Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering

Dr Chan Yi Jing, Feb 2015

H84 ACM Advance Computational Methods

Guidelines for Coursework
Students will use computer programs for chemical engineering applications. It is a tutorialbased module assessed 100% by coursework. 10 credits Spring Semester. The module is
designed to offer experience of advanced software applications in chemical engineering, with
potential application to Undergraduate Design Projects and Research Projects and MSc
Research Projects.
Advanced features of Aspen HYSYS using:
the optimiser for (a) a two-stage compressor (b) an economic assessment of a
refrigeration process;
the dynamics package to simulate (a) fluid flow in tanks in series (b) the control of a
separator drum;
property packages to simulate an absorption refrigeration system (water-ammonia).

Schedule
Introductory Lecture: An overview of the module, in particular to help students to decide
if they want to elect this module.
Following classes: Lectures will be given. Students are expected to complete their simulation
in the class following to the guidelines given in lecture. Please use computers at the front.
30 April 2015 Deadline for Coursework Submission
One submission in one folder per person (all papers with attached CD, nothing electronic)
Title (for submission sheet): Module Coursework
The weighting here is
Optimiser
Q2 30%
Dynamics
Q4 40%
Refrigeration
Q5 30%
Week No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Lecture Topic
The optimiser tool in computer based engineering tools for two stage
compression system.
The optimiser tool in computer based engineering tools for a
refrigeration system.
Simulation on dynamic behaviour of a process with control system with 3
tanks in series.
Simulation on dynamic behaviour of a process with a separator drum
system.
Investigation on the thermodynamic behaviour of an absorption
refrigeration system (water-ammonia).
Report writing and coursework submission

Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering

Dr Chan Yi Jing, Feb 2015

(A) HYSYS Steady-State Optimiser

These two questions require you to use the optimiser in HYSYS.
1. Two-stage Compression (not for submission) Air (say nitrogen) is to be
compressed from 1 bar and 25C to 16 bar in two stages. Find the optimum (to
minimise compressor power) mid-stage pressure with an inter-stage cooler reducing the
process stream to 40c with a negligible pressure drop. Assume the polytropic efficiency of
both compressors is constant at 75%. Show the relevant analytical equations (refer to
your 1st year thermodynamics notes, no need for calculations). What if there is no inter-stage
cooling? What if your objective function is changed to minimize Q in which Q=Q1+Q2?
2.
Refrigeration Process (10 marks, max 3 pages) A process stream is to be cooled from
40C to -20C to remove valuable higher hydrocarbons. The flowsheet is shown in Figure 1.
Minimise the costs based on the following data (do not use this data outside this question - I
have exaggerated the capital cost significance of the heat exchangers to facilitate the
optimisation here.)
Refrigeration in

Q-100 at 0C at RM0.05 / MJ
Q-101at-25C at RM0.10/MJ
Overall heat transfer coefficients U kW / C m2 : E100 = 0.6, E101 = 0.6, E102 = 0.05 (low).
Assume a constant pressure drop of 0.5 bar across each heat exchanger. The capital cost of the
heat exchangers can be included in the cost equation to be minimised by 1000 A07 in RM/year
where A is in m2. Assume 1 year = 8000 hours.
(a)

(b)

You must minimise refrigeration costs + heat exchanger "capital" on the basis of
temperatures of stream 4 and 5 and the flow split at TEE-100. Comment on the
sensitivity of the optimum.
Then repeat but with the added constraint that Q-100 < 3e+6 kJ/h ie there is a limit
on the amount of 0C refrigeration available. (If your optimum result already satisfies
this then decrease the limit.)

The component molar flowrates in kgmole/h in stream 1 are:

Nitrogen
CO2
Methane
Ethane
Propane
i-Butane
n-Butane
i-Pentane
n-Pentane
n-Hexane

136
68
1000
422
150
41
27
14
14
27

Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering

Feb 2015

Dr Chan Yi Jing,

Figure 1: Refrigeration Process

(B) HYSYS Dynamic Simulation
These two questions require you to use the dynamic model in HYSYS.
3. Third order system of tanks in series (not for submission)
Set up a system of three tanks in series, with water flowing through at a rate of 12m3/h.
The tanks should all be of the same volume, and sized to give a liquid residence time
(volume/flowrate) of 10 minutes per tank, given that the level in each tank is to be maintained
at 100%. The water feed temperature is 10 C, and heat is to be supplied to the first tank at a
rate of 700kW.
Use a dynamic simulation to investigate the open loop response of the system to step changes
in feed flow and feed temperature.
Add a temperature controller to the outlet stream from the final tank, linked to the heat
supply to the first tank. The maximum heat input available is 1000kW. The controller should
be tuned to give a reasonable response to step changes as described above, and also to changes
in controller set point (i.e. stable and returning to set point, with a subsidence ratio of
approximately 4:1).
Dynamic simulation results should be presented as clearly labelled graphs showing relevant
process variables. We are only investigating temperature control here.
Vapour streams are added by HYSYS despite there being no vapour flow, and the tanks
must be run at 100% level.
Finally, investigate the use of the Transfer Function Block to simulate load disturbances.
Illustrate two such cases, for example you could try a ramp function for feed flowrate and a
sine wave for feed temperature with a superimposed noise component.

Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering

Feb 2015

Dr Chan Yi Jing,

4. Control of Separator Vessel (10 marks, max 7 pages)

Set up the steady state and dynamic simulations as described below. Discuss the simulation
results, and any problems with/improvements to the suggested control scheme.
(a)
Steady state
Set up a flowsheet as shown in the PFD, according to the specifications given below.
Tabulate the steady state values of pressure, flow, temperature etc. around the system possibly by printing the PFD with appropriate tables.
(b)
Dynamics
Attach controllers as detailed below in the PFD, and tune them to give a reasonable response
to step changes in feed flow and temperature and controller set point changes1. Explain
briefly how you arrived at the controller settings you have chosen and the valve sizes.
Produce plots showing the dynamic response of the process (both the process variables,
such as levels and temperatures, and also the control valve positions, are of interest here) to
step changes in the controller set points, the feed flow rate and feed temperature2. In each
case, a change of approximately 10% away from the normal value should be sufficient (say
5 C for feed temperature). Think about the changes you are making - for example, setting
the vessel pressure lower than the downstream pressure is meaningless, even though it is
allowable in version 1 of UNISIM/HYSYS.

Steady state specification

Feed stream
Composition (mole %)

Temperature
Pressure
Flow

Methane
Ethane
Propane
n-Butane
5C
50 bar
1000 kgmol h-1

50
25
15
10

Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering

Heater
Pressure drop
Volume
Zones
Product temperature
Heat available
Separator
Pressure drop
Volume
Level set point

Dr Chan Yi Jing, Feb 2015

0.5 bar
0.5m3
1
25 C
2000 kW

0.5 bar (I found that in the dynamic mode this is reset to

zero.)
2.0 m3
25%

Controllers
Controllers are attached to the separator to control liquid level and vessel pressure. The
main controller (labelled XIC-100) manipulates the heat input to control the methane
molar composition in the vapour product stream. Initially, the set points for these
controllers should be set to the corresponding steady state values for the variables.
Control Valves
Sizing the valves reasonably will also help the control system. I found that using the
linear option worked reasonably well. Assume that pressure drops of around 1 bar are
available on the vapour and liquid product streams. What % opening at steady state should
you assume? You can resize the valves while the dynamic mode is running.
Hints:
1.
Do not spend ages trying to obtain "perfect" controller tuning. Make sure the
controllers work, and give a sensible response (ie stable arid returning to the set point).
2.
Set up strip charts for the required variables, and print these off. You will
need to select different line styles to distinguish between them when printed in black and
white. Some of the transient responses are very rapid. Maybe annotating by hand will
help the clarity. It will be necessary to reduce the sample time from the default value
in order to observe these effects. It will probably also be necessary to reduce the
integration step length from the default value in order to eliminate oscillations caused by
the numerical integration. Potentially there are quite a lot of results to show. Clearly this
is not possible given the limit on the number of pages. A systematic method of analysis
and selective presentation will be helpful. Maybe presenting through Excel plots will help.
3.
You should save your work regularly. When you have a steady state
simulation that you are happy with, save this. Similarly, when you have the process set
up dynamically and running at steady state, save the case at this point (in a different
file) and use this as the base case from which to make the step changes.
4.
Because HYSYS now relates pressure and flowrate more rigorously than it used
to, it will add valves to the output streams in the dynamic mode and the feed flowrate
will change. Can you fix the feed flow or add a flow control system? We will discuss
this in class.

Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering

Dr Chan Yi Jing, Feb 2015

(C) Absorption Refrigeration

This question requires you to test how accurately Hysys can model water-ammonia absorption.
5. Absorption Refrigeration (10 marks, max 2 pages)
An ammonia-water absorption system is used to cool a unit at 20F. For a capacity of 12,000
BTU/hr what flow of ammonia is required, what flow of saturated steam at 1 atm and what
flow of cooling water at 55F (NB different to text below) is required? What is the COP? A
temperature approach of 10F is required in the condenser and evaporator.
How do Hysys predictions compare using different property packages with theoretical values?
I can give you a flow diagram and example calculations from a text -"Chemical
Engineering Thermodynamics" by Jack Winnick see p266-274. Try three property packages
including Peng Robinson.