50 kPa pressure drop,
60 C outlet T) downstream of the light liquids stream.
5.1.16. Install valves downstream of the rejected water streams in IP and LP separators.
Collect all water streams using a Mixer, which has to Equalize All pressures, to obtain a
nal water stream at 4 bar pressure.
63
5.2 Preparing for Dynamics
The size and the physical characteristics of every piece of equipment will aect the way the
variables of the model respond to the time evolution of the dynamic model. Key aspects of
a transient response like residence time, capacitance, resistance, etc. are directly related to
the equipment size.
Before being able to start a run of a simulation in dynamic mode, all these values need to
be incorporated into the model. Using realistic values will additionally ensure the stability
of the model and the accuracy of the results obtained.
There are two main aspects to focus on when adding the physical dimensions of the unit
operations: volume, that aects the pressure in the holdup and the residence time, and ow
resistance that aects the transfer of material from one unit to another one. So, as seen in
previous modules, when entering this phase of dynamic model construction, the user needs
to ensure that proper volumes are supplied for every unit operation and reasonable pressure
drop relationships are dened in every unit to account for the pressure gradient across the
whole simulation model.
In its current status the model contains 3 vessels, 3 heat transfer devices, 1 pump, 6 valves
and a mixer. Consequently, it is necessary to provide rating information for all these devices.
The software allows for a scalable approach to equipment sizing, from simply just entering
the vessel volume (and the rest of dimensions are set to default values according to internal
rules) to a complete access to all rating parameters. For the sake of simplicity and due to
the introductory level of this module, the simplest equipment sizing approach is being used
here. Ask your instructor if you are curious about the additional capabilities of the software.
Most of the sizing information is going to be added in the Rating tab of every unit.
Another tab that contains sizing information is the Dynamics tab. Using both tabs, the user
should be able to enter all the dimensions of the equipment.
5.2.1. Open the HP Separator property view and move to its Rating tab/Sizing page.
5.2.2. Enter a volume of 50 m3 and allow the simulator to auto-calculate the rest of
dimensions. Leave the Geometry at its defaults (vertical, at cylinder).
64
5.2.3. The vessels do not oer any resistance to ow and in rating them, it is not neces-
sary to worry about pressure drop correlations.
5.2.4. Size the IP and LP separators as horizontal, at cylinders, of 30 m3 and 25 m3
respectively.
5.2.5. For the IP Separator move to the Dynamics tab and see that in the Specs page
you can nd the same rating information. Just to start from a dierent initial value, x the
Liq Volume Percent at 40% instead of the default 50%.
5.2.6. For the three separators, once in the Rating tab, move to the Nozzles page. Check
the elevations (both, in meters and in height %) at which the software has placed the dierent
nozzles by default. See that the boot is taken into account when measuring the elevations
of the nozzles.
5.2.7. The nozzle elevations are important values to remember because they will deter-
mine what mixture is leaving through each nozzle.
5.2.8. The volumes of the three heat transfer devices are considered to be equal to 5 m3
each. In these unit operations, the volume value is added on the Specs page of the Dynamics
tab. In every heat transfer device, move to that page and enter the desired volume (See that
65
a default value of 0.1 m3 is already there, too small to be realistic).
5.2.9. Still in the Model Details group, move as well from a Supplied Duty model to a
Product Temp Spec model by switching the radio button. Ensure that the Product Temp
shown is the one you specied when building the model.
5.2.10. The heat transfer devices do oer resistance to ow. The way the simulator will
calculate this resistance is by using a k constant in the turbulent ow equation. This k can
be calculated from the equivalent length of the installed equipment or can be back-calculated
by the software using the pressure drop and ow values used in the development of the steady
state model.
5.2.11. Still in the same Specs page of the Dynamics tab there is another group, Dynamic
Specications, where the user can use the Calculate k button to estimate the value of k and
a check box to activate its use during dynamic simulations.
5.2.12. Repeat the procedure for every heat transfer device.
For the most realistic dynamic simulation of a centrifugal pump, the pump performance
curves are necessary. However, if process conditions remain stable, an acceptable simulation
can be achieved by using a xed eciency and a specied duty. As pump performance curves
are not available, the second approach will be followed in this exercise.
5.2.13. Open the Pump property view and go to Specs page of the Dynamics tab. Ensure
that the Eciency and the Power are the two active (checked on) specications in the list. If
necessary, this value of Power can be later modied by the user during dynamic simulation
runs, if the ow is signicantly dierent from the one in Steady State.
66
5.2.14. Open the Manifold valve and move to its Rating tab/Sizing page:
See that the Cv and the Cg values are missing but that a Size Valve button is available.
When the button is used, the simulator uses the information that appears in the Sizing
Conditions group plus the Valve Operating Characteristics to determine a current value of
the valves Cv.
