Aspen Operator Training

(AOT) V10.1 Tutorial

In this example, you will learn how to use Aspen Operator Training with a simple
sample case. You will work with a sample simulation case in HYSYS, which must be
installed in the same machine as Aspen Operator Training. You will then import these
typical HYSYS values into a new Aspen Operator Training project and connect to a
new interface. The sample case is expanded to link a spreadsheet cell in HYSYS with
a value from the Matrikon OPC simulation server. The final step is an example of how
the editor works and communicates.
Note: The completed sample files created in this tutorial are located in the AspenTech |
Aspen Operator Training V10.1 | Samples folder.

You will perform the following steps:

1. Prepare the HYSYS case so that the relevant data can be accessed.
2. Create an Aspen Operator Training Editor project for each data source.
3. Set up the process diagram to display information to the user.
4. Run the project.
5. Connect to the Matrikon OPC Server.
6. Create a synchro project to link several Aspen Operator Training projects.
7. Run the projects in the Runtime environment.

Step 1: Preparing the HYSYS Case

In order to extract data from a HYSYS simulation case or any other data source, you
must first configure the case. For a HYSYS simulation file, you must publish the
variables that you want to use in the Aspen Operator Training case, so you can
access and link them. To publish variables in HYSYS, you must create a Process
Data Table (PDT) with the relevant variables in the simulation case.
The following procedure shows an example of creating a PDT in a HYSYS case.
1. Open the HYSYS case. In this example, open the Debutanizer Column -
Dynamic Model.hsc sample case (available in the AspenTech | Aspen HYSYS |
Samples folder).
2. From the Flowsheet/Modify ribbon tab | Hierarchy group, click the Go to
Parent button to return to the flowsheet.
3. Press F4 to access the Model Palette.
4. Add a Spreadsheet.
5. On the Spreadsheet tab of the Spreadsheet operation:
 In cell B3, type 0.
 In cell B4, type the following formula: =B3.

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6. In the navigation pane, select Data Tables. On the Data Tables form, click the
Add button.
A new process data table is created.
7. To add variables, click the Add button at the bottom of the Data Table. Use the
Variable Navigator to add the following variables, and then click Done.

Flowsheet Object Variable

T-100 (COL1) PIC-101@COL1 Control Mode
SP
PV
OP
L Level
H Level
Input L Alarm Status
Input H Alarm Status
Gain
Integral Time Constant
Case (Main) SPRDSHT-1 B3
B4
T-100 (COL1) LIC-102@COL1 PV
LIC-101@COL1 PV
VLV-103@COL1 Percentage open
Butanes@COL1 Phase Mass Flow (Overall)

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8. In the Data Table, specify the following values:
 For L Level, specify 1350 kPa.
 For H Level, specify 1400 kPa.
9. To connect Aspen Operator Training with HYSYS:
 In the Tag column, specify the tag names as shown in the image below.
 Modify the Access Modes as shown in the image below.

Access Description
Mode
Read The variable in the Data Table can be read from outside.
Write The variable in the Data Table can be written from outside.
Read/Write The variable in the Data Table can be read and written from
outside.

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10. Change the Data Table Name to OPC_LINK.
11. From the Dynamics ribbon tab | Run group, click the Integrator button.
12. On the Integrator form, click the Reset button.
13. From the Dynamics ribbon tab | Run group, click the Run button.
Note: If the following error message appears: The dynamics assistant identified items
which need attention. Would you like to resolve these first and not run the
dynamics?, click No.

Read the status messages in the trace window to ensure that the run is
successful.
14. Save your HYSYS case as Debutanizer Column - Dynamic Model_Tut.hsc.
15. Close the HYSYS case.

