The General Data Input form provides users access to general simulation options required by PetroPlanâ. The input form may be accessed using the Edit | General Data menu command. Users may adopt the default options provided by PetroPlanâ or define custom values.
Use the Title field to enter a title for the problem. The information is used for the output report generated by PetroPlanâ and in no way affects the outcome of the simulation.
The Optimize field indicates the step increment used by the numerical solver to adjust parameters while maximizing profit. The field takes values between zero (default) and one. A zero entry suppresses optimization. The suggested value is 0.5.
The Marginal field indicates the increment used to calculate the marginal values of streams and other variables. The field takes values between zero (default) and one. Marginal values are not calculated for an entry equal to zero. The suggested value is 0.5.
The Tolerance reflects the maximum acceptable relative error used to determine convergence by the numerical solver for recycle and optimization calculations. The default value is 0.0001.
The Iterations field indicates the maximum number of iterations performed by the numerical solver for recycle and optimization calculations. The default value is 10.
The Rate Display field indicates if the units displayed on the BFD are based on volume rate or mass rate. The user must select Wt (weight basis) or Vol (volume basis)
The Report option helps the user generate output reports based on user-specified requirements. The user may choose between a text version (.txt) of the report and an Excel compatible spreadsheet (.xls) of the results. Reports may be generated as a detailed profile of the simulation results using the Full.xls option. Alternately, the Brief.xls option provides users with only a summary of the simulation results. The report file generated has the same name as the simulation but with an extension .xls or .txt. Note that Excel must be installed on the PC for xls file to be generated.
The Volume field indicates the standard unit of liquid volume measure used for calculations and display. Options include BBL (barrel) or M3 (cubic meter). Other entries will be ignored in calculations but echoed in the report. Refer to the Conversion Factor field prior to entering a value. The default value is BBL.
The Weight field indicates the unit of weight measure used for calculations and display. Options include Klb (thousand pounds) or MT (metric ton). Other entries will be ignored in calculations but echoed in the report. Refer to the Conversion Factor field prior to entering a value in this field. The default value is Klb.
The Water Den field indicates value for the density of water at 60°F, which should be consistent with the units used in process submodels and rate entries used in the stream sections. An entry is optionial if BBL or M3 is entered for Volume and Klb or MT entered for Weight. The value or water density is inferred from these measures and is accordingly, 0.3502 Klb/BBL, 0.99901 MT/M3, or 0.1588 MT/BBL. Water Den is used for calculating the weight rate from volume rate (and vice versa) and specific gravity.
The Temperature field (value, value) indicates the units of temperature (°F or °C) used to enter data for the problem and submodels, respectively. The user may choose appropriate option from the list provided.
The Energy field indicates the unit of energy measure. Options include MMBtu (million British Thermal Unit), Mkcal (million kilo calorie) or GJ (giga Joule). Refer to the Conversion Factor field prior to entering a value. The default unit is MMBtu.
The Currency field indicates the unit of currency used for display. The entry does not affect calculations. The default unit is US dollar ($). Refer to the Conversion Factor field prior to entering a value.
The Cwater field indicates the unit of cooling water measure. Options include Mgal (million gallon) or M3 (cubic meter). Refer to the Conversion Factor field prior to entering a value. The default unit is Mgal.
The RVP field indicates the units used for the Reid Vapor Pressure. The default units are psia. Kpa (kilo Pascal) and KgCm2 (kilogram per square centimeter) may also be used. The CDU calculates RVP in the units specified here. Refer to the Conversion Factor field prior to entering a value.
User Props indicate the properties added by the user to the list of standard stream properties. User Props have maximum character length of seven. The user may add up to a maximum of sixteen properties. User Props1 through 8 are blended by volume while User Props 9 through 16 are blended by weight. The properties defined here may be used as input and submodels just like any other standard properties.
The conv fact fields indicate the conversion factors required for the units of volume, weight, energy, currency, Cwater, and RVP for cases where the input units for the problem differ from those used in the submodels. For example, if the unit of measure used by the submodels for volume is BBL (barrel) and the problem input and output form specifies gallons, then a coversion factor of 0.0238 must be entered in the Volume conv fact field. Refer to the topic Units of Measure in the Submodels sections.
