Computers chem. Engng, Vol. 21, Suppl., pp.

S1111-S1115, 1997
© 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd
Pergamon All rights reserved
Printed in Great Britain
PII:S0098-1354(97)00198-1 0098-1354/97 $17.00+0.00

Real Time Simulation of a

V C M Plant
Petter LundstrCm 1, Terje Sira 2 and Tor Ausen 3

lKongsberg Simrad AS, IS Group, P.O. Box 1089, N-3194 Horten, Norway
2Institute for Energy Technology, P.O. Box 40, N-2007 Kjeller, Norway
3Hydro Rafnes, N-3965 Herre, Norway

Abstract - A real time dynamic simulator of the Hydro Rafnes VCM plant has been developed. The simulator
model covers the cracking and quench section of the plant, as well as the HC1 column and refrigeration unit. A
high fidelity emulation of the distributed control system, Honeywell TDC 3000, is an essential part of the
simulator. The simulator is mainly used for operator training, but has also been very useful during tests of the
control strategy of a new refrigeration compressor. New development for this specific simulator project includes
development of a cracker furnace model and thermodynamic routines for "On-line K-value" computation and
robust flash routines for mixtures with one dominant component and small amounts of impurities.

1. INTRODUCTION experience with training simulators, Kongsberg

Steady state simulation is a well established tool in
the process industry. The usage of dynamic process
simulation is also increasing. Today's technology
has reduced the cost associated with dynamic
simulation studies and made dynamic simulations a
cost effective tool in practically all phases of a
project, from the design phase and throughout the
entire life cycle of a plant.
Kongsberg Norcontrol 1 has produced real time
dynamic process simulators for well over a decade.
The Norcontrol process simulators may be divided
into two categories; Industrial Simulators and
Maritime Simulators. The major part of the
Industrial Simulators have been delivered to the off-
shore industry and have mainly been used for
operator training and verification of proposed
control strategies and operating procedures.
However, during the last couple of years Norcontrol
has expanded its market to cover also land based
process industry.
Plans for a major upgrade of the control system at
Hydro Rafnes VCM plant was initiated in the
beginning of the 1990's. The old panel based control
system was going to be replaced by a screen based
Honeywell TDC 3000. In connection with this
upgrade the need for a training simulator emerged.
Although the operator personnel had extensive
experience of operating the plant, the introduction of
a screen based system was considered to be such a
major switch-over, that a training simulator would
be a useful investment. In addition to long
1 Since Jan. 1. 1997, the Industrial Simulator Group
is part of Kongsberg Simrad AS.
Norcontrol could also offer an existing in house
developed package for emulation of Honeywell TDC
3000. Furthermore, the development of a VCM
Simulator was well in line with Kongsberg
Norcontrol's interest in increasing its land based
market, thus the VCM simulator development
project was born.
This paper presents some results and experiences
obtained during the development of the Hydro
Rafnes VCM Simulator. Kongsberg Norcontrol has
been the leading partner in this project, Institute for
Energy Technology has also participated and Hydro
Rafnes has supplied data as well as operational
experience. This project has been partially supported
by Norsk Forskningsr~d, NFR.
2. PROSIM
ProSim is the common product name for process
simulators produced by the Industrial Simulator
Group and the Marine Process Simulator Group at
Kongsberg Norcontrol. Norcontrol has a long
experience with producing real time simulators and
the name ProSim has been used since 1986 when a
new generation of dynamic process simulators was
introduced. Since then the concept has been under
continuous development. Today, ProSim is a state-
of-the-art product and includes a number of modules
of which some are presented below.
ASSET, Advanced Simulation Study and
Engineering Tool, is an environment for working
with ProSim simulators. ASSET is used for both on-
line and off-line activities. ASSET ON-LINE is a
tool to start and control a runtime simulator. It
includes a number of interfaces to view and

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Sl112 PSE '97-ESCAPE-7 Joint Conference
manipulate any variable and parameter in the
simulator. The off-line part of ASSET consists of the
Graphical Configuration Tool (GCT) and
PointBuilder. GCT is a tool for configuration of new
simulators, maintenance and modifications of
existing simulators. As the name reveals, GCT is a
graphical tool, where the simulator is built by
drawing a 'picture' of the plant, essentially looking
like a "Piping and Instrumentation Diagram".
