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Problem Statement: There are several reasons why an Aspen InfoPlus.21 database can save values from an Aspen CIM-IO interface with a timestamp different than expected. These can be related to application settings or Windows server configurations. This solution provides general troubleshooting tips to verify timestamps. | Solution: 1. Identify the timestamp source. First thing to check is the source of a timestamp. The timestamp for a value retrieved by an Aspen CIM-IO interface can be set by two different sources: the CIM-IO server (interface) or the CIM-IO client (database). In both cases, the timestamp is defined when the value is received on the defined source. You can check the timestamp source for a logical device by looking at the IO_TIMESTAMP_SRC field on Aspen IP.21 Administrator:
Using the CIM-IO Server (interface), the logical device will define a timestamp as the time when the Aspen CIM-IO server reads the value. When using the CIM-IO Client (Database), the timestamp is defined as the time when the value was written to the Aspen InfoPlus.21 database (only exception is for for values coming from a store file after a Store & Forward event).
2. Identify which server returns an incorrect timestamp. Use Aspen CIM-IO TestAPI to do a GET test from Aspen InfoPlus.21 server and from Aspen CIM-IO server. The result on both servers should match the source server time. If there is an issue with system time on one of the server, it is possible to find something like this:
TestAPI on CIM-IO server:
TestAPI on IP.21 server:
Running a GET test from Aspen InfoPlus.21 server will to read a value \ timestamp from the Aspen CIM-IO server. As mention in point 1, Aspen CIM-IO server will use the system time to give a timestamp to the value when it is read. In this example, the difference in timestamps indicates not an issue with Aspen CIM-IO or Aspen InfoPlus.21, but an issue with a setting on the system time configuration that need to be reviewed from Windows Date and Time settings on the Aspen CIM-IO Server.
3. Try changing Windows Date and Time setting. Most of the time, an issue identified as a setting change in Windows Date and Time settings is actually just a manual change of the server time, for example to match Daylight Savings Time without using the proper option on Windows settings for it. In this case it worth to try something like this:
In Date and Time settings (right click over Windows clock / Adjust date/time), use the Change time zone button to open time zone settings:
Here you can enable the option for use Daylight Saving Time, preventing manual changes on the Windows clock to adjust to this changes. The time displayed on Date and Time windows, Time Zone settings window and Windows clock should be the same.
On Windows Server 2012, is possible to rollback all changes made to the Windows clock by synchronizing the clock through time.windows.com server:
4. Try adjusting the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Database time. If Aspen InfoPlus.21 server has been set to be the timestamp source for Aspen CIM-IO values, it is possible that a time difference between the system time and Aspen InfoPlus.21 values is caused by Timezone parameters on Aspen InfoPlus.21 database. On the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Administrator, right click the main node level and go to properties, then go to Timezone parametters and check that Use System option is set on:
Keywords: Timestamp, CIM-IO
References: None |
Problem Statement: An pfwauthz.asp failure error can sometimes be issued after Business Process Explorer (BPE) or Aspen Security Manager is started. In some cases, the text within the error box may be formated for a browser in html format. As an example, the following error message may be issued within an Error Dialog Box:
" <font face="Arial" size=2> error '80040e4d' </font>
<p>
<font face="Arial" size=2> /AspenTech/AFW/Security/pfwauthz.asp </font>
<font face="Arial" size=2> ,line962 </font>"
The solution for dealing with errors of this type applies to both Aspen Framework and Local Security Server installations. Local Security Server provides role-based security for InfoPlus.21 applications. | Solution: The Aspen Framework Business Process Explorer (BPE) and Aspen Security Manager both interface with Security Server. For example, when a person logs into BPE or the Aspen Security Manager, both of these applications query the Security Server to determine role membership. The client interface for the Security Server is implemented as a Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) application called pfwauthz.asp. Pfwauthz.asp can also be run under Personal Web Server for Local Security Server installations. Clients make requests to the Security Server using Anonymous http. The location of this client interface is defined when the Aspen Framework Client Components are installed or can optionally be specified using the AFW Tools utility.
Pfwauthz.asp queries the Aspen Framework AFWDB database and returns information to the client in XML format. Some configuration parameters on the server may limit Pfwauthz.asp from performing this function causing an application error on the client side.
More specifically, the Security Server will fail if either
The server cannot access the AFWDB database,
The Anonymous User account used to service an http request on the client's behalf cannot log into the server,
The Anonymous user account does not have read access to the security server dlls, or
The server cannot create XML packets for the client.
Version 5 of Microsoft's Internet Explorer must be installed to enable the Security Server to handle XML packets.
In order for Security Server to access the AFWDB database, the database manager must be running. The server's database user name and password that is encrypted in the Server's registry must be the same as defined for the database. The database user name and password is encrypted in the server registry using the Data Source Configuration Tool. See document 103410 for details.
All of the security dlls are stored in the BPE installation folder. This folder is normally located under Program Files\AspenTech\BPE. The Anonymous User, defined in the IIS properties for the AspenTech Virtual Directory, must be a valid NT user account and have NTFS Read access to the contents of the BPE folder. The Anonymous User Name and logon password is defined on the Anonymous User Account form (select the Directory Security Tab in the AspenTech Virtual Directory properties, press the Edit button in the Anonymous Access section and then press the "Account used for Anonymous Access" Edit button.). The "Enable Automatic Password Synchronization" option is recommended on this form to allow the use of the latest password defined by the System Administrator in the "User Manager for Domains". If this option is not used, the password on this form must be updated each time the password is changed for this account.
PfwXml.dll must be registered for the Pfwauthz.asp to create XML client packets. Similarly, PfwSecurity.dll and Afwdb.dll must be registered for the Security Server to manage cache information and to make database transactions. All three dlls reside in the BPE folder.
Since incorrect registration can also cause a problem, each of the dlls can be reregistered using regsvr32. As an example, the PfwXml.dll can be reregistered by entering the following Command Prompt statements from the BPE folder:
regsvr32 /u PfwXml.dll
(unregister dll)
regsvr32 PfwXml.dll
(reregister dll)
In addition to the Anonymous User having NTFS Read access to the security dlls, this user must also have Read access to the registry keys that define the location of these dlls. Errors of the form "ASP 0177: 80029c4a" or "Error loading type library/DLL" can be generated if the Anonymous User does not have Read access to the registry keys. Regedt32 can be used to check and grant access.
As an example, to give READ access to the Pfw.Xml regsitry keys,
Start regedt32 from the Administrators account.
Select the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT window.
Select "Find Key" from the View pull-down menu.
Enter Pfw.Xml and clear the Match whole word only check box.
Using the Security pull-down menu, grant READ access to the Anonymous User for all Pfw.Xml subkeys.
Expand the Pfw.Xml tree and select the CLSID folder.
Double click the CLSID parameter in the right pane and copy the long alpha-numeric Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) without the braces for this class.
Paste the GUID without the braces into the Find box and find the GUID key for Pfw.Xml (search in the Up direction and clear the Match check boxes)
Use the Security pull-down menu to grant READ access to all subkeys.
KeyWords:
BPE
Aspen Security Manager
connect failure
pfwauthz.asp failures
ASP 0177
Error loading type library/DLL
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Which solution is used to create the XNLP_ | Solution: .dat file when running multistart?
Solution
When you run multistart PIMS creates an XLR solution file for each run. There is a tolerance that determines if a solution is unique or sufficiently different from previous unique solutions. The first instance of that unique solution (objective function value) will yield the corresponding MS_Solution#.dat file where the # is the MS solve, and the best of these is saved as the XNLP_Solution.dat file at the end of the run. The extension of this file can then be changed to a number (ie, 101) so it can then be referenced as an input solution via the Run Execution Dialog box.
Keywords: Multistart, AO,Output solution
References: None |
Problem Statement: Edit Calculations Call doesn't work
When calling the Edit Calculation in the Process Controller Workspace, the following error is generated
Error on Edit Calculations
An entry with the same key already exists.
Steps to get to this error.
Open Process Controller Builder
Generate new Application or load old one
Generate a model (identification or library model)
Right click on the model and choose Edit Calculations
Then i get this error and the Edit Calculation Window does not open. | Solution: This behavior occurs when you have Multiple Formula Libraries defined in Aspen Calc and some with a duplicate Formula name. (e.g. Lib1 has XX and Lib2 also has formula XX). The solution will be to rename the offending Formula name. Formula names must be unique across all formula libraries.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: What is the syntax, when using Test-API, for looking at information in the RTO Context? | Solution: It’s <ProjectName>|<Variable>|VALUE
e.g. C2P2|AI411B.PV|VALUE
Keywords: Test API, APC, RTO, Watch, Context,
References: None |
Problem Statement: When connecting to Role based Visualization OpsNav and using network monitoring tools or Internet explorer Debug you will notice high amounts of of network traffic. | Solution: When using the OpcNav tooly see large in RBV you ma amounts of network traffic. For example using the Internet Explorer Debut tool (F12) and selecting 'Network' tab you can monitor the traffic and will see the requests below.
This may generate large amounts of unwanted traffic. To resolve this issue follow the steps below.
1. The dynamic data update rate can be changed by modifying the OpsNavBrowser2.aspx file:
2. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\AspenTech\Role-based Visualization\Navigation\Web, and make a backup of
OpsNavBrowser2.aspx.
3. Open the OpsNavBrowser2.aspx, and search for the word “timeinterval”. You will find this in the line
window.setInterval('GetDynamicStatus()', timeinterval);
4. Please change it to:
window.setInterval('GetDynamicStatus()', 86400000);
5. Retest connection
Keywords: RBV
Role based Visualization
OpsNav
Network Traffic
References: None |
Problem Statement: Both Local Security and Aspen Framework utilize the AFWDB database. This document summarizes server-side configurations that can cause Aspen Framework components to fail when opening a connection to this database.
AFWDB connection problems will surface during the Afw Security Manager login process when an AFWDB audit trail entry is initiated. If an AFWDB connection cannot be opened, the following error will be reported in version 2.2 or later:
"A Security Server error occurred when logging an action in AFWDB. Error Opening AFWDB Connection; Make sure AFWDB password has been registered with DataSourceConfiguration Tool."
In version 2.1 and earlier, an error may be reported for Line 721 in HTML format:
"<font face="Arial" size=2> error '80040e4d'</font>
<p>
<font face="Arial" size=2> /AspenTech/AFW/Security/pfwauthz.asp</font><font face="Arial" size=2> line 721 <font>" | Solution: All AFWDB database transactions are performed under a local database user account. Both the account and password are defined within the database management system for the AFWDB database and must be registered using the Data Source Configuration Tool. This tool, which is activated from the Start Menu, writes the database account and encrypted password into the server's registry. The Framework component, AFWDB.dll, uses this account and password to create AFWDB database connections. Forgetting to register the database account and password each time this data changes is a common cause of connection problems.
