(22d) A New Paradigm for Process Operator Training and Guidance

A dynamic simulator based on test data used to create an existing DMC controller for the Cold Fractionation section of Equistar's OP1 at Sheldon Road will be discussed. The simulator runs on a PC with the displays taken from the bit maps of the Operator's console. The simulator can be run off-line as a traditional trainer with scenario capability or put on-line to advise the operators. The simulators are inexpensive relative to the first principle models, since Finite Impulse Response (FIR) models can be obtained directly from the data. Further, the FIR models run 100 to 200 times faster than real time which makes it possible to accelerate the scenario training or to use the Operator Advisor to answer ?What If? questions and get answers in a matter of minutes rather than hours.