PointBuilder is also an off-line tool, just like GCT. It
is used to inspect and modify the simulator database.
It provides a lower level access to the simulator
database than does the GCT.
Modlib is the ProSim model library which
comprises a large number of unit models. Each
model describes a physical unit such as a control
valve, a transmitter, a pipe, a vessel etc. Modlib
contains a large set of standard chemical engineering
unit operations. These models are in most cases
"high fidelity" models based on first principles, i.e.
conservation of mass and energy and in some cases
also momentum balances. The units in Modlib are
easily connected to each other by simply drawing a
connection line in GCT. One of the most complex
models in the library is a distillation column model,
developed at Institute for Energy Technology. This
model performs detailed calculations of the flow
dynamics in the column and the separation is
computed using tray to tray calculations. A rather
detailed description of this model is given by Olsen
et al. (1997). As part of the VCM simulator project a
unit model of a cracker furnace has been developed
and the compressor model has been extended to also
describe compressors with controllable inlet guide
vanes. The cracker furnace model is described in
section 4 of this paper.
All thermodynamic calculations in a ProSim
simulator are performed by the Thermodynamic
Toolkit. This package allows a large degree of
flexibility for the user to specify what
thermodynamic methods to use for the simulation.
The structure of the Thermodynamic Toolkit also
makes it rather simple to add new routines to the
package. For example, the Hydro Rafnes VCM
Simulator uses customised routines for some
thermodynamic properties. New routines developed
for the VCM simulator also include "on-line K-
values" and PH- as well as UV-flash routines for
mixtures with one dominating component, e.g. an
essentially one component fluid containing a few
PPM (parts per million) of impurities. These
routines are described in section 4 of this paper.
The Network Solver is another essential piece of
ProSim. The on-line part of this package performs
centralised numerical integration of the stiff
pressure-flow couplings of the entire simulator
model. The Network Solver is presented in a paper
by Endrest¢l et al. (1989).
The Instructor interface to a ProSim simulator is
called the Training and Evaluation Control (TEC)
instructor system. The TEC instructor facility
comprises two main parts. One part is a menu-driven
system for generation, control and evaluation of
training sessions. The other part includes live
process mimic pictures (automatically generated
based on the GCT pictures described above) that
allows the instructor to monitor transmitter readings,
operate manual valves, start and stop locally
controlled pumps etc. The instructor may also
introduce equipment malfunctions from these mimic
pictures, for example prevent a pressure relief valve
from opening.
A set of interfaces to different Distributed Control
Systems is also part of the ProSim product. Such an
interface is used when the simulator model is
stimulating real vendor supplied hardware. In the
case of Honeywell TDC 3000 Norcontrol can provide
either a stimulated or an emulated solution.
Norcontrol's TDC emulation package includes a
configuration program that directly transfers the real
TDC 3000 custom display and controller
configurations to the simulator. This enables easy
update of the simulator and new control
configurations can be tested on the simulator before
they are implemented in the real plant.
Most of the code in ProSim is written in C and
C++ and the simulator runs on UNIX workstations.
Parts the software in ProSim is developed by
Kongsberg Norcontrol, for example ASSET, while
other parts are developed by Institute for Energy
Technology (IFE), for example the Thermodynamic
Toolkit and the Network Solver. The software is
owned by Kongsberg Norcontrol and IFE together.
3. VCM SIMULATOR
3.1 HYDRO RAFNES VCM PLANT
The Hydro Rafnes petrochemical complex consists
of three plants; an ethylene plant, a chlorine plant
and a vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant. Some
of the ethylene and all the chlorine produced in the
two first plants is fed as feed stock to the VCM
plant, where VCM, the raw material for production
of PVC plastic (Poly vinyl chloride), is produced.