The Security Server uses Anonymous http to communicate with clients. The Anonymous User, defined in the Internet Information Server (IIS) for the AspenTech virtual site, must have NTFS Read Access to the BPE installation folder. This folder houses all of the dlls used in the role-based security system including AFWDB.dll.
The Anonymous User must also have Read access to the registry entries used for loading Framework security components. The Anonymous User must also be a valid local login account. See Solution 103936 for more details on solving these problems.
If version 8.0 of Crystal Reports was installed on the server, the AFWDB DSN registry key created during the Framework and Local Security installation process may not be available to the Anonymous User. The Crystal Reports installation procedure incorrectly removes Read privileges from the ODBC\ODBC.INI registry entry for all users except the Administrator. This action causes the AFWDB key created underneath ODBC.INI to be locked from the Anonymous User. See http://support.crystaldecisions.net/library/kbase/articles/c2006825.asp for details. This problem has been fixed in version 8.5 of Crystal Reports.
For earlier versions of Crystal Reports 8, download Scr8_webregfix.exe from www.seagatesoftware.com/downloads to fix this problem. This EXE restores the ODBC registry permissions to the Microsoft Windows NT/2000 defaults allowing all user accounts to access newly created System ODBC DSNs. If you connect to Crystal Reports via ODBC you are required to download an updated Crystal Reports ODBC Database driver (P2sodbc.dll, version 8.0.0.85). This driver can be obtained by downloading P2sodbc8.zip from www.seagatesoftware.com/downloads.
Alternatively, the appropriate permissions for opening AFWDB database connections can be restored with Regedt32. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ODBC\ODBC.INI entry. Grant Read Access to the Anonymous User using the Security\Permissions pull-down menu option after selecting the ODBC.INI entry. Similarly, grant Read access to the Anonymous User for the AFWDB entry underneath ODBC.INI.
KeyWords:
AFWDB
connection
crystal reports
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: The on-line help describes the Ideal Adsorbed | Solution: Theory, but it would help to have a working set of equations to see exactly how this works.
Solution
The purpose of the Ideal Adsorbed Solution theory (IAS) is to be able to predict the multi-components isotherm from the pure component isotherms.
The models of Aspen Adsorption library are private and therefore the code is not disclosed. The description in the on-line help is sufficient to work out a model that replicates the results you can get using the Static_Isotherm utility model.
See the attached file which implements the Langmuir 1 isotherm with the I.A.S theory. The purpose of this example is only to illustrate the calculations for information purpose only.
The implementation in Aspen Adsorption also adds the variable Apply_IAS which may be set to 1 to use the IAS theory for the component, and 0 to not apply IAS theory for the component.
Keywords: IAS, Isotherms, Adsorption theory
References: None |
Problem Statement: If a miscellaneous tag that belongs to an existing tag group is added to a new tag group all the existing KPIs for that miscellaneous tag within the existing group gets deleted. This solution describes how you can view those KPIs under new tag group | Solution: When a miscellaneous tag is assigned to a tag group, the KPIs for that tag is automatically assigned to that tag group. If the same tag is then added to the another tag group in AspenWatch Maker, the existing KPIs will be removed from the system and a new set of KPIs will be built and assigned to the new tag group.
However the tag itself is still listed as it belong to multiple groups and the new KPIs for that tag would show up under those groups when seen from Aspen Production Control Web Server (PCWS). In reality those KPIs are the new KPIs and they are assigned to the new group. This becomes evident when a report with KPIs from the two tag groups are shown. The first tag group would not show those KPIs and the second tag group would.
Keywords: Miscellaneous tags
Tag group
References: None |
Problem Statement: This knowledge base article explains how to remove the AtWebControl Cab file on Windows Server 2012. | Solution: Please download and review the following attachment:
Steps_to_remove_AtWebControl_Cab_file.pdf
which contains step-by-step instructions supported by screen captures.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Is it possible to import Excel data in to PID Watch? | Solution: It is not possible to directly import Excel data into PID Watch. However, a work around does exist to convert Excel Data into vector files that can be imported into PID Watch.
1. Convert Excel data into a TXT file based on the information given in solution 136619.
2. Import TXT file into APC Builder.
3. Export Dataset from APC Builder and save in form of CLC file.
4. Import CLC file into DMCplus Model and export out vec files for the SP, PV and OP tags for each of the PID loops and import into PID watch.
Keywords: PID watch
Excel Dataset
References: None |
Problem Statement: The aspenONE installer prevents installation of aspenONE claiming the user is not an administrator on the machine. After selecting aspenONE and entering user credentials, an error message, similar to the following, is displayed and the installation cannot proceed:
Error: ABCorp\a1admin is not an administrator on the machine. Please sign in to the computer with an administrator account and launch the install. | Solution: The check for whether the user is an administrator is case sensitive. The workaround is to log out and log back in using the same alphabetic case as stored in the system.To find how the account is stored in the system:
· Open Control Panel
· Select Administrative Tools\Computer Management
· On Computer Management under Local Users and Groups, select Groups
· Double click on the Administrators group
· Note the username in the Administrators group (case sensitive)
· e.g. ABCorp\A1ADMIN
· Use the case sensitive username (A1ADMIN) to log on and re-launch the aspenONE installer.
Keywords: aspenONE
Web
Install
Administrator
Installation
V8.8
References: None |
Problem Statement: APC Builder/DMCplus equivalent Entry Look-up table. | Solution: The attached excel document provides a one stop location to determine search/look-up the equivalent APC Builder entry for a known DMCplus parameter name and visa versa. For example, VINDSP in DMCplus corresponds to Setpoint in APC Builder. The instructions on how to use the look-up table are provided in the Excel document.
Keywords: APC Builder
DMCplus
Entry Dictionary
Look-up table
References: None |
Problem Statement: What is the equivalent of the NEWPV parameters in the APC Builder interface? | Solution: Users in traditional DMCplus controllers had the option of using the NEWPV parameter of an intermittent Controlled Variable (CV) in order to indicate to the engine about the availability of a new measurement for the variable. While all intermittent CVs in new APC Builder environment also have a NewPV entry, this parameter is no longer a user-editable value. The NewPV entry for an intermittent CV in APC Builder is internally calculated by the engine based on the various inputs available to the controller. The equivalent parameter to the traditional NEWPV parameter in APC Builder is the NewPVInput parameter. Users should therefore when defining user-defined calculation or specifying DCS connection should map the switch to indicate the status of an intermittent CV measurement to the NewPVInput parameter for the respective CV.
Keywords: APC Builder
Intermittent Variables
NewPV
References: None |
Problem Statement: How to change Time to Steady State (TTSS) of a controller in APC Builder? | Solution: There is no direct procedure available to change the TTSS in the master model or in the Model identification platform.
This setting is available in the APC Workspace area by using Edit + Model coefficients to change the TTSS.
Please remember that, Time to Steady State = Number of Model Coefficients * Controller Execution Frequency.
If the frequency of the controller needs to be changed then it can be done by changing Edit + Resample on the APC workspace area as shown in the image below.
Making this change would reflect on the master model of the controller.
Keywords: Time to steady state
APC Builder
References: None |
Problem Statement: How can you delete a variable from Aspen Simulation Workbook (ASW) table? | Solution: If you want to delete a variable from the ASW table. Please follow the steps below.
1.Right click on the variable you wish to delete.
2.Go to the Simulation Workbook Tables
3. Then select Delete Variable from table.
Please note that by just deleting the row (like in Excel functionality) wont delete the link with the case. The Simulation Workbook Tables option can also be used for Modifying, Moving and deleting the table. Simulation Workbook Tables option this will be active only when the ASW is activated successfully with the simulation case.
Keywords: Simulation Workbook Tables
References: None |
Problem Statement: Why does the error “Sharing add-in for Microsoft lync 2010” appear when ASW is used ?
Due to insufficient access privileges, the registry entry for the following add-in could not be written:
Sharing add-in for Microsoft Lync 2010
Try running this program as Administrator. | Solution: In the programs menu the right version of ASW should be selected
Start | All Programs | Aspentech | Process Modelling V*.* | Aspen Simulation Workbook | Aspen Excel Add-In manager.
After selecting the right version of ASW the next step is to uncheck the Microsoft Lync from the Add-in list by clicking File | options | Add-ins | Com Add-ins.
Make sure that all the steps are done under the administrative rights activated.
Keywords: Aspen Simulation Workbook, ASW, Microsoft Lync, Excel add-in
References: None |
Problem Statement: What is the purpose of Aspen Adaptive Modeling Test Agent? | Solution: Test Agent is the tool that continuously monitors the progress of step-testing activities and reports back any issues detected in a timely fashion. Test Agent also serves as an entry point and workflow guide for the Adaptive Modeling features.
The Test Agent schedule dialog box is used to configure and control the following:
- Start or stop Test Agent operation.
- Set the earliest boundary of historical data that Test Agent collects and analyses.
- Set the time intervals for automatic, repetitive model identification (ID) case runs.
The Modeling page has the Identification and Model Quality options. The first one inherits the settings for AUTOID and AUTOSLICE from the Test Agent schedule. On demand cases for Identification can be set.
The Test Agent provides access to other features, such as PID Loops analysis results, Test Report, Data Slice (Auto-slicing) results, ID Results, etc.
PID Loops: Displays a PID Loop Analysis report that summarizes PID loops performance (e.g. Stiction Size, Perform Index, etc.) during Test Agent Data collection (if configured).
Test Report: Displays a SmartStep / Calibrate Step Testing report that lists which variables were stepped, the number of steps, step sizes, and so forth.
Data Slice: Displays a Data Slices / Data Quality Monitor report that lists occurrences of sliced data, or data marked as bad (and omitted for model identification).
ID Results: Displays the Model Viewer window, for comparing the responses curves of the current online model against the model produced by the most recent “AUTOID” model identification (ID) case run.
Keywords: Adaptive Modeling, Test Agent, Identification, Model Quality, Case
References: None |
Problem Statement: When optimizing blend oil using Aspen Orion XT, there appears to be a problem in the product functionality. The detail steps to reproduce this behavior are below:
? In the Optimize Blend Dialog Box, press the "Optimization Tab" button,and select the "Excluded Heel" field. Then there appears to be something wrong when pressing the "Optimize LP" button.
