Past Event: Oden Institute Seminar

Equation-Oriented Flowsheet Simulation and Optimization Using Pseudo-Transient Models

MIchael Baldea, Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, UT Austin (and ICES Affiliated Faculty)

Abstract

In this presentation, we introduce a new process modeling and simulation framework that relies on pseudo-transient continuation to improve the convergence properties of chemical process flow-sheet models. The steady-state models of unit operations are reformulated as differential-algebraic equation (DAE) systems that have the same steady-state solution as the original model. We present a generic model reformulation algorithm and a library of pseudo-transient models for the most widely-used unit operations. We then develop a flow-sheet optimization strategy by seamlessly integrating these models with a time-relaxation optimization algorithm implemented in gPROMS. Several industrial case studies will be discussed to illustrate the theoretical ideas.