The chemistry of VCM production is described by
the following three reactions:
Reaction 1: Ethylene (C2H4) + Chlorine (C12)
gives EthyleneDiChloride (EDC)
Reaction 2: Ethylene (C2H4) + HydrogenChloride
(2 HCI) + Oxygen (1/2 02) gives
EthyleneDiChloride (EDC) + Water (H20)
Reaction 3: EthyleneDiChloride (EDC) gives
VinylChlorideMonomer (VCM) +
HydrogenChloride (HC1)
In words; reaction 1 and 2 are used to produce
EDC which in turn is converted to the desired
product VCM, according to reaction 3. The
hydrogen chloride produced in reaction 3 is purified
 PSE '97-ESCAPE-7 Joint Conference
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Figure 1: Simulated Plant Overview
and used to produce new EDC according to
reaction 2.
The most dominating equipment of a VCM plant
are the huge cracker furnaces, where reaction 3 is
performed at high a temperature. At Hydro Rafnes
three crackers are operated in parallel. A number of
distillation columns are also part of the VCM plant.
As in any process plant there are also a large number
of vessels, heat-exchangers, pumps etc.
3.2 SIMULATOR MODEL
An overview of the process units included in the
simulator model is shown in Fig. 1
The simulator model was originally meant to
cover the Cracking and Quench section (where
reaction 3 is taking place) and the HC1 column in the
Separation and Purification section. However, later
in the project it was decided to also include the
refrigeration unit in the model. This model extension
was made since a new refrigeration compressor was
going to be installed. By including a complete model
of the refrigeration unit into the simulator, one was
able to test the control strategy of the refrigeration
compressor ahead of the planned start-up of the
actual real equipment. So, the primary purpose of the
model extension was to enable control system
verification and to perform operational studies. As
an additional benefit, the training simulator also got
a detailed model of the refrigeration unit.
S 1113
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The number of major unit model instances in the
simulated plant model are listed below, in order to
illustrate the large scale of the VCM simulator; 3
crackers, 3 quenches, 1 column, 1 compressor (3
stages), 21 separators and vessels, 21 heat
exchangers, 8 pumps, 9 electrical motors, 379 pipes
(with 184 nodes) and 251 valves.
3.3 TDC EMULATION
An emulated Honeywell operator station, equipped
with a touch screen and a Honeywell replica
keyboard, enables the trainee to operate the
simulated plant in the same way as the real plant.
The TDC emulation is based on supporting all
functions and parameters used for control in the real
TDC system. This results in a large number of
variable in the emulation. In all, the simulator
comprises about 485.000 variables and 35.000
parameters, of which 115.000 variables and 34.000
parameters are used in the process model, while the
remaining variables and parameters are used in the
TDC emulation. The advantage of such a detailed
emulation is that the simulator can be automatically
configured using translators that reads and converts
the complete TDC 3000 database, i.e. custom
displays and controller configurations are directly
transferred from the real plant to the simulator. This
facilitates testing of proposed control configurations
on the simulator, before implementation on the real
plant.
Sl114 PSE '97-ESCAPE-7 Joint Conference
3.4 HARDWARE
The Hydro Rafnes VCM simulator hardware
comprises two computers; one main simulation
computer (HP735, SPECint92 = 109, SPECfp92 =
168, 96 MB RAM) executing the mathematical
model and running the instructor interface, and one
operator station computer (HP C110, SPECint92 =
167, SPECfp92 = 269, 64 MB RAM) running the
TDC graphics.
Originally, a less powerful computer (HP715/50)
was assigned to run the TDC graphics. This choice
of computer was based on experiences from
deliveries to the off-shore industry. However, the
VCM plant graphics turned out to be more complex
with a higher degree of functionality than what is
typical for an off-shore installation. This resulted in
slower response to operator inputs on the simulator
than on the real system. This problem was solved by
upgrading the computer to a more powerful one.