? The explanation of "Excluded Heel" is that Select this option to exclude heel for blend specification calculations. But, when pressing the "Optimize LP" button, the heel of a component tank is not excluded. | Solution: Aspen Orion XT is working as designed. Click the option "Exclude Heel" from Optimize Blend Dialog Box, you are excluding the heel at product tank not for component tanks. If you look at into the Blend Composition window (Optimize Blend Dialog Box) and verify information in COMP column, for HEEL the tank corresponds with Product tank:
If you un-check "Exclude Heel" option, all values corresponding to the HEEL will be available, and when check this option, the HEEL values will unavailable:
Select "Exclude Heel" means Aspen Orion XT will exclude the product tank heel for Blend specification calculations.
Keywords: Exclude Heel
Optimize blend dialog box
Blend dialog box
References: None |
Problem Statement: What are the different methods to assess Aspen DMCplus model curves? | Solution: The Aspen DMCplus model tool provides multiple methods to judge whether the response curves are representative or not.
1. Comparison between actual and predicted value in the Aspen DMCplus model
If the actual and predicted curves almost overlap each other (some error is expected in real world), this means the response curve is showing a good behaviour according to the process operation. This helps to determine whether the step response curve is representative or not, for a specific process.
Now, if the prediction doesn't match with actual data, this could be due to multiple reasons:
· The data/variables actually require transformation because the variables have a non-linear behavior but being modeled in linear manner.
· The amount data which is used to generate the model is insufficient and more data will be required to analyze this data.
· If the controller is already started and the behavior is not as desired. Later you find that the model prediction and actual doesn't match, the reason for this could be incorrect or inappropriate tuning factor. Probably the MV handle for CV is over suppressed.
· The data used for building the model has some data which came from a period when there was a process disturbance.
2. Aspen DMC plus model cross-corelation tool
Cross-correlation tools help to determine if there is MV-MV cross correlation. There shouldn't be any cross correlation existing in between Manipulated Variables as this will hide the true Controlled Variables response.
If the value is < 0.50, it is good
If value is 0.50 - 0.80, it is potential correlation
If value is > 0.80, this data can't be used as this is highly correlated.
3. Model Uncertainty tool
Model uncertainty tools help to assess the quality of response curves based on Dynamics & Gain.
Any curve with both Dynamics & gain A or A&B respectively, can be considered as good curves.
There could be one scenario where the model uncertainty is not showing the Dynamics & gain as D which means that probably the data is not sufficient during the step test. Hence, during the step testing phase it is recommended to run the model assessment tools until the Gain & Dynamics is A.
At times it is possible that the gain & dynamics for a specific MV-CV pair doesn't change to A even after including sufficient data. This indicates that this curve cannot be considered for final model.
Engineering judgement also plays an important role here.
Keywords: DMC plus model
Uncertainty tool
Cross- corelation tool
Prediction vs actual
Model analysis
References: None |
Problem Statement: Worksheet cell is not updated with calculated value from an Activated Process model even though the variable value in ASW organizer has been updated. | Solution: In addition to using the Protect Access box in ASW to implement access restrictions (KB 130253), users can also use the Microsoft Excel’s built in Worksheet Protection to limit access to cells or range of cells in the workbook.
However when cells in the workbook that need updating from ASW have the Microsoft Excel’s Write Protect Restrictions, this can prevent ASW from updating the cells with calculated values from the Activated Process model.
This is the reason user would see the calculated value updated in the organizer but not on the workbook.
To resolve this issue, user should remove the cell's write access restriction.
Keywords: ASW, Worksheet, Microsoft Excel, Write Protect Restrictions
References: None |
Problem Statement: How do I restart the What-If Simulation processes when showing BUSY: Simulation task is running? | Solution: The following procedure is for a “clean restart” of the Watch (IP.21) processes related to What-If Simulation.
- Go to InfoPlus.21 Manager, Actions menu, Utilities, Show Active tab, Task Name: TSK_IQ1. This shows what is the Current Record being processed, usually the one that is in an improper state.
In case it is AW_SUBMIT_WISIM (which handles What If Simulation) go to the next step.
Note: Click Refresh a couple of times, just to confirm the record is stale.
- Go to IP.21 Administrator \ AW_WHATIFSIMDef \ <ControllerName>_WIS, check AW_RECORD_STATUS and AW_ERROR_STATUS. Change those to “None”; also verify that for all the other <ControllerName>_WIS occurrences.
- Stop the IP.21 database (e.g. IP.21 Administrator \ STOP InfoPlus.21). Using Windows Task Manager verify that all PerformAnalysis.exe, SimDriver.exe and PIDWatch.exe processes are gone.
- Go to C:\ProgramData\AspenTech\APC\Performance Monitor\App\<CtlName>\WhatIfSim and move (or backup) the files to another location.
- Restart the IP.21 database (e.g. IP.21 Administrator \ START InfoPlus.21).
- Try again running a What-If Simulation case.
Miscellaneous:
· For a DMCplus controller make sure that the CCF loaded in Watch Maker is the same running in APC Manage. In case of recurrent Queued status, even if the Watch Maker Auto-Update flag is enabled, do a manual update of the controller in Watch Maker: copy manually the current ccf/mdl from the Online server to the Watch server; via Watch Maker, select the controller, Actions menu, Update.
Keywords: Aspen Watch
What-If Simulation
BUSY: Simulation task is running
References: None |
Problem Statement: How to turn on debug logging for Adaptive Modeling? | Solution: If the Adaptive Modeling calculations are not working properly, the debug feature can be turned ON to help troubleshooting the problems.
To turn on debug, Open InfoPlus.21 Manager and locate the three adaptive tasks TSK_ADAP, TSK_ADM1, and TSK_ADM2 in the live task list and STOP them.
Locate each of the above tasks in the defined task list, double-click on the task, in the Command line parameters entry add debug (lower case) and then click UPDATE button (see screenshot below).
After the task is updated, it can restarted by selecting it in the defined task list and clicking the RUN TASK button. The debug feature would create a CaseDebug.txt file located at C:\ProgramData\AspenTech\APC\Performance Monitor\App\XXXCASES\yyy on the AspenWatch Server (XXX is the controller's name and yyy is the case's name)
Keywords: Adaptive Modeling
Debug
References: None |
Problem Statement: How to change units for a variable in Aspen Simulation Workbook (ASW)? | Solution: You can change the units in ASW in two ways.
1. Using the Organizer you can select the desired variable for the concerned variable.
2. In Excel, you need to select the variable-right click- Simulation Workbook Tables- Change Units
Keywords: ASW, Simulation Workbook Tables,Convert Units
References: None |
Problem Statement: Handling large APC Builder Project files can be a challenge because it takes long to transfer large files. This solution describes how to handle large project files in APC Builder? | Solution: See attached document with suggestions on how to compress the file size of large APC Builder Project files. We provide a case study where we compress a project file using Windows 7z.
Keywords: Data Compress
Winzip
APC Builder Project
References: None |
Problem Statement: Why should Gel Effect be accounted for in polymerization kinetics? | Solution: In general, Gel effect takes place due to either rapid polymerization or lack of solvent in the reactor. Gel effect phenomena should be accounted for avoiding following adverse effects:
1. Termination reactions become diffusion limited
2. Uncontrolled polymerization rate and polymer molecular weight increase take place
3. Reactions become diffusion limited as viscosity increases
4. Homogeneous heat transfer becomes challenging due to high viscous zone
5. Impose challenges in terms of product quality and reactor control.
Key Words
Polymerization, Gel Effect, Viscosity
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: I have exported a model from Aspen Custom Modeler (ACM) to Aspen Plus. The output stream properties from my ACM exported block in Aspen Plus give incorrect conditions. | Solution: Most likely, the cause of the problem is due to the fact that the enthalpy of the output port has not been calculated correctly in the model developed by the user.
One quick work around is to select in the Block Options, Stream Flash the appropriate flash type e.g. "Temperature & pressure" if your ACM model sets the correct values for the temperature and pressure in the output port. If the ACM model does not set the correct temperature or pressure of the output port you can enter the values on this sheet.
A better solution is to implement the calculation of the output port properties, i.e. the molar enthalpy of the mixture h and the molar volume of the mixture V. For single phase this can be done easily, for example assuming vapor-only:
call (permeate.h) = pEnth_mol_vap (permeate.T, permeate.p, permeate.z);
rho_permeate as dens_mol;
call (rho_permeate) = pDens_mol_vap (permeate.T, permeate.p, permeate.z);
permeate.V = 1/rho;
For 2 or 3 phase mixtures, you will have to implement the proper equilibrium calculation either using the appropriate flash procedure, or better by using the property submodels such as props_flash2. Make sure to set the flash mode of the submodel to Equation or "SmoothEquation" for best performance, or one of the "Procedure" options for increased robustness. Please refer to the on-line help for more information.
Keywords: flash, port, error
References: None |
Problem Statement: Is it possible to switch to the traditional method of using data slices during model identification in Aspen APC Builder? | Solution: The manner in which APC Builder handles data slices during model identification (ID) is slightly different from the traditional approach used in DMCplus Model. In the traditional approach, an user could add all bad slices onto a single CV and when this CV was included in any case, the model ID would apply the same set of bad slices to all variables included in the case.
The model ID in APC Builder on the other hand functions differently as a default setting. When a CV with slices in included in a case, the subspace model ID in APC Builder would only apply the same set of bad slices to the variables that get included in the same subspace ID group within the case. For example, if a case is developed with MV: SP, CV: PV and CV: OP, with all slices being included in the OP variable. While running the case, if the two CVs were separated into different ID groups, the ID group used for OP vs SP would only use the data that is not sliced bad in the OP variable to develop the model, while the ID group for PV vs SP would use the entire data to build the model (slices on OP do not apply to PV). Such a feature is useful in cases in order to preserve good data when dealing with variables are not correlated.
Please note that this above difference in slice handling during model ID only applied to subspace modeling. FIR modeling algorithm in both DMCplus and APC Builder function the exact same way (slices apply to all variables within a case).
An option exist in the APC Builder Preferences that would allow users to switch back to the traditional way of slicing when working with subspace model ID. Users may revert back to the DMCplus Model behavior for slicing by setting the "Pass good slice information to the identification algorithm" option to TRUE. Another option to use the traditional type of slicing in APC Builder would be to run subspace model ID with the option of setting all CVs in a single group.
