My Simulation Converged Video Contest

Under the aegis of AIChE, Chemstations, Inc. is awarding a $500 cash prize for a short video posted to Instagram.

A note from the sponsors:

Modern simulation software is powerful and fast, but it still requires a number of prerequisites to get to a solution. Good input data, a well laid out flowsheet, correctly chosen thermodynamics, and the skill of the user must all be combined, and yet we all know that often we need to chase down small problems that crop up as the flowsheet calculates.  Did you account for the buildup of by-products in your recycle with a purge? Do your binary interaction parameters account for vapor-liquid AND vapor-liquid-liquid equilibrium in that three phase column? Have you checked the calculation tolerances? Success in simulation is part science and part art, and the rewards of mastering it mean benefits for landing that perfect career after graduation.

It finally converged! Yes! Happiness, tears of joy, a sense of relief, and many other feelings wash over the Design student when their process simulation software shows the long-awaited message that their flowsheet has converged. Let’s celebrate that moment with a contest: a chance not only to see your fellow students across the country as they experience those seldom seen moments in a computer lab or dorm room huddled over a computer, but also to win prizes!