Step 2: Creating a New Project

and Connecting to HYSYS
1. Open Aspen Operator Training and log in as a user with access to the Editor
module. For further details, refer to Logging Into Aspen Operator Training.
2. In the Main view, from the Modules ribbon tab, click the Editor button.
3. To create a new project, from the File ribbon tab | Basic group, click the New
button.
The Editor form appears in the Workspace.
4. Select the Globals tab.
5. Next to the Case name field, click the button. On the Open dialog box,
navigate to the modified HYSYS case, and then click Open.
6. Perform the following actions:
 Select the Use runtime license? check box.
 Select the Simulator visible check box to ensure that your HYSYS case
appears when you run the project.
7. Leave the remaining properties that appear on this tab at their default values.
8. Select the Tags tab. This tab does not currently contain any specified tags.
Perform one of the following tasks to specify the required information:

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  On the Tags tab, click the Add new tag button and manually enter the
variables to be read from the Process Data Table created in the simulation
case.
-or-
 Create a table with Microsoft Excel, with a specific layout (as seen in the
table below). Type the information in the Excel table, and then select the
cells and copy them to the clipboard. In Aspen Operator Training, on the
Editor Module ribbon tab | Tags group, click Import.
For convenience, the table of tags can be copied directly from the table below to
the Tags tab. Copy the tags, and then click the Import button.
The table below shows an Excel table that correctly connects Aspen Operator
Training with the HYSYS Process Data Table.

Editor PAR1 PAR2 Tag Name Sim Sim Low High Default Num
Name Var Var Limit Limit Value Dec
Type Unit
PIC-101/CM ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK PIC-101/CM 0 0 0 0
PIC-101/KC ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK PIC-101/KC 0 0 0 0
PIC-101/H ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK PIC-101/H 0 0 0 0
PIC-101/L ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK PIC-101/L 0 0 0 0
PIC-101/SP ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK PIC-101/SP 0 0 0 0
PIC-101/PV ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK PIC-101/PV 0 0 0 0
PIC-101/OP ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK PIC-101/OP 0 0 0 0
PIC-101/TI ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK PIC-101/TI 0 0 0 0
PIC-101/ALH ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK PIC-101/ALH 0 0 0 0
PIC-101/ALL ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK PIC-101/ALL 0 0 0 0
Random.Int1 ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK Random.Int1 0 0 0 0
ToR ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK ToR 0 0 0 0
LIC-102/PV ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK LIC-102/PV 0 0 0 0
LIC-101/PV ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK LIC-101/PV 0 0 0 0
VLV-103 ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK VLV-103 0 0 0 0
Butanes/Flow ProcessDataTable OPC_LINK Butanes/Flow 0 0 0 0

When the tag list has been correctly imported, the following message appears:
Tag import succeeded.

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Caution: In the Tag Name field, you must specify the same tag name that was assigned to
the variable in the HYSYS case. Otherwise, the variable will not be read by Aspen Operator
Training.

Step 3: Setting up the Process

Diagram
A Process Diagram usually appears as the Aspen Operator Training background.
Either:
 You can set up the Process Diagram manually, using the objects available in the
Palette.
-or-
 You can import the Process Diagram from an existing graphic file.
To display variables in Aspen Operator Training, you must first add the objects that
show the variables values. To do so, click and drag the desired object from the
Palette to the Workspace.
Most of the Objects in the Workspace can be linked to at least one of the project
tags, which must be selected in the Properties module of the Object.
In order to open the graphs defined in the Plots tab during runtime, you must add a
button (Graphic type) in the Aspen Operator Training workspace.
To set up the Process Diagram:
1. Select the Window 1 tab.

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2. In the Properties panel on the right, next to Canvas Background, click the ...
button.
3. On the Brush Picker window, from the Select a color drop-down list, select
Black as the color of the background. Click Ok.
4. Add the elements to visualize the values from the simulation in the Workspace
by dragging elements from the Palette to the Workspace. From the Palette,
select and drag a LabelText item to the Window 1 workspace. Change the
Properties as follows:
 In the Text field, type SP.
 Next to Foreground, click the ... button. On the Brush Picker window,
from the Select a color drop-down list, select Chartreuse. Click Ok.