Keywords: APC Builder
Subspace ID
Data slicing
References: None |
Problem Statement: How to incorporate Gel effect parameters in reactions kinetics? | Solution: The following steps need to be taken to incorporate Gel effects in polymer reaction kinetics
1. Enable the “Include gel effect” from Navigation Panel > Reaction > Gel Effect
2. Select the appropriate correlation. Currently there are two (reserved as 1 and 2) built-in gel effect correlations available in Aspen Polymer. Any user defined correlations should be defined with subroutine and provided as correlation number of 3 or more.
3. Enter the parameters values. Parameter values could be available from literature or regression run with experimental/plant data.
Please see this screenshot as an example:
Key Words
Polymerization, Gel Effect, Correlations, Parameter
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Why am I unable to see the mass & mole flow in the stream results with respect to component groupings when I specified component groupings by using SUM-MLFL & SUM-MSFL property sets? | Solution: In Aspen Plus, you can get the sum of molar & mass flows for the specific components by defining SUM-MLFL(Sum of mole flow for specified components) & SUM-MSFL(Sum of mass flow for specified components) property sets. If you have large number of component lists and you are interested in specific components summations of mass & mole flow, then these property sets are useful. But when you specify multiple property sets like SUM-MLFL & SUM-MSFL i.e, you are doing component groupings for specific components and defining this property sets in Setup | Stream | Property sets | Selected defined property sets as below:
When you go to the stream results summary, you cannot access all the defined property sets. By default, Aspen Plus will consider only one property set from this.
There is one workaround to get the defined property set values.
Go to Results Summary | Streams (Custom) | Right Click on Default Tab select “Add New� (Mass/Mole Flow).
Then right click on Mass/Mole Flow tab and select “Edit View� option and in Property Selection Tab select defined property sets.
Â
After this , you will able to get values of your defined component groupings under Mass/Mole Flow tab.
See attached “Component Groupings Sum Mass-Mole Flow.bkp file�.
Keywords: Component Groupings, SUM-MLFL, SUM-MSFL, Streams (Custom), Results Summary
References: None |
Problem Statement: What are the different Reaction ID types & Where it will be used? | Solution: Use the Reactions forms to specify stoichiometry and rate parameters for rate-controlled and non electrolyte equilibrium reactions.
Location: Data Browser/Reactions/Reactions/Select "New" then select "Type"
Other reaction types, EMULSION, FREE-RAD, IONIC, SEGMENT-BAS, STEP-GROWTH and ZIEGLER-NAT use in Aspen Polymers modeling
Keywords: Reaction Types, Reaction ID, Global Reaction, Reactors etc;
References: None |
Problem Statement: The explanation of the feed conventions in Radfrac NQ Curves for the additional feeds are unclear to me. Can you explain those in details? | Solution: The example attached can be used to verify the results explained below.
The original column has S=100 stages. The primary feed stream (BASE) is on stage B=70 while the other feed stream (FEED2) is at stage F=65. The following shows how the location for stream FEED2 is calculated for each convention for the case no. 1 in the results of each NQ Curve.
1. Relative: Adjust the stage number to maintain its proportional position in the entire column.
new total stages = 85 (SN)
new BASE at stage 84 (BN)
new FEED2 location is calculated as: BN/S * SN = (65/100)*85 = 55
2. Relative to feed: Adjust the stage number to maintain its proportional position in the section of the column between the optimized feed and the top or bottom of the column.
new total stages = 85 (SN)
new BASE at stage 84 (BN)
new FEED2 location is calculated as: BN - BN/SN * (B-F) = 84 - (84/85)*(70-65) = 79
3. From top: Preserve the absolute number of stages from the top of the column.
new BASE at stage 60
new FEED2 location is still 65 since it is still valid
4. From bottom: Preserve the absolute number of stages from the bottom of the column.
new total number of stage = 85 (SN)
new BASE at stage 84 (BN)
new FEED2 location is calculated as: SN - (S - F) = 85 - (100 -65) = 50
5. From feed: Preserve the absolute number of stages above or below the optimized feed stream.
new total number of stages = 85 (SN)
new BASE at stage 73 (BN)
new FEED2 location is calculated as: BN - (B - F) = 73 - (70 -65) = 68
The feed stage might be off by 1 due to rounding. It might be adjusted if the calculated location is not valid for the new total number of stages.
If the range of stages specified in the optimization would potentially make some options, e.g. "From Top" or "From bottom" infeasible, a warning is issued in the control panel. The "relative to feed" option will be used instead.
* WARNING WHILE CHECKING INPUT SPECIFICATIONS
BLOCK NAME: COL1 MODEL NAME: RADFRAC
WARNING: THE SPECIFIED REMAINING FEED OPTION IS NOT FEASIBLE
BECAUSE THE FEED WOULD BE BELOW THE LAST STAGE.
IT IS CHANGED TO 'RELATIVE TO FEED'.
NQ-CURVE '1'; FEED 'FEED3'
Keywords: Radfrac, analysis, NQ curves
References: None |
Problem Statement: Aspen Plus or Aspen HYSYS may crash when trying to add PSV blocks in the Safety environment. This can occur on a computer running Windows 7 with a 32-bit CPU. This was happening for any simulation file. | Solution: The problem was resolved by enabling the access to large memory range.
To enable large memory space (3 GB memory):
1. Open a command window with administration privileges:
2. Type the command:
bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVa 3072
3. Reboot the computer
Keywords: PSV, crash, safety, memory exception
References: None |
Problem Statement: When making a new Custom Stream Result, how can it be made available for all blocks and streams? | Solution: By default, when a new Custom Stream Result is made, it is only made available locally (i.e. the block or stream where it was created).
The locations were a Custom Stream Result is made available can be changed by right-clicking on the sheet tab and selecting Change Type. From there, the radial buttons control where the Custom Stream Result will be made available. Selecting Global to all records will make the Custom Stream Result available globally.
Keywords: Aspen Plus Custom Stream Table Results
References: None |
Problem Statement: Why does a mixture of propanol and ethanol show an azeotrope at high pressures (greater than 5 bars) when using NRTL property method? | Solution: The binary parameters for the mixture ethanol-propanol are regressed for low temperatures and pressures, as shown in the images below,
If we use this parameters then we will find an azeotrope at high pressures as shown in the image below,
in this case you should use the binary parameters from the NIST databanks,
Remember that at low pressures the APV88 binary parameters gives a better results as shown in the images below (NIST left image, APV88 right image)
(Experimental data: Gay, L. Chim. Ind. (Paris), 1927, 18, 187)
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: How can I hide or remove the Economic, Energy, and EDR Exchanger Feasibility Activation Dashboard in Aspen Plus? | Solution: In order to hide the Activation Dashboard the user should follow these steps:
1. In any Aspen Plus file go to File | Options
2. Select the Advanced section and activate the Disable activation dashboard checkbox
3. Click on OK to apply and save the changes
Keywords: Activation Dashboard, hide, remove, economics, energy, EDR feasibility
References: None |
Problem Statement: On which platforms can I run aspenONE Engineering? | Solution: Please refer to the following table of platform compatibility for aspenONE Engineering:
Area
Platform
V2006.5
V7.0
V7.1
V7.2
V7.3
V8.0
V8.4
V8.6
V8.8
Released
Jan-2008
Sep-2008
Jul-2009
Jul-2010
May-2011
Dec-2012
Nov-2013
May-2014
May-2015
Client OS
Windows 2000
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Windows XP
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Windows Vista
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Windows 7x32
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Windows 7x64
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Windows 8x64
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Server OS
Windows 2000 Server
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Windows 2003 Server R2
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Windows Server 2008
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
Windows Server 2008 R2
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Windows Server 2012
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
MS Office
Office 2003
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Office 2007
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Office 2010 (x32)
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Office 2013 (x32)
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: What roughness K is being used in HeatX in detailed mode? | Solution: For calculation in detailed, if roughness is not defined, it uses the default value of 4.572e-5 meter.
Note that "Detailed" mode is only available for existing simulations in V8.8 and higher.
Keywords: roughness, detailed, heatx
References: : CQ00702238 |
Problem Statement: Is it possible to delete points in a plot? | Solution: It is possible to remove points from a plot after the plot has been created.
To delete selected data points from a plot:
1. Display the plot.
2. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the cursor to form a rectangular outline around the data points that you want to delete.
3. Click the right mouse button.
4. From the menu that appears, click Delete Points.
Note that once you re-run, the points will re-appear.
t is also possible to zoom in on a specific range of data:
1. Display the plot.
2. Select the region of interest on the plot. To do this, hold down the left mouse button and drag the cursor to form a rectangle outline.
3. Click the right mouse button in this region and from the menu that appears, click Zoom In to display the region you selected.
4. To display the entire plot again, click the right mouse button in the plot and from the popup menu, click Zoom Full.
Again, once you re-run, the plot will go back to the original scale with fulll zoom.
Keywords: None
References: : CQ00696901
KeyWords
plot
points
data |
Problem Statement: How to add and customize a new view to stream results (custom)? | Solution: 1. First click on the Streams (Custom) from the results summary as shown in the figure below.
2. Right click on the default tab and select Add New as shown below:
3. Provide an Input Name to the new view and customize it according to your requirement using the wizard.
Keywords: stream results, custom stream summary, new view
References: None |
Problem Statement: When entering large numbers into an IP_AnalogDef record, because it uses a 32-bit real value it may truncate the number stored. Is there an easy way to store large numbers in a standard analog record in Aspen InfoPlus.21? | Solution: With IP.21 V8.8 a new definition record has been added. This is called IP_AnalogDblDef and is based on the standard IP_AnalogDef record but uses double precision real values for fields such as IP_INPUT_VALUE and IP_VALUE. This saves you having to create a custom record to increase the precision for real fields.
Keywords: IP_AnalogDblDef
IP_AnalogDef
Double Precision
References: None |
Problem Statement: I tried to update the old database create by V7.1 or earlier, but encounter the error message "database write error;please check the version of the interface database." | Solution: This solution describes the following procedure for updating old databases (V7.1 or earlier):
1. Copy Interface.mdb from "ProgramData\AspenTech\Aspen Utilities Planner V8.4\Template Databases" folder to the folder containing the database files (this is "ProgramData\AspenTech\Aspen Utilities Planner V8.4\Example Databases" by default)
2. Load simulation in Aspen Utilities Planner
3. Select Editors from the Optimization menu
4. Click "Commit"
Keywords: Database, update, migrate, database write error, V7.1
References: None |
Problem Statement: How is pressure drop for a reducer calculated in Aspen HYSYS? | Solution: The pressure drop for a reducer is calculated by the formula:
DP = [K + 1] * [rho(out) * v(out)^2 / 2] - [rho(in) * v(in)^2 / 2]
DP = static pressure loss
rho = fluid density
v = fluid velocity
K = reducer K factor
The reducer K factor is a function of angle; for swages less than 45 degrees, this factor is governed by the equation:
K = 0.8 * sin [theta / 2] * [1 - B^2]
theta = swage angle
B = exit diameter / entrance diameter
(the above equation for reducer K factor is based on data provided in Crane, Flow of Fluids, Publication 410M, Appendix A-26)
Keywords: pressure drop, reducer
References: None |
Problem Statement: How can we display a summary of input and results for all blocks in the flowsheet? | Solution: The V8.8 release includes a new report feature available under the Report menu, which displays a summary of input and results for all blocks in the flowsheet. By default HTML report is displayed.