4. NEW DEVELOPMENT
4.1 CRACKER MODEL
The cracker furnace is modelled in terms of :
1) two parallel coils in which the cracking reaction
takes place,
2) a furnace where a combustion reaction takes
place, i.e. fuelgas and air is burned producing heat
and flue gas.
Each coil is modelled as four control volumes in
series, with a flowrate dependent pressure drop
between the control volumes. In each volume perfect
mixing is assumed implying homogeneous
composition, temperature and pressure. A total
energy balance and material balances for each
component are satisfied for each of the volumes. No
reaction takes place in the three first volumes, but
the fourth and last coil volume is modelled as a
stoichiometric reactor, where the conversion of EDC
to VCM and HC1 is a function of inlet flowrate and
outlet temperature. Heat of reaction is rigorously
computed. The heat capacity of a coil includes two
parts, the heat capacities of the fluid within the coil
and the coil itself.
The furnace is modelled as three control volumes
in series. The first one is a combustion chamber
where fuelgas is mixed with air and burned. The
chamber is modelled as a stoichiometric reactor
assuming total combustion, no NOx products,
instantaneous combustion at the inlet to the furnace
and perfect mixing within the combustion chamber
volume. Heat capacities of the fluid within the
furnace and the furnace walls, are modelled. Heat
transfer to the coils is modelled as convection with a
given heat transfer coefficient.
4.2 ON-LINE K- VALUES
Vapour liquid equilibrium (VLE) calculations are
often a dominating CPU-time consumer in a large
dynamic process simulator. For a real time simulator
it is crucial to obtain updated results typically every
second, and therefore it is very important to use fast
and efficient methods for VLE computations.
Usually this problem is solved by applying
composition independent tabulated K-values, which
in most cases yield sufficient accuracy and a drastic
reduction in computer time spent on VLE
calculations. The most frequently used equilibrium
calculation in a simulator is the so called PH-flash,
where phase equilibrium and temperature are
computed from given total composition, pressure and
molar enthalpy, and the UV-flash, where phase
equilibrium and temperature are computed from
given total composition, molar internal energy and
molar volume.
The HCI column in the VCM plant separates HCI
from EDC and VCM. The distillate stream taken
from the top of the column is almost pure HC1 with
typically about 10 PPM impurity (VCM). The
bottom product contains EDC and VCM and
typically only about 10 PPM HCI. Two consequences
of the high purity are:
1) Composition independent K-value tables yield
insufficient accuracy due to the large difference in
composition in the top and the bottom, from almost
pure HC1 to almost pure EDC/VCM mixture.
2) The rigorous distillation column model used in
the simulator requires high accuracy and robust flash
calculations. The flash calculations must be able to
deal with all compositions from general mixtures to
almost pure components.
4.2.1 K-value computation
All flash routines in the Thermodynamic Toolkit
employ generic calls for K-values. The user specifies
the particular K-value routines and flash routines
to be employed by each type of fluid defined for the
simulator. Hydrocarbon components normally use
tabulated K-values, while water soluble components
normally employ methods based on activity
functions, such as UNIQUAC, Wilson, NRTL etc.,
and vapour pressures.
Composition independent K-values was not
sufficiently accurate for the HC1 column in the VCM
simulator. In order to account for the K-value
composition dependency for hydrocarbon mixtures,
new on-line K-value routines where developed for
the VCM simulator. These routines uses the SRK
equation of state and the solution method is based on
successive substitution.
4.2.2 Flash routines
A typical mixture where no single component is
too dominant, yields a phase diagram in the p-T-
plane with a fairly extended two-phase region. This
means that the gas fraction and other
thermodynamic properties yield rather smooth
functions, well suited for linearisation. However, if
 PSE '97-ESCAPE-7 Joint Conference
the composition is changed such that one of the
components becomes increasingly dominant , the
two phase region will degenerate to a curve, the
vapour pressure curve of the dominating component.
As a result we obtain a discontinuity in gas fraction,
molar internal energy, molar enthalpy and molar
volume, when moving from one phase to another.