5. From the Palette, select and drag an InputText item to the Window 1
workspace. Change the Properties as follows:
 From the Tag Name drop-down list, select PIC-101/SP.
 Next to Foreground, click the ... button. On the Brush Picker window,
from the Select a color drop-down list, select Chartreuse. Click Ok.
6. From the Palette, select and drag another LabelText item to the Window 1
workspace. Change the Properties as follows:
 In the Text field, type kg/cm2.
 Next to Foreground, click the ... button. On the Brush Picker window,
from the Select a color drop-down list, select Chartreuse. Click Ok.
7. Add additional LabelText and InputText elements to build a layout similar to
the one in the picture below.

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 Object Type Property Specification
LabelText Text PV
Foreground Chartreuse
InputText Tag Name PIC-101/PV
Foreground Chartreuse
LabelText Text kg/cm2
Foreground Chartreuse
LabelText Text OP
Foreground Chartreuse
InputText Tag Name PIC-101/OP
Foreground Chartreuse
LabelText Text %
Foreground Chartreuse
LabelText Text PIC-101
Foreground Chartreuse
Rectangle* Stroke Chartreuse

*Adjust the Rectangle object so it forms a border around the other items. Make
sure the elements within the Rectangle are set to Bring to Front (via the object
inspect menu) and the Rectangle is set to Send to Back.
8. Add a Controller object. On the Properties panel, next to Face Plate, click the
... button to access the Controller Faceplate Editor.
9. Connect the Controller variables to the relevant tags as shown below, and then
click OK.

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10. In the Properties panel, specify the Controller properties as shown below.

Field Specification
Header PIC
Footer 101
Stroke Chartreuse
Fill Black

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11. Add an Alarm and change its properties as shown in the image below.

The Alarm alerts you when a desired variable reaches a pair of certain values,
defined as Alarm Value 1 and Alarm Value 2.

Field Description
X and Y Indicates the position of the top-left corner of the object with respect to the
top-left corner of the Window canvas (X = 0, Y = 0 indicates the top-left
canvas corner).
Width Indicates the dimensions of the object. You can change these values.
and
Height
Alarm Use the drop-down list to assign a tag.
Tag
Default The text that appears inside the Alarm object.
Text
Font Select this check box if you want the font of the text to be resized together
Auto with the size of the shape (Width and Height).
Size
Font The size of the font used when the Font Auto Size check box is cleared.
Size

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 Field Description
Alarm The Alarm Shape displays the Alarm Fill 1 and Alarm Text 1 when Alarm
Value 1 Tag value is less than this Alarm Value 1. This alarm value takes priority
over Alarm Value 2.
When specifying Alarm Value 1 and Alarm Value 2, we recommend that
you use the lower value for Alarm Value 1.
Alarm Click ... to access the Brush Picker and select the color to display when the
Fill 1 variable reaches Alarm Value 1.
Alarm Text that appears inside the Alarm object when variable reaches Alarm Value
Text 1 1.
Alarm The Alarm Shape displays the Alarm Fill 2 and Alarm Text 2 when Alarm
Value 2 Tag value is equal or greater than this Alarm Value 2.
Alarm Click ... to access the Brush Picker and select the color to display when the
Fill 2 variable reaches Alarm Value 2.
Alarm Text that appears inside the Alarm object when variable reaches Alarm Value
Text 2 2.

12. Add another Alarm and change its properties as shown in the image below.

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13. Add a new window to the project. To do so, on the Editor Module ribbon tab
| Basic group, and click Add canvas tab.
14. On the new Window 2 tab, add a LabelText. In the Properties pane, specify
the properties as shown below.