But you can configure it to also show a Microsoft Excel report(Report ->Setting)
Keywords: Report
References: None |
Problem Statement: When the 'Simple Resistance Equation' sizing method is selected in a valve, why is the flow rate calculated by Aspen HYSYS not equal to the value using the sizing equation as shown in the Sizing page? | Solution: The solution of the 'Simple Resistance Equation' can encounter numerical difficulties for flow rates that are close to zero. To enable robust simulation in such conditions, Aspen HYSYS slightly modifies this equation for dynamic simulations. The modification involves introducing a new parameter (alpha) in the sizing equation:
Q=k*SQRT(Vopen*dP*Density) Eq (1).
As a result, the flow rate calculated during dynamic simulation may differ from the flow rate that can be calculated from the Simple Resistance Equation by substituting the sized k and other variables from the process. The difference may be large or small, depending on the flow conditions.
If the user would prefer the dynamic flow to be exactly the same as what they would calculate, they should check the option “Make k exactly fit the flow equation”. By choosing this option, Aspen HYSYS still uses the modified Eq. (1), however, it “polishes” the user-provided k internally in order to cancel out the effect of alpha.
The result is that the dynamic flow rate will be the same as what is calculated from Eq. (1).
Cancelling the effect of alpha can also lead to failure of the P-F solver for very small flow rates, as explained above.
Keywords: Simple Resistance Equation, Valve Sizing
References: None |
Problem Statement: When clicking on the “Apply Changes” button after modifying a value of, let's say for example, the “Value” column of [Data Management] - [Demand Data] - [Demand], the message “Save the changes as Permanent Overrides” appears:
This solution explains what will happen if you choose Yes and what will happen if you choose No for the above dialog. | Solution: If [YES] is selected, the changes will be saved and also the override is saved on the [Data Management] - [Data Overrides] screen.
If [NO] is selected, the changes will be saved but the override is not saved on the [Data Management] - [Data Overrides] screen.
Keywords: Overrides
Apply
References: None |
Problem Statement: How do I install Aspen Engineering Products on a client machine without the Aspen Properties Enterprise Database (APED) while connecting to a remote APED Server? | Solution: Many customer environments do not allow installing any databases on a local user machine. These customers will maintain a central SQL Server hosting all the databases.
To host a Aspen Properties database on a SQL Server, please follow KB Solution: 145154
Configure the client machine to disable local APED and allow Remote APED:
· A registry entry needs to be created before installing any Aspen Products on the client machine to all remote Aspen Properties Database.
· Download attached Registry file and run it on the client machine.
§ The following entries will get created in the registry.
64- Bit Machine:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\AspenTech\APED\34.0]
"ASPENDB"=dword:00000002
32-bit Machine:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AspenTech\APED\34.0]
"ASPENDB"=dword:00000002
Install Aspen Engineering Products on the client machine:
· Please follow Aspen Engineering V8.8 Quick Install Guide to install Engineering products on user machine.
Configure the client machine to register a remote Aspen Properties Database:
· Go to Start | All Programs | AspenTech | Process Modeling V8.8 | Aspen Properties | Aspen Properties Database Manager. Click OK on the warning message and the Aspen Properties Database Manager will open.
§ In the Aspen Properties Database Manager, on the left side, right-click on Aspen Physical Properties Databases and select Register Database
§ At the Register Properties Database Wizard, fill in the following information:
1. Uncheck Use LocalDB
2. Server Name: <SQL Server Service Path>
(Note: The default is .\SQLEXPRESS. The “.\” means “this computer”. If connecting to another computer, put the computer’s name first, followed by the SQL Server Service name. Example: Server1\SQLEXPRESS)
3. Authentication Mode: Select SQL or Windows according to your Database level access.
(Note: The below login credentials are the default for APED database which would need to be created on Central SQL Server if not available after restoring the Database)
4. Use Default login name when using SQL Server Authentication:
· Login Name: apeduser (v7.0-7.3) or apeduser2 (v8.x)
· Password: Aprop100 (v7.0-7.3) or Aproperty88# (v8.x)
5. Database: Select the Database listed in the list of Database Example: APEOSv8.x, APV8x, NISTV8x and FACTV8x.
6. Click Ok
7. Repeat step 1 – 7 for all APEOSv8.x, APV8x, NISTV8x and FACTV8x databases.
8. Exit Aspen Properties Database Manager.
9. Config.aem file will get updated with the registered database(s).
Keywords: Centralize
Central
Aspen Properties Database
APED
Share
Remote Connection
Database
Register
References: None |
Problem Statement: How to migrate Aspen Properties Enterprise Database (APED) from SQLLocalDB to Central SQL Server. | Solution: aspenONE V8.8 Engineering products will use Aspen Properties Enterprise Database (APED) which can be hosted on SQLLocalDB or SQL Server Express on local machine or on Central SQL Server Database. If customer has initially hosted the database on SQLLocalDB and wants to migrate to Central SQL Server Database then please follow this solution article.
· Setup Aspen Properties Database on Central SQL Server:
Please follow KB Solution: 145154 to setup Central SQL Server
· Migrate Aspen Properties Enterprise Database (APED) from SQLLocalDB to Central SQL Server Express
§ Create an empty text file with the name “Config.aem” in C:\ProgramData\AspenTech\APED V8.8
§ Open Command Prompt Window as administrator and Type the following commands:
o Type: cd C:\ProgramData\AspenTech\APED V8.8
o Type: DeleteDBInstance.bat
Note: DeleteDBInstance.bat will delete LocalDB and drop all the databases from current account.
§ Go to Start | All Programs | AspenTech | Process Modeling V8.x | Aspen Properties | Database Manager - Aspen Properties V8.8. Click OK on the warning message and the Aspen Properties Database Manager will open.
§ In the Aspen Properties Database Manager, on the left side, right-click on Aspen Physical Properties Databases and select Register Database
§ At the Register Properties Database Wizard, fill in the following information:
i. Uncheck Use LocalDB
ii. Server Name: <SQL Server Service Path>
(Note: The default is .\SQLEXPRESS. The “.\” means “this computer”. If connecting to another computer, put the computer’s name first, followed by the SQL Server Service name. Example: Server1\SQLEXPRESS)
iii. Authentication Mode: Select SQL or Windows according to your Database level access.
· (Note: login credentials should be used which has SYSADMIN rights on Central SQL Server. The below login credentials are the default for APED database which would need to be created on Central SQL Server if not available after restoring the Database)
iv. Use default login name If using SQL Authentication Mode:
· Login Name: apeduser2 (v8.x)
· Password: Aproperty88# (v8.x)
v. Database: Select all Databases listed in the list of Database, Example: APEOSv8.x, APV8x, NISTV8x and FACTV8x.
vi. Click Ok
vii. Exit Aspen Properties Database Manager.
viii. Config.aem file will get updated with registered database.
Keywords: Centralize
APED
Share
Remote Connection
Citrix
Database
References: None |
Problem Statement: TABLE DPO_SOLUTION_COLUMNS does not generate all the fields.
When you open the Results.mdb file, there are lots of missing columns on DPO_SOLUTION_COLUMNS. | Solution: Open the model on PSC, [Program Options] > [General] Tab and check "Use breakout columns in solution output tables" option and run the model again. The newly created Results.mdb has the DPO_SOLUTION_COLUMNS table which has all columns.
KeyWords
DPO_SOLUTION_COLUMNS
Results.mdb
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Is it possible to run two Excel files with linked Aspen Properties simulations at the same time? | Solution: You should only work with one Aspen Properties property package at once. If you double click on the 2nd file, you will get the error "You already have an Aspen Properties package open in the existing workbook. If you want to work with another property package, close the existing workbook first."
However, it is possible to open a second file using the File | New or File | Open commend. This will open a second instance of Excel in the Task Manager that MAY run ok; however, this method is not supported.
The help has a note:
Do not use the File | New command in Excel to try to edit another property package while you already have one open. Do not attempt to open a second instance of Excel to edit another property package.
Keywords: Excel Properties Add-In
References: None |
Problem Statement: This article describes how to model situation when our costs per transported unit decrease with increasing transported amount according to undermentioned cost matrix: | Solution: Building a model:
Let’s assume we have NODES:
MATERIALS:
DEMAND:
SUPPLY:
To describe different cost levels in table TRANSPORT we need to create dummy Modes
and assign Capacities which will trigger usage of next dummy Modes (cost level):
Once we use Capacity we need to define it in table CapTRANSPORT:
The last step is to describe already defined Capacity in table COLLECTOR:
To force PSCP to firstly utilize the most expensive cost level COSTCAP1 before COSTCAP2, Linkage keyword was used. In a given example COSTCAP2 is linked with COSTCAP1, COSTCAP3 with COSTCAP2 and COSTCAP4 with COSTCAP3. This means that PSCP will use COSTCAP1 up to Max before it will utilize COSCAP2 and so on.
NOTE: In these example materials MAT1 and MAT2 have different costs however transported quantity sum up when calculate trigger for next cost level.
Results:
Transport:
Collectors:
Keywords: PSCP
Linkage
MIP
References: None |
Problem Statement: What standard reports are available in Aspen Fleet Optimizer? | Solution: What standard reports are available in Aspen Fleet Optimizer?
Cancelled Orders Report
The Cancelled Orders report prints all shipments that were deleted and not put in the Delivered Shipments Log for customers who are in the process of an RVP\OXY conversion. This report can be sorted by Terminal and Zone.
Cloud Matrix Data Report
The Cloud Matrix Data report prints the one-way day trip time, night trip time, and distance between stations for a selected cloud.
Cluster Orders Report
The Cluster Orders report prints order information for stations (customers) included in a selected cluster. This information includes: Station Number, Unique Number, order flags and warnings (delivered, emergency, credit hold), a list of customer gas types and their quantity per given order, station attributes, order dispatch date, retain and run-out times, and any comments.
Cluster Setup Report
The Cluster Setup report prints the one-way day trip time, night trip time, and distance between stations for a selected cluster.
