Experience with an Operator Training Simulator in the Chemical
Engineering Undergraduate Curriculum
RICHARD TURTON
DEBANGSU BHATTACHARYYA
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY, MORGANTOWN, WV 26506
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Outline • Facilities at WVU
• A recruiting tool
• Junior level fluids course
• Senior level design course
• Senior level process dynamics and control course
• Senior level elective – “Chemical Process Simulation” course
• Conclusions
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Facilities at West Virginia University
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Facilities at West Virginia University - OTS
• Fully functional OTS for an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant
• 20 process areas including gasifier, slurry preparation, acid gas removal, cryogenic air separation, Claus plant, gas turbine, steam turbines
• Operate in gasification only, gas turbine only, and IGCC configurations
• Full scope OTS - suitable for operator and engineer training • Normal operations • Start-ups (cold, warm, hot), shutdown (ESD), load changes • Faulted operations as well as safety and risk analysis • 200 process malfunctions • 30 major malfunctions or
accident investigations (ITS) • 200 remote functions (ITS) • DCS control emulation in Dynsim • Instructor capabilities (e.g., scenarios, trending, snapshots) • Operator training HMI (InTouch)
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Facilities at West Virginia University - ITS
• 3D virtual reality software - EYESIM® allows users to • interact with plant equipment items (e.g., gasifier) • activate transparent views (e.g., liquid level in a tank) • display pop-up trends (e.g., gas turbine combustor temperature over
time), • experience equipment sound effects (e.g., pump engines) • view malfunctions (e.g., leaks, fires) • Complete visual training scenarios (e.g., CO2 absorber column
operation).
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OTS and ITS as a Recruiting Tool • As part of the freshman program – all students must attend
presentations from at least 3 departments (Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Computer Science, Industrial, MAE, Mining, Petroleum and NG)
• ChE have added the AVESTAR Center as part of their tour of facilities
• Very positive response from students – get to play with avatar and wear 3D glasses
• Often ask “is this a game”!
• Student recruitment is up in ChE
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Junior Level Fluids Course - ITS • Rotating Equipment operation
• NPSH – Cavitation • Piping arrangement – suction and discharge • Internal operation - impellor and orientation of suction and
discharge pipes, inlet guide vanes • Location of valves, pressure gauge, control valve, etc.
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Insert centrifugal pump video and pump pipe arrangement
Senior Level Design Course
• OTS – Discuss representation of process • Block Flow Diagram, Process Flow Diagram, and P&ID
• Process control structure
• ITS – virtual plant tour • Relate size of equipment to “icons” on PFD and P&ID
• Show complexity of plant • Arrangement of piping and instrumentation
• Stacking of equipment and relative footprint of plant
• Location of equipment for maintenance and accessibility
• Reiterate some of the principles from junior level courses
• Show internal operation of equipment
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Senior Level Design Course
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P&ID and HMI Displays for Process Information and Control
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Internal Operation of Equipment
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Internal Operation and Size of Equipment
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Internal Operation and Size of Equipment
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Internal Operation and Size of Equipment
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Emergency Malfunctions and Safety Training
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Emergency Malfunctions and Safety Training
Senior Level Process Dynamics and Control Course
Demonstrate the real life application of the controls theory
Show the students where their current course work fits into the real process plant
Demonstrate the crucial role that the control system plays
Demonstrate interactions between different equipment/systems/ variables
Provide the students with a big picture view as well as finer details as much as tractable and applicable in about 4 hours of time
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About the course
For the undergraduates, this is the only course so far concentrating on both process dynamics and control.
Mainly linear single input single output (SISO) systems are studied.
Only software used in the class (of course not considering the OTS demonstrations) is Matlab/Simulink.
This is the second year when the dynamic simulator is being used in teaching this course.
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Senior Level Process Dynamics and Control Course
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Show how time-delay occurs in an actual plant
Use the step response data for identifying process model
Coal feed to the plant is decreased in a step
Transient response in the CO2 composition at the inlet of the H2S absorber is recorded
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Example of a Time Delay
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Coal Feed – Syngas Flow Path
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Process Control Example – closed loop system
Demonstration example: Radiant syngas cooler (RSC) steam generator
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Process Control Example – closed loop system Coal feed-flow is step increased : Demonstrate control loop performance for disturbance rejection : Demonstrate how different systems interact in an actual plant
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Process Control Example – open loop unstable system
Open-loop system, emergency controller takes over: The plant still operates normally with a loss of efficiency Demonstrate the necessity of a “good design” for which the dynamic consideration is crucial
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Process Control Example – open loop no emergency controller
With no emergency controller, plant shuts down: Drum level decreases to a very low level triggering a plant shutdown This demonstrates other “lines of defense”- emergency shutdown system
Senior level elective – “Chemical Process Simulation” course
.
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Student exposure in Simulation Course • 1st Lecture – discussed IGCC plant overview, key features of the OTS including:
• navigation between HMI screens and plant overview screens • trending features • control panels and control operation • digital logic and permissives • alarms • links to dynamic model through data historian and the emulation of the plant
Senior level elective – “Chemical Process Simulation” course
.
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Student exposure in Simulation Course • Simulation course ran for 6-8 weeks prior to a 1-day work session by the
students starting up the Claus unit. Key features covered in the 1-day session were: • Exposure to start-up procedures • Equipment preparation • Digital logic (switches and permissives) • Timing of actions • Different control strategies • Physical interpretation (analysis) of process changes
Student exposure to OTS in Simulation Course Example 1 - Start up procedures
Not all valves in P&ID are on HMI – remote function (RF) valves located in plant and are manually operated
Chemical Process Simulation Course
Student exposure to OTS in Simulation Course
Example 2 – Digital logic and permissives
Chemical Process Simulation Course
Student exposure to OTS in Simulation Course
Example 2 - Digital Logic and permissives
Chemical Process Simulation Course
Conclusions • Practical design considerations easily illustrated using the ITS
• Examples from the OTS and ITS can be used in multiple places in the standard chemical engineering curriculum
• Exposure to complex processes enhances students understanding of process dynamics and different levels of process control
• Students (at least at WVU) relate to theory much better when they can see it implemented in the “real world”
• Even limited training on the OTS provides valuable operations experience to young engineers
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