THE DEVELOPMENT OF REAL TIME SIMULATIONS FOR OPERATOR TRAINING AT NABALCO

Nabalco has developed two real time dynamic simulations for operator training and control system verification. These comprise a Circulating Fluidized Bed Calciner (CFBC) simulation and a simulation of the Evaporation plant. The former was developed to aid in commissioning of the plant and control system. The latter was designed to train operators in startup and shutdown procedures and minimize the risk of carryover and subsequent environmental contamination.

Both systems rely on a high fidelity dynamic model to emulate the physical plant. In the case of the CFBC simulator, this was developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK and compiled using the Real Time Workshop. For the evaporation model, the dynamic version of SysCAD was used. Connection to the ABB/Bailey DCS was, in the case of the CFBC, via Hunter Control’s Rapid Advanced Control Application development system (UNAC). In the case of the evaporation simulation it was via Matrikons OPC (OLE for Process Control) server. Minor modifications were made to the DCS logic to replace the IO (Input/Output) with model inputs.

To date all Calcination operators have been taken through the CFBC simulator training modules. Following the training sessions, an improvement in operator confidence and knowledge was noted by commissioning engineers. The CFBC simulation has also enabled the testing of safety interlocks and on one occasion managed to identify a conflict, which was subsequently rectified before it could contribute to a dangerous situation.

The evaporation simulation has been used to improve system architecture. It has been successfully connected to the DCS and validated against plant trial data.