Clusters Report
The Clusters report prints the list of stations belonging to a selected cluster and the terminals associated with it.
Customer Listing for Zone
The Customer Listing for Zone report prints a breakdown of how many customers are assigned to each zone and it is broken down by terminal. This report can be sorted by Terminal and Zone.
Customer Orders Report
The report displays basic information for each order for a given station.
Customer Profile
The Customer Profile report prints average delivery window lengths and runout inventory for each shipment. The Customer Profile Report is especially useful for determining delivery flexibility and long-term inventory reductions. Customer ID specification is required for this report.
Customer Profile for Terminal
The Customer Profile for Terminal report prints a customer profile for each customer in a specific zone or terminal.
Customer Setup for Terminal
The Customer Setup for Terminal report prints customer setup information for all of the customers from a specific Terminal or Zone.
Customer Setup Information
The Customer Setup Information report prints all setup information for a particular customer, including information about the customer's tank sizes or sales cycles. Customer ID is required for this report.
Customer Status Report
The Customer Status Report prints the status of each customer's sales and inventory information, including whether a customer has reported new sales and inventory information, whether a customer's sales and inventory information is erroneous, or whether a customer's shipments have been forecast. This report can be sorted by Terminal and Zone.
Customer Summary Report
The Customer Summary Report prints the current set of information Aspen Fleet Optimizer is using to forecast product shipments for a particular customer. The Customer Summary Report is useful when processing exceptions because it also displays average sales and fluctuations from average sales. Terminal and zone specifications are required for this report.
Days Supply
The Days Supply report prints the number of days, per product, of inventory that a customer has in the storage tanks.
Dispatched Orders
The Dispatched Orders report prints all of the currently dispatched shipments in the database for a specified area and date.
Group Tender Report
The Group Tender report contains order tender information for all terminals and transports within the group. Information on this report is grouped by terminal.
History Report
The History Report gives a breakdown of the expectations for a particular group prior to starting the Automated Stock Replenishment (ASR) and Resource Scheduling Optimization (RSO) processes. It is intended to help users distinguish those items that are actual exceptions (that require action or additional information) from non-critical data exceptions. The report can be filtered by group, terminal, and station. It includes each customer, tank, and site with new sales and/or inventory information to be processed.
Holiday Storm Notes Report
The Holiday Storm Notes report prints all notes that are written inside the Holiday Storm Planner or the Holiday Storm Utility. This report can be sorted by dates.
Inventory and Forecasted Sales Report (by runout)
The Inventory Forecasted Sales report (by runout) prints a customer's inventory and forecast sales for a particular day sorted by runout. This report can be sorted by Group, Terminal, and Station.
Inventory and Forecasted Sales Report (by station)
The Inventory Forecasted Sales report (by station) prints a customer's inventory and forecast sales for a particular day sorted by customer Id. This report can be sorted by Group, Terminal, and Station.
Inventory Proportionality Report
The Inventory Proportionality report prints the degree to which a customer's inventory is in proportion to its sales. This report can be sorted by Group, Terminal, and Station.
Inventory Reduction Analysis Report
The Inventory Reduction Analysis report prints the inventory reduction for a customer during a predefined period of time. This report can be sorted by Group, Terminal, and Station.
Last 7 Days Report
The Last Seven Days report prints the reported sales and inventory figures by product for a customer for the last seven days. This report can be sorted by Group, Terminal, and Station.
New Orders Report
The New Orders report prints all shipments that have been forecast since the last New Orders Report. This report is useful for processing shipments in batches. If the shipment output from Aspen Fleet Optimizer is entered into an external order entry or dispatch system, the New Orders report allows you to access any newly forecasted shipments as Aspen Fleet Optimizer generates them. This report can be sorted by Terminal, Zone, and Cutoff Date.
Optimization Statistics Report
The Optimization Statistics report prints the Economic Scorecard for the shifts that were optimized. It details the shifts' optimization period, productivity statistics, and costs metrics. This report is a quick way to access a hard copy of Optimized Shift Statistics.
Order Audit Log
The Order Audit Log report captures all changes that are made to a shipment from the time it is created to the time the shipment is delivered. It captures user information, the date and time, the origin, and any changes made to the shipment, as well as the reason codes for these order modifications. You can choose to report on a certain order by selecting Group, Terminal, Station, and Order number. Access this report from File | Print Reports… in the main menu.
Order Tender Report
The Order Tender report is the output of the scheduling process. It contains information about an order that is scheduled for delivery on a given shift and transport, including loading and unloading instructions to the driver. All the specifics that a driver needs to know in order to fulfill a scheduled load are captured in this report.
Overflow Orders Report
The Overflow Orders report is a list of a terminal’s overflow shipments. If there is an overflow shipment in the Overflow area of the Resource Scheduling Optimization dialog box, it displays in this report.
Post Optimization Error Report
The Post-Optimization Error Report will display any errors that occurred during the optimization of the specified shift or shifts.
Product Demand Report
The Product Demand report summarizes product demands on a terminal-by-terminal and shift-by-shift basis. Inventory planners at a terminal can use this information to ensure that there is sufficient product available to meet the forecasted demand. This report can be sorted by Group, Terminal, Station, and Cutoff Date.
Replacement Cost Report
The Replacement Cost report prints each customer’s replacement product costs (by product) and current shipping cost. This report enables you to make more informed decisions when setting product prices. This report can be sorted by Group, Terminal, and Station.
RSO Audit Report
The Resource Scheduling Optimization (RSO) Audit report prints the economic scorecard for the shifts that have been optimized. It details the optimization period, productivity statistics, and cost metrics for each shift. This report also prints all warnings and critical error messages generated in RSO when users manually schedule orders onto transports and do not heed warning messages. This report can be printed by User ID.
RVP/OXY Conversion Report
The RVP/OXY Conversion report helps to monitor the conversion of products in the customers’ tanks and display a detailed report for customers that have all tanks converted by a specified date. This report can be sorted by Group, Terminal, Station, and Cutoff Date.
Sales Quadrants By Trend
The Sales Quadrants by Trend report shows the four quadrants of the business day (morning, afternoon, evening, and graveyard) sales percentages. This report can be sorted by Group, Terminal, and Station.
Short vs. Split Report
The Short vs. Split report prints the financial tradeoff between delivering a short shipment to a customer and assigning a split shipment with another customer. This report can be sorted by Station or Transport.
Sustainable Shipment Report
The Sustainable Shipment report prints the calculated largest sustainable load for a customer based upon the delivery window requirements. This report can be sorted by Group, Terminal, or Station.
Tank Inventory Management Report
The Tank Inventory Management report prints information about a tank that is running out of product. The report can be run for all tanks within a group, terminal, or customer. You can select the tank inventory management customers that you want to view by group, terminal, or customer. The Tank Inventory Management Report assists you in identifying by tank, which customers are running out, given the end date and day supply threshold. The Tank Inventory Management Report is run to help the dispatcher identify in which shift a tank inventory management customer must be scheduled. This report can be sorted by Group, Terminal or Station as well as Cutoff Date.
Terminal Allocation Report
This report lists all deliveries that exceeded the allocation limit. If there are terminal allocation violations to report, the report is immediately displayed with the allocation levels for the terminal products. If there are no terminal allocation violations to report, a message box displays before the report displays indicating that there were no terminal allocation violations.
Terminal Cost History Report
The Terminal Cost History report lists the volume delivered cost breakdown and operating profit of a specific terminal. This report can be sorted by Group, Terminal or both for by month, year, or a range of shifts.
Terminal Orders by Customer/Day
The Terminal Orders by Customer/Day report prints all shipments for a specified customer. This report can be sorted by Terminal or Zone as well as Cutoff Date.
Terminal Orders by Retain Date
The Terminal Orders by Retain Date report prints all shipments for all customers within Aspen Fleet Optimizer. The information is sorted by terminal id number (Aspen Fleet Optimizer site) and retain point in chronological order. This report can be sorted by Terminal or Zone as well as Cutoff Date.
Terminal Orders by Runout Date
The Terminal Orders by Runout Date report prints all shipments for all customers within Aspen Fleet Optimizer. The information is sorted by terminal id number (Aspen Fleet Optimizer site) and runout point in chronological order. Terminal, Zone, and Cutoff Date are required for this report.
Terminal Orders by Shift
The Terminal Orders by Shift report prints all dispatched shipments at a given terminal, sorted by Shift, Terminal, Zone, and Cutoff Date are required for this report.
Terminal Product Demand Summary Report
Summarizes product demands by Group, Terminal, Station, and cutoff date to ensure that enough product is available to meet delivery needs.
Terminal Summary Report
A delivery synopsis of each on-duty transport at that terminal for all optimized shifts. This information, displayed by transport, includes the customer number, terminal number, shipment Id number, trip time, and runout time of each shipment. The Terminal Summary Report also lists all of the unscheduled can-go shipments for the terminal being viewed.
Terminal Tender Report
Similar to the Transport Tender report. The difference is that this report includes the delivery schedule for every on-duty transport, for each optimized shift, at the terminal rather than for only one transport and one shift.
Transport Configuration Report
The Transport Configuration Report shows the configuration of transports as defined in Transport Setup. Information can be printed for individual transports or for all the transports associated with a group or a terminal. To generate this report, select Utilities | Special Reports | Transport Configuration Report from the Aspen Fleet Optimizer main menu.
Transport Cost History Report
The Transport Cost History report prints the volume delivered, cost breakdown, and operating profit of a specific transport. This can be sorted by Group, Terminal, or both for the month, year, or for a range of shifts.
Transport Tender Report
The Transport Tender Report lists delivery schedules, cleaning codes, and unloading instructions by transport. This report can be provided to a driver as a reference guide for delivering a shipment.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: I have Aspen Capital Cost Estimator (ACCE) V8.7.1 installed in my computer and I would like to install ACCE V8.8. Can I have both versions both ACCE V8.7.1 and ACCE V8.8 installed on my computer? | Solution: Versions 8.7.1 and 8.8 cannot coexist in the same computer; the versions that can coexist are either V8.6 and V8.7.1 or V8.6 and V8.8.
Keywords: coexistence, compatibility
References: None |
Problem Statement: What is the Cost Basis for aspenONE V8.8? | Solution: Cost Basis for V8.8 is the first quarter of 2014 (V8.8). The Indices being used can be seen in the table below:
Cost Basis: First Quarter 2014
Material
Construction
Engineering
Construction Mgmt.