Field Specification
Text ToR
Tag Name ToR

15. Click Add canvas tab to add a new window to the project. The following
procedure demonstrates how to build a real operator interface.
16. In the Properties panel, in the Header field, rename the window to Column
Screen.
17. Next to Canvas Background, click the ... button. On the Image Picker tab,
next to Image, click the ... button. On the Open dialog box, navigate to the
Aspen Operator Training V10.1 | Samples folder, and then select
DistillationColumn.png. Click Open. Click Ok.
18. Make the following changes to the properties:

Field Specification
Window Width 1200
Window Height 650

19. Add Level, InputText , Valve, and Trend elements to build a layout similar to
the one in the picture below.

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Object Type Property Specification
Level Width 16
Height 46
Fill Green
Level Tag LIC-101/PV
InputText Tag Name LIC-101/PV
Level Width 12
Height 40
Fill Green
Level Tag LIC-102/PV
InputText Tag Name LIC-102/PV
Valve Width 27
Height 19
Color LightGray
Face Plate - Valve VLV-103
Opening [%]
InputText Tag Name Butanes/Flow
ActionButton Screen Column Screen
Action Type Graphic
Text Trend
Curve Product Trend

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20. From the File ribbon tab | Basic group, click the Save as... button. On the
Save As dialog box, specify a File name (for example, Debutanizer_AOT).
The project will be saved in .aot Aspen Operator Training format in the selected
folder. By default, it is saved in the Database folder.
21. From the Editor Module ribbon tab | Runtime group, click the Test Project
button. A new window appears, corresponding to a new Runtime instance for the
project which is currently being edited.

22. If you click the button in the lower-right corner to view logs, the log
window should not include any error messages (indicated in red).
23. From the File ribbon tab | Basic group, click the Save button.
24. To close the Editor, on the File ribbon tab | Basic group, click the Close button.

Step 4: Running the Project

To run the project:
1. (This step can be skipped if Aspen Operator Training is already open.) Open
Aspen Operator Training and log in as a user with access to the Runtime module.
2. On the Modules ribbon tab, click the Runtime button.
3. From the File ribbon tab | Basic group, click the Open button. On the Open
dialog box, navigate to the file that you saved in the previous step, and then
click Open.
4. After the project is loaded, from the Runtime Module ribbon tab | Application
group, click the Run button to start the integrator. The values on the screen
update.
Note: If the following error message appears: The dynamics assistant identified items
which need attention. Would you like to resolve these first and not run the
dynamics?, click No.
5. In the Runtime mode, you can use the Faceplate view of the Controller to change
the SP, OP, Control Mode (Auto, Manual, or Off), gain, integral time, and low
and high alarms. To open the faceplate, select the Controller on the window, and
open the Properties panel.
6. To improve visualization, click the Undock button to undock the faceplate.

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 The High Alarm is activated.
7. Change the SP to 1340. The High Alarm disappears, and the Low Alarm
appears.
Note: This process may take several minutes. For faster performance, within HYSYS, on the
General tab of the Integrator, clear the Real time check box.
8. From the File ribbon tab | Basic group, click Close.

Step 5: Connecting to Matrikon

Simulation OPC Server
The Matrikon Simulation OPC server contains several tags that change randomly at
certain frequencies. You do not need to prepare this data source, since this example
uses functionality available from a standard installation of the Matrikon OPC
simulation server. The simulation server must be located on the same machine as
Aspen Operator Training.
In this step, you will link the HYSYS simulation file to one of these random tags from
the Matrikon server to demonstrate the connection.
1. Open Aspen Operator Training and log in as a user with access to the Editor
module.
2. On the Modules ribbon tab, click the Editor button.
3. To create a new project, from the File ribbon tab | Basic group, click the New
button.
A new Editor window appears in the Workspace.
4. Select the Globals tab.
5. From the Connection Type drop-down list, select OpcClient.
6. In the Global OPC settings group, in the Server name field, type
Matrikon.OPC.Simulation.1.
7. Select the Tags tab.

