(123a) Hybrid Simulation of a Dynamic System

Process simulators are the foundation of modern process synthesis, plant design, and production analytics. These versatile tools enable engineers to effortlessly perform mass, energy, and species balance calculations for complex networks of unit operations, under both steady-state and dynamic conditions.

A challenge arises when a process has special features that are not readily accommodated by the simulation platform. Examples include unit operations where internal gradients influence the connection between inputs and outputs, the use of species and/or operating ranges for which thermodynamic relations are not available, and vendor proprietary equipment such as membranes. For these cases, process simulators provide interface capabilities to enable users to incorporate their own custom models into their process calculations, thereby greatly extending their applicability.

In this talk, we explain and demonstrate a hybrid simulation for a dynamic process involving real-time information exchange between the CHEMCAD^® process simulation platform and MATLAB^®, a standard tool for mathematical modeling and technical computing.