USA
2250
2090
1500
1810
UK
3220
5190
5330
5070
EU
2360
1940
1950
1810
JAPAN
1790
1380
2150
2010
ME
2310
2540
1620
2080
Keywords: Cost Basis, Indices
References: None |
Problem Statement: I upgraded to V8.7.1/V8.8 and no, whenever I run the interactive reports, I get prompted with errors that make it impossible to launch the reports.
"Aspen Icarus Reporter - Check DSN Error 429: ActiveX Component can't create object"
Â
or
"Aspen Icarus Reporter - Database Connection Error 3706: Provider cannot be found. It may not be properly installed." | Solution: This is common if you previously had V8.4/V8.6 and could happen for the following reasons:
1. You do not have Microsoft Access installed in the machine. For the interactive reports to run properly, you must have Access installed. This was not a requirement previously for older versions, but for the newer versions it is.
2. The machine has an older version of Microsoft Office. We strongly advise using MS Office 2010 or newer. It must be 32-bit version.
3. You have different versions of Microsoft Office suit installed, for example Microsoft Office professional plus 2010 and Microsoft Project 2013. This will cause errors making the newest version of MS installed (in this case 2013) the default. Aspen Capital Cost Estimator (ACCE) will look for MS Excel/Word 2013 and will not find it, causing errors. You must install equal versions of the Microsoft suite to avoid them.
Keywords: DSN Error 429, Database Connection Error 3706, 3706, 429, Access, Office compatibility
References: None |
Problem Statement: Some customers decide to install both Online server and Web server components in the same host machine. In certain rare cases, it happens that the Web Server component cannot see the Online server component.
Symptoms
The APC Web Interface shows a yellow circle for all data hosts, even when they are all on the same system.
Yellow circles means the data services are not connected, and this is usually solved by restarting the Data Services
However, restarting services does not help.
If this is the case, use DebugView to generate a detailed log. Running DebugView on the affected system while restarting the data services shows an exception in the debug print:
System.InvalidOperationException: This implementation is not part of the Windows Platform FIPS validated cryptographic algorithms. | Solution: 1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative tools > Local Security Policy.
2. Under the "Local Policies" heading, select "Security Options" and look for the entry, "System cryptography: Use FIPS compliant algorithms for encryption, hashing, and signing."
3. Disable the FIPS compliance Local Security Policy. Our APC software use AES cryptography which is a much more secure method than FIPS (which is considered an outdated technology originally required by government organizations).
Disabling this policy should get rid of the exception errors and the server should work fine afterwards.
Keywords: FIPS standard, FIPS local security policy, Federal Information Processing Standard
References: None |
Problem Statement: When configuring the Security and Access Permissions for a DMCplus controller a particular user can be configured to be able to access and/or edit the DMCplus parameters of a specific type. These type setting for the parameters are pre-defined in the software. This article discusses the procedure to be used if a user wishes to customize these settings. | Solution: All DMCplus parameters are assigned a specific entry type they belong to. Based on this setting, a particular DMCplus parameter can be made accessible to a specific group of users. The different entry types that the parameters are classified into include- Standard\Admin Entries, Operator Entries, Engineer Entries, and None. The information on what entry type is assigned to a particular parameter can be found by looking into the dmcplus.product.config file located in the \Program Data\AspenTech\APC\Web Server\Products\DMcplus\ directory. The example below shows that the LDEPTG parameter (Lower Operator Limit for a CV) is configured to be Operator editable (changePermission="OperatorChange").
Note: It is not recommended to make any changes to the dmcplus.product.config file.
If a user wishes to change the entry type for a particular DMCplus parameter, they should create a new file with the name dmcplus.user.display.config and save it in the same directory (\Program Data\AspenTech\APC\Web Server\Products\DMCplus\). The user will need to define the change they wish to make in this file. The sscreenshot below shows an example dmcplus.user.display.config file used to set the Plot Hi and Plot Lo limits as Standard Entries.
Once this file has been created and placed in the correct folder, the user will need to restart the Aspen APC Web Provider Data service (on the Production Control Web Server-PCWS server) for the changes to take effect. Please remember that restarting this service does not affect any running controllers. However, any active users would be logged out of their PCWS session when the service is restarted.
Keywords: Entry Types
Change Permission
Access Security
PCWS
References: None |
Problem Statement: Login password for Administrator accounts are usually changed frequently by users for security purposes. Typically this situation would arise due to network policies for customer. If one such administrator account is used to start all AspenTech related services on PCWS, it requires the user to update the password on each individual service that is run using the account whose password has been changed. | Solution: Users have the option to use a Network Service account to run AspenTech related services, instead of using an Administrator login. A Network Service account does not require a password and has the same privileges as the local Administrator account.
Keywords: Network Service
Administrator
References: None |
Problem Statement: In certain installations, the Production Control Web Page (PCWS) call ups are slow and take more than 15 seconds to display all the registered controllers. | Solution: Long PCWS call-up time typically occurs when certain settings are not properly configured on the Web Server. It is possible that the machines might be configured to use both local groups and domain groups in their Local Security database. The enumeration of these user groups can cause slow initial logon times.
There is an option in C:\inetpub\wwwroot\AspenTech\Afw\Security\pfwauthz.asp (if using the pfwauthz.asp URL in AFW Tools) or pfwauthz.aspx.vb (if using the pfwauthz.aspx URL in AFW Tools) called "gnLocalGroupsLevel". This value is normally set to ,0 which means do not enumerate any local groups. Not enumerating local groups causes the domain controller to have to search all the groups at every start-up, and then remotely look in the local groups to see if the logon user has any membership in the local groups.
Setting gnLocalGroupsLevel = 3 allows Aspen Security to look in all groups (domain and local) and cache those in memory for faster access.
The procedure for changing this value is:
1. Change the gnLocalGroupsLevel value from 0 to 3
2. Stop the AFW Security Client Service. This will stop the Aspen APC Web Provider Web Service as well.
3. Delete or move the cache files located in C:\ProgramData\AspenTech\AFW.
4. Restart the AFW Security Client Service.
5. Verify that new files are created in the C:\ProgramData\AspenTech\AFW folder.
6. Restart the Aspen APC Web Provider Web Service.
Verify if the PCWS call-up is faster.
Keywords: PCWS
call up
slow response
References: None |
Problem Statement: Svchost.exe consuming large amount of memory on the Web server. | Solution: The problem is caused due to a bug in Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 when running IE10 or IE11 and not related to Aspen APC suite of products. The fix for the problem being either downgrade to IE9 or apply Microsoft updates/hotfixes (KB2847346 and KB2889748) to resolve the problem. However, some users have complained that the issue persists even after applying the MS patches. Downgrading to IE9 has been known to completely resolve the problem and is therefore the recommended method to work around the issue.
Keywords: svchost.exe
Memory Leak
Web Server
References: None |
Problem Statement: The size of model folder is increasing even after ?Cleanup Model?.
Can I reduce the size of model folder? | Solution: The cause of the problem is typically the size of Results.mdb file. It is the default output database file that stores all results from the PIMS runs. The size of Results.mdb increases a lot after large number of case runs.
There are settings in Aspen PIMS to help manage the size of the Results.mdb file.
1. On Execution Dialog box: Access Database, Maintenance option
There are four options in the dropdown list as follows,
Delete existing
Delete the output database file (.mdb) from the indicated output directory and create a new file with new tables after the run.
Keep existing
Keep the existing records and add new records after the run.
Only Unique Cases
Keep only one unique record per case after each run. For example, assume the following:
- Solution 1 solves cases 1, 2 and 3
- Solution 2 solves cases 3, 4 and 5
In this scenario, the results of case 3 from solution 1 would be overwritten with the results of case 3 from solution 2. After the run, the results database will contain data from cases 1 and 2 and data from cases 3, 4 and 5 from solution 2.
Purge existing
Delete all the results from all the cases from earlier runs and add new records associated with the current cases after the run. For example, assume the following:
- Solution 1 solves cases 1, 2 and 3
- Solution 2 solves cases 3 and 4
In this scenario, all the results from cases 1, 2 and 3 from solution 1 are deleted and then the results of cases 3 and 4 from solution 2 are added. After the run, the results database will contain only data from solution 2 associated with cases 3 and 4.
The ?Delete existing? option can keep the minimum size of the Results.mdb.
2. Compact Database option
PIMS can Compact the database at the end of run. This option can reduce the file size if the above setting is other than ?Delete Existing?. Go to General Model Settings, ?Output Database? tab then click on ?Options?. Check ?Compact Database? as follows,
3. Cleanup Model Option
You can delete the Results.mdb during Cleanup Model. Go to Menu - Model / Cleanup Model(s)? then click ?Options?? Check ?Microsoft Access MDB Database Files? as follows.
Archive file does not include Results.mdb after the change.
Keywords: Output Database
Results.mdb
References: None |
Problem Statement: As customers upgrade to newer versions of PIMS, they are noticing that the sign convention for the reporting of Pi values has changed. It appears that this is an issue on which the PIMS User community cannot find consensus. About half of the users we hear from like the old convention and half like the new convention. | Solution: As of PIMS 2004.1_073 (PIMS 16.18) a new toggle has been added. This toggle allows the user to reverse the sign convention for the reporting of Pi values. This new toggle is called SIGNREV and can be activated on the MODEL SETTINGS | REPORTING | MISCELLANEOUS tab in the latest versions of PIMS. If the marginal values for rows (like capacities) are being reported with the opposite sign than you would prefer, then simply activate this toggle to switch the sign convention. This applies only to Pi values, not to DJ values for columns.
Keywords: marginal
sign
References: None |
Problem Statement: How to use Table CASE to modify Model Settings? | Solution: Use Model Settings to maintain settings that pertain to the execution of a specific model. Model settings control the way PIMS looks and feels and control the actions of the chosen optimizer.
The model options that are available vary depending on your whether you are using DR (Distributive Recursion) or XNLP (Extended Nonlinear Programming):
Model Settings
Options (tabs)
DR
General, L.P, Recursion, Reporting
General: Currency,Distributed Processing,etc
L.P:MIP Limits,MIP Options, Tolerances,Options
Recursion:Advanced,MIP,Penalties,Tolerances
Reporting:Selection, Miscellaneous
XNLP:Advanced,Global Optimization,PIMS-SI,Penalties,Shortcut Distillation Tabs
XSLP:Advanced,General,Tolerances Tabs.
XNLP Using XSLP Solver
General, L.P, Reporting, XNLP, XSLP
XNLP Using CONOPT Solver
CONOPT, General, L.P, Reporting, XNLP
PIMS does provide a way to modify model settings using Table CASE. To use table CASE to modify Model Settings:
1.- Create a table reference in table CASE by adding the keyword TABLE below the appropriate CASE identifier.