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 8. Click the Add new tag button. A new row appears in the table.
9. Specify the following details:

Field Specification
Editor Name Random.Int1
Tag Name Random.Int1

10. From the File ribbon tab | Basic group, click the Save as... button. On the
Save As dialog box, specify a File name (for example, OPC_AOT). The project
will be saved in the Aspen Operator Training Editor .aot format in the selected
folder.
Within the Editor module, you can test the project to make sure it works
correctly.
Note: In order to do so, you must make sure that you have access to the Runtime
module and the Editor module.
11. From the Editor Module ribbon tab | Runtime group, click the Test Project
button. A new window appears, corresponding to a new Runtime instance for the
project which is currently being edited.
12. After the Runtime finishes loading, from the Runtime Module ribbon tab |
Application group, click the Run button to start the communication.

If you click the button in the lower-right corner to view logs, the log
window should not include any error messages (indicated in red).
13. To make sure that the communication is working properly, from the Runtime
Module ribbon tab | Communication group, click the Open button. The
Runtime Communication window appears.
On the Runtime Communication window, tags defined in the project appear,
along with their current value and the timestamp of the last good value. At the
frequency defined (on the Globals tab), the tag values are updated in this
window.
14. On the Runtime Communication window, check that the value and timestamp
for the tag Random.Int1 change.
15. Close the Runtime Communication window.
16. From the File ribbon tab | Basic group, click the Close button to close the
Runtime instance.
17. To close the Editor instance, click the X on the far right of the tab.

Step 6: Creating a New Synchro

Project in the Editor
Establishing communication with two data sources (HYSYS and the Matrikon OPC
Server in the case of the present sample) requires you to define a project file for
each one of the data sources. You already performed this task in Steps 4 and 5 of
this tutorial. Now, to establish a link between them, you must create a new Synchro
project.

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The role of the synchro project is to combine individual project files into a single
communication space. At the beginning of a Runtime execution, a synchro project
matches all tags sharing the same editor name, establishes a link between them,
and updates the values after a change occurs.
To create a Synchro project:
1. Open Aspen Operator Training and log in as a user with access to the Editor
module.
2. From the Modules ribbon tab, click the Editor button.
3. To create a new synchro project, from the File ribbon tab | Basic group, click
the New synchro button.
A new Editor window appears in the Workspace, with a single Synchroniser
tab.
4. On the Synchroniser tab, click the Add new button. A new blank row appears
below the Path heading.
5. In the blank row, click the ... button. On the Open dialog box, navigate to the
first Aspen Operator Training project created in this tutorial
(Debutanizer_AOT). Click Open.
6. Select the Is master? check box so that screens from the selected project are
used for visualization during runtime.
7. Click the Add new button to add a new row so you can select another Aspen
Operator Training project.
8. Click the ... button. On the Open dialog box, navigate to the second Aspen
Operator Training project created in this tutorial (OPC_AOT). Click Open.
9. To save the synchro project, from the File ribbon tab | Basic group, click the
Save as... button. Specify a new File name (for example, Combined_AOT),
and then click Save.

Step 7: Running the Synchro

Project
To run the synchro project:
1. From the Modules ribbon tab, click the Runtime button.
2. From the File ribbon tab | Basic group, click the Open button.
3. On the Recent files dialog box, select the file that you saved previously
(Combined_AOT).
4. After the project is loaded, from the Runtime Module ribbon tab | Application
group, click the Run button to start the integrator.
Note: If the following error message appears: The dynamics assistant identified items
which need attention. Would you like to resolve these first and not run the
dynamics?, click No.
5. Navigate to Window 2, and make sure that the value on the screen changes.
This value comes from the OPC server.
6. Go to the HYSYS model, which should open after the runtime case is loaded.
7. Open the spreadsheet SPRDSHT-1, and check that the values in cells B3 and
B4 are updated.
8. To check that the communication is working properly, from the Runtime
Module ribbon tab | Communication group, click the Open button. The
Runtime Communication window appears.

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 The view of the Communication window is slightly different. In this case, when
more than one data source exists, the Communication Window enables the
visualization of the tag values and their individual timestamp at each data
source. This simplifies troubleshooting for the connected system.
You have successfully completed this tutorial. You created a complete sample case
and learned how to use Aspen Operator Training to connect different data sources
and build visualization displays.

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