5.2.15. Press the Size Valve button for the Manifold valve.
5.2.16. Move to the Dynamics tab, Specs page and ensure that in the Dynamic Speci-
cations group the Pressure Flow Relation is selected.
5.2.17. Repeat these steps for the rest of valves in the model.
The Dynamic model should now be almost ready to run. It only misses the boundary
conditions between which to integrate the dierential equations. The number of necessary
boundary conditions normally coincides with the degrees of freedom of the pressure-ow
system of equations, which in turn usually coincides with the number of boundary streams
(feeds and products) in the model. The most realistic setup of the model that can be pre-
pared is to use pressure boundary conditions and allow the model to run due to the pressure
67
gradient that these conditions establish.
5.2.18. Switch the PFD Colour Scheme (you nd it on the PFD top right corner) from
Default to Dynamic P/F Specs.
5.2.19. Identify the boundary streams in the model: Produced Fluids, Produced
Water, Condensate Export, Gas Cooler Out, IP Vap and LP Vap.
5.2.20. Remembering the colour scheme mentioned in Module 1, check what boundary
specications are already active in the model.
5.2.21. Modify the existing specications or create new ones in order to have only a
pressure specication in every boundary stream.
5.2.22. Check the Dynamics Assistant to see if there is any potential trouble remaining.
5.2.23. Move to the Dynamics environment.
5.2.24. Run the integrator by pressing the green trac light icon for a few simulation
minutes to check if the integrator is capable of starting the model for dynamic simulation.
The simulation is now running in open-loop, without any control action to maintain the
variables at desired set points. Of course, a dynamic simulation needs as well as any real
plant a control strategy to avoid undesired runaway situations due to upsets.
68
5.3 Installing control strategy
The simulation case is in Steady State environment and ready to have the control strategy
added. Lets begin supplying the ow control of the system, by adding a control of the ow
of produced uids.
A ow controller
5.3.1. From the Object Palette, select a PID controller and place it on the PFD, close enough
to the Manifold valve.
5.3.2. The Connections page of a PID controller allows the user to select the Process
Variable (PV), the variable that is necessary to maintain at a certain desired value (Set
Point, SP); and the Output Variable (OP), the variable that is going to be manipulated to
have the PV achieve the SP.
5.3.3. For this ow controller select the Molar Flow of Produced Fluids stream as
PV and the Actuator Desired Position of Manifold valve as the OP:
As discussed in previous modules, a ow controller acting on a valve needs a Reverse
action. If the Steady State Environment results are going to be the normal operating point
for Dynamic simulation, it is good practice to use a PV Range of twice the SS value (from 0
owrate to double the SS result). Good starting values for the Tuning parameters of a Flow
69
controller (in preparation for later ne tuning) can be Kc = 0.1 and Ti = 0.25 minutes.
5.3.4. Implement the above guidelines to dene the ow controller:
A level controller
Now each vessel needs to have the level controlled to ensure that the mixtures leaving it are
of the desired type. Lets begin by dening a liquid level controller for the HP separator.
5.3.5. Install again a PID controller close enough to the HP Separator. Connect it by
selecting as PV the Liquid Percent Level of vessel HP Separator and the Actuator Desired
Position of VLV-100 as OP.
70
5.3.6. The Range for the PV is now easy to dene (0% to 100%), the action should
be Direct (if PV decreases, OP needs to decrease; if PV increases, OP needs to increase),
and rst initial guesses for Tuning parameters can be 2 and 10 for Kc and Ti, respectively.
Normally, SP for liquid level in vessels is 50%.
5.3.7. Open the Face Plate of the LIC-100.
The IP and LP separators are dierent than the HP Separator. They are separating 3
phases and consequently, they contain 2 inter-phase levels (Liquid 1 - Liquid 2 and Liquid 1 -
Vapor). For a proper control of the 3 phases, 2 level controllers are needed for each separator.
71
The same PID controller type that has been used for the HP Separator can be used to
control the level of the light liquid in the IP and LP Separators. Because the water product
is not very important for the plant protability, an accurate and expensive control is not
needed and a simple On-O controller is going to be implemented to control the water level
in the boot of the separator.
5.3.8. Install a PID controller and select the Liquid Percent Level in IP Separator as PV
and Actuator Desired Position (ADP) of VLV-101 as OP.
5.3.9. Use the guidelines in point 3.8 to dene it.
5.3.10. Open its Face Plate.
5.3.11. Repeat steps 3.10 to 3.12 for the LP Separator, using the ADP of VLV-102 as
the OP.
An On-O for Water level
When we had a look to the nozzles position we noted that the light liquid nozzle was
at 33% of vessel height and that the heavy liquid nozzle was at 0% of vessel height. So, it
is important to avoid water to accumulate in the vessel to a level above this 33% to prevent
water owing out of the vessel through the light liquid nozzle. When dening the On-O
controller parameters this needs to be taken into account.
An On-O controller is implemented using the functionality of the Digital Point logical
operator: that is located in the Object Palette, just above the PID controller.