The UV-flash implemented in the VCM simulator
is based on an iteration scheme where internal
energy and molar volume for each iteration is
linearised in pressure, temperature and gas fraction.
This means that the solution is obtained on a line in
the p-T-plane, parameterised by the gas fraction. By
also linearising the K-values in pressure and
temperature, one is able to compute an estimate for
the equilibrium solution along this line. The PH-
flash implemented in the VCM simulator is
somewhat simpler since the parameterised line in the
p-T-plane is given by the pressure.
An ideal algorithm should be efficient and
guarantee convergence. For the PH-flash, the
described linearisation algorithm combined with a
bi-section method yields an algorithm which
guarantees convergence under reasonable
assumptions. In the UV-flash case, it is much more
difficult to guarantee convergence. However, in
practice, the UV-flash algorithm has proven to be
very robust.
A pure one component composition will create a
numerically singular case for these algorithms. The
minimum impurity required for convergence, is
determined by the computer accuracy. In practice the
algorithm has no convergence problems for mixtures
with a 1 PPM impurity. For mixtures with impurities
less than 1 PPM, the system will call an alternative
flash routine based on the saturation curve for the
component.
USE AND BENEFITS
5.
The VCM simulator was installed at the VCM
Plant of Hydro Rafnes in February 1996. Some
tuning and adjustments of the simulator remained to
be performed by Kongsberg Norcontrol at that time.
In May a planned maintenance stop of the plant
was carried thought. During this stop a new
refrigeration compressor was installed with a new
control strategy. Before the stop the new control
strategy as implemented in the Honeywell TDC
3000, was tested on the simulator. Some unforeseen
problems were discovered and solved in co-
operation with Honeywell, Brussels. In spire of that
the final adjustments on the simulator were lacking,
the improved control scheme for the compressor was
then presented for key personnel on all shifts.
"Learning by doing" made them familiar with the
new compressor set-up.
During start-up of the refrigeration, additional
problems turned up due to droplet carryover to the
compressor. This was solved after several days of
Sll15
testing and the shift personnel contributed
substantially to this due to prior training on the new
set-up. The present operation of the refrigeration
unit is vulnerable for process upsets and will be
modified at the next planned stop. This modification
may also be implemented and tested on the simulator
in advance.
The VCM Plant is run continuously with 8
operators on a 6 shift schedule. After sufficient
individual training the operators enters a job rotation
schedule. The main training on the Honeywell TDC
3000 control system is obtained on the real system
when running the plant. However, since plant upsets
are rather seldom, the plant management have
decided on a training program on the simulator for
all shift personnel.
Due to final testing and adjustments of the
simulator during summer and autumn 1996, only
shift supervisors and assistant supervisors have been
trained on the simulator this autumn. They have also
been trained as instructors. The main program for all
operators will start up in 1997. The topics will be to
familiarise the operators with start-up/shut-down
procedures, plant safety systems (shut-downs,
sectioning, auto-starts, etc.) and handling of
different plant upsets.
6. CONCLUSIONS
Today's technology enables real time simulation of
large scale systems using high fidelity process
models and very detailed control system emulation.
The main purpose of the Rafnes VCM simulator
project has been to provide an efficient operator
training tool, however, the project has also lead to
additional benefits like testing of new control
strategies, and training of personnel, prior to
implementation on the plant.
Acknowledgement
The authors want to thank Hydro Rafnes for
fruitful co-operation during the project and for
permission to publish this paper, and Norsk
Forskningsr~d for financial support
REFERENCES:
Endrest¢l G., T. Sira, M. Ostenstad, T. Malik, M.
Meeg, and J. Thrane (1989). "Simultaneous
computation within a sequential process simulation
tool". Modeling, Identification and Control, 10, 4,
203-211.
Olsen I., G. O. Endrest¢l, T. Sira (1997). "A
rigorous and efficient distillation column model for
engineering and training simulators". Paper
accepted for PSE'97 - ESCAPE-7, Trondheim, 1997.