Release date: January 15, 2010

This new release includes a number of extension and improvements of the Windows Interface and Simulation Engine. Most important are listed hereunder.

A. SIMULATION ENGINE

Though, from the user interface and simulation language point of view, there only few changes, version 1.08 represent a major change in the software architecture and simulation capabilities.

Changes and upgrades are listed beginning with the most important one.
 

Maximum number of components
The most important extension is the elimination of any limit in the number of chemical components to be used in the simulation. This limit was of 100 components (real + petroleum fractions) up to the previous 1.07 version.

General revision of PVT ANALYSIS
Functions available in PVT ANALYSIS input category have undergone a general revision.
• Two or more streams can be used to define the experiment composition.
• SATP (saturation pressure experiment) added.
• Thermodynamic method parameter optimization now available.
• Generation of graphics is now available.

Thermodynamics

SRK and PR equations
Binary interaction parameters have been included for both SRK and PR equations of state.
These values have been taken from:
H.Knapp, et al., “Vapor-Liquid Equilibria for Mixtures of Low-Boiling Substances”, Chemistry Data Series, Vol. VI – Dechema.
See the next chapter to understand how simulation input can be defined in order to reproduce equilibria calculated using version 1.07 and other previous versions.

New equations
Two calculation method of importance in the natural gas industry, such as:
• GERG-2004 equation of state.
• AGA8-92 DC equation of state for natural gas density calculations.

Unit operations

AIRHX
Air-Cooler unit operation has been added.

PIPELINE
Flow area and hydraulic diameter coefficients are introduced and can be used to model pipe restrictions.

STREAMS
Stream composition defined or calculated within PVT ANALYSIS can be retrieved in the definition of flow-sheet data.

Property tables
The limit of 50x50 maximum points for property tables generated for the use by the OLGA suite (pipeline flow assurance, ver. 6 and 5) has been eliminated. The actual maximum limit could be as high as 999x999.
 

B. SRK and PR equation of state

New added component interactions data increase the precision for equilibrium simulation.
Users which want to reproduce results obtained using XPSIM release 1.07 or previous should include the following input statements.

THERMODYNAMIC DATA

* . . . for SRK equation . . . .
METHOD=SRK PSET=P108
OPTION KIJ=PRE108

* . . . for PR equation . . . .
METHOD=PR PSET=P108
OPTION KIJ=PRE108
 

C. WINDOWS USER INTERFACE

The following features will improve software usability.

Results browsing
Stream values, such as temperature, pressure, flow-rate, etc. are shown as tooltips when the mouse is kept over a stream connection in the PFD window.

Copy and paste of column data.
Within statements displayed as tables the user can copy and paste column data.
E.g. the user can now copy and paste input stream compositions from XPSIM to Excel or other applications and vice-versa.

Compositions sums
Composition sums are now displayed and updated when the user insert or changes compositions.
It is so possible to immediately verify whether their values will be outside the allowed 1% interval of the sum.