Category:Energy

From EuroVR Knowledge Base

Brief overview of area

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Energy application domain in all its expansions (e.g. nuclear plants, carbonate facilities, etc) is a critical sector. Advanced monitoring and planning tools are needed to compensate with the sector needs in the most efficient way. VR Applications include, among other:

• Control room Engineering
• Decommissioning planning of nuclear installations
• Operational and maintenance training.

During the past decade, 3D plant modelling has made a breakthrough as a tool in plant delivery projects, and a 3D plant model is becoming a standard part of the plant delivery. A 3D model greatly enhances communication between the project parties and helps to understand complex process structures in the plant. The planning of installation and maintenance work and later modifications on the site is intuitive using the 3D model. "Will the tank fit in this room and will we be able to carry it in and install it?" "Will there be room for maintenance staff to operate this equipment?"

In engineering companies, the take-up of 3D modelling technology has introduced a major cultural change. Not too long ago, process engineering moved from the use of pen and paper to the use of CAD software for drawing flowsheet and PI diagrams. 3D modelling involves yet another way to model the plant.

Large scale dynamic process simulation is primarily being used in the industry for design of process and control concepts, for automation testing and for operator training. The benefits from dynamic simulation are widely acknowledged: the model demonstrates how the system will behave, and how one should and should not operate the plant. In an ideal case, a dynamic simulation model should be in use already in the specification phase of a plant delivery project, at the time when operational practices are specified.

The problem in the take-up of simulation technology has been the poor connectivity of simulation tools to the other software involved in plant engineering. In order to have a functional simulation model, one needs to know the process component dimensions and the control parameters and to enter the data in the simulation tool together with the plant model. In principle, this information is available several months before the commissioning of the plant, but the data is scattered in different systems. Furthermore, the plant model may lack information concerning the plant topology, i.e. the order and connections of equipment, and the nominal state.

Simulation has so far formed an island of information. To turn the use of simulation into reality in plant delivery projects, simulation must be made a part of the plant information management model of the delivery project.

Industrial Users

Academic Users

Energy Projects

Potential scenarios of use