5.3.12. Install one Digital Point logical operator close to the IP Separator and use the
HvyLiquid Percent Level variable as Process Variable. For the OP, like we have been do-
ing up to now, it is necessary to select the Actuator Desired Position of VLV-103. However,
for the Digital Point controller it is necessary to select the Digital Actuator Desired Position.
72
5.3.13. Dene its Parameters according to the picture below:
73
5.3.14. Install an identical On-O Controller for the LP Separator.
5.3.15. Switch to Dynamics mode and start the Integrator for some minutes. Observe
how the control strategy reacts, how the controlled variables (PVs) stay at the desired SP
(or not) and how the manipulated variables (OP) change to drive the PVs to the SPs.
Working in this way, we can only see what is happening at every moment, but we are not
storing any historical data of what has been happening before. In order to analyse historical
74
behavior, we need a tool to visualize the evolution of the variables and to store a number of
historical points. This can be achieved using the Strip charts.
Strip Charts can be created by the user selecting the variables of interest or can be au-
tomatically created by the simulator. In either of the cases, they can be later modied to
change the variables displayed.
5.3.15. Double-click on the HP Separator to open its property view and move to the
Strip Chart page of the Dynamics tab. Select Small Dynamic State in the drop-down menu.
Remove part of the variables to leave only:
5.3.16. Press the Create Stripchart... button. A new window opens with the just created
graphical interface:
75
5.3.17. Open the Databook (Ctrl + D) and see in its Variables tab that the three HP
Separator variables have been automatically added. If you move to its Strip Charts tab,
then you will see that the three variables are selected for the only existing Strip Chart, HP
Separator-DL1.
5.3.18. Still in the Strip Charts tab, press the Add button to create a new one. Change
its default name to IP Separator.
5.3.19. Go back to the Variables tab and press the Insert button to nd the relevant
variables for the IP Separator:
Liquid Percent Level.
HvyLiquid Percent Level.
Vessel Pressure.
Vessel Temperature.
5.3.20. Go back to the Strip Charts tab, highlight the IP Separator strip chart and acti-
vate the checkboxes of the four variables mentioned above.
5.3.21. In the View group, press the Strip Chart... button.
5.3.22. For the time being, close the Databook window.
76
5.4 Completing the model
Up to now, we have been taking care of the modeling of the liquids in the owsheet. All
vapor streams were left as boundary streams, without too much modeling. The simulation
case is now going to be completed by adding the vapor compressors and related equipment.
The nal setup of the processing plant is the one shown in the picture below:
5.3.23. Open the case you saved at the end of point 3.31 in Exercise 3, Inlet Plant-
Exercise3. Your case should be in Steady State Mode.
5.3.24. Switch the Color Scheme back to the original Default color scheme.
5.3.25. The LP vapor streams are going to be compressed up to the IP vapors pressure
and mixed together. To do so, install a Mixer downstream of IP Vap stream and set it to
Equalize All pressures. Rename the stream at the mixer outlet: To Aftercooler.
5.3.26. Install a compressor K-100 with LP Vap as input and a new stream called IP Vap
2 as outlet. Connect this new stream as the second input to the mixer created in point 4.2.
The owsheet should solve completely.
5.3.27. Add a cooler (IP Aftercooler) to decrease the temperature of To Aftercooler
stream down to 38

A
o
C. There is a 50 kPa pressure drop in the cooler.
5.3.28. Add a cooler (IP Aftercooler) to decrease the temperature of To Aftercooler
stream down to 38

A
o
C. There is a 50 kPa pressure drop in the cooler.
5.3.29. Install a separator (IP Scrubber) to separate the liquids formed during cooling.
It should use as feed the outlet of the recycle block.
5.3.30. Install another compressor (K-101) to increase the pressure of the separator va-
pors and a cooler to decrease its temperature down to 38

A
o
C. A 50 kPa pressure drop can
be assumed in the cooler.
77
5.3.31. Install a Mixer, with Equalize All option, that should mix together these com-
pressed and cooled down vapors with the ones that were coming from the HP Separator.
Name Gas Export the resulting mixed stream.
5.3.32. Due to the cooling, stream Gas Export is not only vapor. Another separator is
needed (TEG Scrubber) to eliminate the liquids and to have the vapors ready for dehydra-
tion once warmed up to 32

A
o
C in heater H-202 (50 kPa pressure drop).
5.3.33. Use a Mixer (Equalize All) to mix the liquids of the TEG Scrubber with the
liquids of the HP Separator. A valve will be needed for the TEG Scrubber liquids line.
5.3.34. Use a Mixer (Equalize All) to mix the liquids of the IP Scrubber with the liquids
of the IP Separator before the Condensate Heater. A valve will be necessary for the IP
Scrubber liquids line.
78
5.3.35. Now, this part of the owsheet should look very close to the following diagram.
79