EP-4044082-B1 - INDUSTRIAL PROCESS SIMULATION

EP4044082B1EP 4044082 B1EP4044082 B1EP 4044082B1EP-4044082-B1

Inventors

HOWELL, ANDREW JOHN
AYLOTT, Michael Robert
O'NEILL, DARREN
DURST, Jason Garrett

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20140805

Claims (15)

A computer-implemented method of simulating an industrial process comprising: receiving process information defining an industrial process for simulation, wherein the process information specifies a process topology comprising process components and connections between process components and associated process parameters; receiving from a user or from an external software a rule and creating and storing the rule, the rule defining a time-dependent property of the process information, the rule specifying a time step size according to which the time-dependent property is varied and at least one process information value to be accumulated; and simulating the process based on the received process information under variation of the time-dependent property of the process information, wherein the simulating comprises: executing a process simulator to perform a simulation of the industrial process based on the received process information for each of a plurality of time steps based on the specified time step size and with the time-dependent property varied as defined by the rule; wherein the time step size is at least a day and wherein the simulation is a steady-state simulation of a quasi-steady-state process; and accumulating the process information value across the simulations for each of the plurality of time steps.
A method according to Claim 1, wherein the time-dependent property relates to a performance deterioration of an equipment component.
A method according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the time-dependent property relates to a feed reservoir decline.
A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the result of a simulation affects the subsequent simulation.
A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the rule includes a start time, an end time, an end condition, a number of time steps, and/or a time period according to which the time-dependent property is varied.
A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the time-dependent property is a process parameter and/or a process topography, preferably wherein the time-dependent process parameter is a flow rate, a composition, a pressure, a temperature, a dew point, a true vapour pressure, a Wobbe Index, an operating parameter and/or a characterising parameter.
A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the time-dependent property is specified by a set of discrete time/property pairs, optionally by a table or list, preferably wherein time steps corresponding to the discrete time set are used; or wherein the time-dependent property is specified by a continuous set of time/property pairs, optionally by a curve or a mathematical function.
A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the rule specifies a time, a period and/or a condition relating to the process information, and an alternative for the process information, and applying the rule comprises applying the alternative at the time, when the period is finished and/or the condition is met.
A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the process information value to be accumulated is a resource input and/or a resource output, preferably wherein the process information value to be accumulated includes at least one of: power requirement, production mass, and consumption mass.
A method according to any preceding claim, further comprising providing a display of the development of the process information of interest, or a cumulative, minimum or maximum value thereof, under variation of the time-dependent property.
A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the time-dependent property relates only to a sub-group of the process for simulation, and variation of the time-dependent property and simulation is limited to the relevant sub-group.
An apparatus or system for simulating an industrial process comprising: means for receiving process information defining an industrial process for simulation, wherein the process information specifies a process topology comprising process components and connections between process components and associated process parameters; means for receiving from a user or from an external software a rule and creating and storing at least one rule, the rule defining a time-dependent property of the process information, the rule specifying a time step size according to which the time-dependent property is varied and at least one process information value to be accumulated; and means for simulating the process based on the received process information under variation of the time-dependent property of the process information, wherein the simulating means is configured to execute a process simulator to perform a simulation of the industrial process for each of a plurality of time steps based on the specified time step size and with the time-dependent property varied as defined by the rule; wherein the time step size is at least a day and wherein the simulation is a steady-state simulation of a quasi-steady-state process; and means for accumulating the process information value across the simulations for each of the plurality of time steps.
A method of designing and/or building a portion of an industrial processing facility using the output of the method of simulation of any of Claims 1 to 11.
An apparatus or system, preferably as set out in Claim 12, comprising means (for example in the form of one or more software modules and/or a suitably programmed processor) for performing a method as set out in any of Claims 1 to 11.
A computer program product or non-transitory computer readable medium comprising software code adapted, when executed, to perform the method of any of Claims 1 to 11.

Description

The present invention relates to method of and apparatus for industrial process simulation, in particular for hydrocarbon processing, including oil and gas processing and production, refining and petrochemicals processing. Industrial processes such as chemical production and hydrocarbon refining are complex processes with many variables affecting the quality and yield of the final product as well as the efficiency and reliability of the process itself. In order to make such processes commercially viable, these processes are typically carried on a very large scale; for this reason it is often impractical to run test-processes to determine optimal conditions. Furthermore, physically testing a wide range of scenarios would be impractical, and would risk damaging the equipment and presenting a safety risk to the operators. US 2005/240382 A1 discloses a computer-implemented method of simulating industrial processes, such as petroleum refining chemical processes, in a plant. The present invention seeks to ameliorate the above problems by use of industrial process simulation. The present invention and preferred embodiments are defined in the appended claims. Embodiments of the present invention provide a method of simulating industrial processes which can enable an engineer to determine optimal configuration settings based on a set of rules and/or given conditions without having to physically carry out experiments. The output of the simulation results can aid the engineer in choosing the type of equipment to use in a design and the operating conditions for that equipment. Further functionality is disclosed which can enable an engineer to forecast for known future effects (such as well depletion or equipment performance degradation) which may alter engineering decisions based purely on current conditions. Disclosed approaches can also allow an engineer to model certain metrics related to an industrial process having selected certain process conditions and design characteristics, and thus operate the process in an optimally efficient, reliable and safe manner given the various real-world restrictions in place. In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer-implemented method of simulating an industrial process comprising: creating and storing a simulation workflow comprising a plurality of rules, wherein rules specify processing actions relating to input to, running of, or output of a simulation; receiving process information defining an industrial process for simulation, wherein the process information specifies a process topology comprising process components (e.g. equipment) and connections between process components and associated process parameters; executing the simulation workflow, the executing comprising: applying the specified rules, wherein for at least one of the rules, applying the rule comprises modifying the received process information based on the rule to alter the process topology and/or parameters; and invoking a process simulator to perform a computer simulation of the industrial process based on the modified process information; and wherein the method further comprises generating and outputting simulation result data based on the performed simulation. In a further aspect, the invention provides a computer-implemented method of simulating an industrial process comprising: receiving process information defining an industrial process for simulation, wherein the process information specifies a process topology comprising process components and connections between process components and associated process parameters; creating and storing at least one rule defining a time-dependent property of the process information, the rule specifying a time step size according to which the time-dependent property is varied; and simulating the process based on the received process information under variation of the time-dependent property of the process information, wherein the simulating comprises: executing a process simulator to perform a simulation of the industrial process based on the received process information for each of a plurality of time steps based on the specified time step size and with the time-dependent property varied as defined by the rule. In a further aspect, the invention provides a computer-implemented method of performing a simulation of an industrial process comprising: receiving process information defining a process for simulation; simulating the process based on the received process information; receiving a selection of first and second flow portions of the simulated process and a selection of a phase analysis; performing the selected phase analysis on the first selected process flow portion; performing the selected phase analysis on the second selected process flow portion; and outputting a comparison of the phase analysis results from the first and second process flow portions. Further aspects provide a system or apparatus having means (for example in the form of one