2.-Enter SETTINGS in the column adjacent to the keyword TABLE to indicate that you want to modify model settings.
3.- Add the keyword associated with the model setting you want to modify (e.g., SolveOn).
Following the Model Setting
Keywords: enabled for use in the table CASE to Modify Settings:
A,B,C:
ABSGAP, AbsoluteReduction, AcrossReport, AcrossReportOn, AdditionalArchiveDirectories, ALPHA, APDR, ATOL, AutomateMixedWeightVolOn, BasisIn, BASISOFF, BasisOut, BIGDJ, BLDSLACK, BLNREP, BlValSectionOn, BTTOL, CAP,CRASH, CUTOFF, CUTSTRAT
D.E,F,G:
DALPHA, DPRIND, DSMALL, DTOL, ECO, EDSMALL, EPSGAP, EPSINT, EPSMRK, EPSOPT, EPSRHS, FCONVDST, FIXBAL, FLOWCOVERS, FORCEONE, FORCEUPD, FRM, FSMALL, FSMALL2, GALS, GenerateOn, GLOBAL, GOGEN, GP_SecondaryCol, GP_SecondaryGoal, GP_TertiaryCol, GP_TertiaryGoal, GPRINT, GSINTOL, GUBCOVERS
H,I,K:
HEURFREQ, HOLDUPD, IBRDIR, ICLIQUE, ICMAX, ICOVER, ICRASH, IEMPTY, IFLOG, IFPRES, IHEUR, IHEURFREQ, IKAPPA, IMETHOD, IMPLBD, INCREASE, INODEINF, INODEINT, INODEMAX, INODESEL, INV, IPERT, IPHSF, IPLIM, IPRICE, IREINV, ISCALE, ISOLMAX, ISTATGRP, ITRACE, ITRLOG, IVARSEL, KEEPLOCL
L,M,N:
LASTPASS, LOWCUT, LSINTOL, M2M, MANUAL,MAXBAR, MaxCuts, MAXESC, MAXSOL, MaxSplitBatches,MBR, MinimumBatchSize, MinimumFeasibleBatchSize,MINOBJ, MINSIPASS, MinTFCBoundUpdate,MODE,MONEY,MSCALE,MSCALETEXT,N_OPTCA, N_OPTCR,NALPHA,NDALPHA,NDSEL1,NDSEL2,NIALG,NOTE1,NOTE10,NOTE2,NOTE3, NOTE4,NOTE5,NOTE6,NOTE7,NOTE8,NOTE9, NXPASSES, NXSCALE.
P,Q,R:
P2,P2P,P3,P4,PAS, PDSMALL,PEN,PENESC, PeriodLength, POOLCHAR, PRESVMOD,PROBE, PRowsWksOn, QuadraticAcceleratorOn, RangeReportOn , REC, RECINVSP, RECURSE, RecursedCoefficients, RecursedItems, RPENALTY, RSMALL, RTOL
S,T,U,V:
SAVESVF, ScheduledRestPeriods, ScheduleOperationMoveIncrement, SMALL, StaticConflictWeighingFactor, StaticSettlingConflictWeighingFactor, TELCONV, TIME, UseExcelFor
References: None |
Problem Statement: M/XPIMS permits a maximum of 100 local models to be assembled in a global model.
What is the list with the 100 valid characters for MODEL names in Table MODELS or DEPOTS in Table DEPOT? | Solution: Here is a list of 119 allowed characters to name models. This list can actually be expanded by the use of special characters of different alphabets if the number of DEPOTS plus MODELS is higher than 119, as the characters used for the DEPOTS must be different than the characters used for the MODELS.
! # $ % & ( ) ^ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ? @ [ \ ] { | } ~ ! ?
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
a e i o u A E I O U ? ? a e i o u A E I O U a e i o u A E I O U c C ? ? ? ?
In the attached model you can test any character as a model name by changing the second and/or third model name in table MODELS.
It will update all necessary tables automatically.
Keywords: MPIMS
XPIMS
TABLE MODELS
References: None |
Problem Statement: Install IP.21 V8.7 on windows server 2008/2012 R2 Korean version system, IIS will be corrupted after the installation. | Solution: Root cause: there are some messy codes in C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\config\applicationHost.config file.
You can copy the correct one from Windows server English version. The messy codes is in 171th lines, please refer to the following picture.
Keywords: Korean version
IIS corrupted
Installation
References: None |
Problem Statement: What type of events are logged in AspenWatch Event Log for DMCplus legacy controllers and for APC Builder controllers? | Solution: The Aspen Watch | Event Log would only historize certain messages for DMCplus controllers instead of all messages. This is because Aspen Watch uses Cimio to collect the data from the DMCplus Context and can read messages associated with a change in a particular parameter in the controller (like limits, tuning, etc.). It however cannot read and therefore historize messages that indicate who made the changes. On the other hand, all messages related to APC Controllers are historized in the Event Logs as the new platform does not use Cimio to historize data, but uses the Aspen APC Performance Monitor Data Service to process the data collection.
Keywords: Aspen Watch Event Log
Web Interface
References: None |
Problem Statement: Microsoft EMET (Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit) software can cause Run-time error '429' when launching Aspen Watch Maker. This software is distributed starting Windows Server 2012 R2. | Solution: The following tip is provided in case the Aspen Watch server runs into this problem when launching Aspen Watch Maker AND Microsoft EMET software is present in the system, and is preventing to open Aspen Watch Maker.
· Log on to the Aspen Watch server
· Open a CMD window (run as Administrator) and run the command gpupdate /force
· Open EMET (it can be called by clicking its icon by the Windows clock)
· On the screen at the top, there is the "Quick profile" section. It should say “custom security settings”
· Change this Profile to “recommended”. EMET will need to reboot the system to take this change.
· Reboot the server
Keywords: EMET, Aspen Watch, Aspen Watch Maker, APC, Run-time error, run-time error 429
References: None |
Problem Statement: When invoking any Custom Report from the PCWS, the following message is received:
Error in generating report "<report name>", section "<section name>"
[AspenTech][SQLPlus] Failed to connect to server
[Microsoft][ODBC Driver Manager] The driver doesn't support the version of ODBC behavior that the application requested (see SQLSetEnvAttr) | Solution: This issue is typically caused if the SQLplus ODBC component has not been configured on the Web server. This communication is used by the Web server to communicate with the Aspen Watch server for all SQL related reports.
Open ODBC Data Sources (32-bit) (odbc32ad.exe located in SysWOW64 folder) and add the SQLplus data source and configure it to use AspenWatch server as the host.
Keywords: Reports
ODBC
SQLSetEnvAttr
References: None |
Problem Statement: How can I ramp the output of a PIDincr controller? | Solution: The PIDincr controller implements the velocity-based formulation of the PID control algorithm. This implies the setpoint and the output variables, SP and OPman respectively, are "state" variables. A state variable is a variable which the model uses the time derivative. It is not possible to ramp state variables.
If the controller is in manual mode you can step change the value of OPman
The PIDIncr model has two variables (OPmode, OPfixed):
When OPmode = 0 (default), OP = OPman
When OPmode = 1, OP = OPfixed
To ramp the controller output in a task, you can use the following task:
Task rampop runs at 0.1
B1.Automan : 1; // to set controller to manual
B1.OPfixed : B1.OPman; // to set OPfixed to current OPman
B1.OPmode : 1; // to use new OPmode
ramp(B1.OPfixed, 10, 1); // to ramp (what you want)
B1.OPmode : 0; // to put back to regular mode
//B1.automan : 0; // if needed to go to auto mode
End
The example attached illustrates this method.
Keywords: PIDincr, OPman, task, ramp, sramp, OPfixed, OPmode
References: None |
Problem Statement: How do I configure an Aspen Watch Report with Subcontroller information? | Solution: Please use the following procedure as a general guideline:
1. Build Custom Calculation to be included in the report: In Watch Maker, navigate to Tools (menu) | Custom Calculations and select the Controller (that has Subcontrollers) from the Application drop down, the Scope as General and click the New button at the botom of the window. On Custom Calculation Configuration window fill in the fields to create your Custom Calculation.
For this example configure an equivalent of “01PCTTIMON ONS Percent time controller ON” but for the Subcontrollers “SUB#PCTTIMON ST# Percent time subcontroller ON”.
Note: When doing the Database Variable Binding select Scope as Variable/Tag and scroll all the way down to locate the SUB: <SubControllerName> info.
Note: Repeat for each required Subcontroller in a given Controller.
2. Include the Custom Calculation in report: Once the required Custom Calculations are built, in Watch Maker, navigate to Tools (menu) | Report Management and configure the required Report Section.
On Report Configuration add the required Items (following this example, SUB#PCTTIMON) that are related to the Subcontrollers.
3. Run the Report to confirm the Subcontroller’s KPIs are shown properly.
Keywords: Aspen Watch
Report
Subcontroller
References: None |
Problem Statement: Upgrading AspenWatch IP.21 database may result in the creation time of the AWEvents record to be reset to the time of the upgrade. If that happens, IP.21 cannot fetch historical data past the upgrade time even though older data existed in the repository. | Solution: To find out the creation time of the AWEvents record, open Aspen SQPLus application on the Aspen Watch Server and issue the following query:
WRITE XOLDESTOK('AWEvents 1 AW_H_TIME_1');
If the result is newer than what TSK_EVTH repository indicates, then InfoPlus.21 (IP.21) can not go back past the creation date to fetch data even though it exists in the repository.
To find out the earliest time of the TSK_EVTH repository, open IP.21 Administrator | Historian, select AW_EVTH and examine the start date on the fileset. Consider the earliest date for the check.
To change the creation data for the AWEvents record, issue the following query in the SQLplus.
XOLDESTOK(‘AWEvents 1 AW_H_TIME_1', ‘DD-MM-YY HH:MM:SS')
Where DD-MM-YY HH:MM:SS is the time stamp for the oldest data existed in the TSK_EVTH repository.
Keywords: AWEvents
XOLDESTOK
References: None |
Problem Statement: What is the major cause of thermal convergence error and how to resolve it? | Solution: Often, thermal convergence issues arise due to “Constant Duty” heat input option. With Constant option, heat transfer between process fluid and heating/cooling medium is not controlled by temperature difference. During dynamic run, vessel (Flash tank, reactor etc.) may experience dry condition due to reduced feed flow or increased product flow. If constant heat duty is specified, process fluid and vessel receives excessive heat that may lead to thermal convergence error.
To avoid overheat, other options like “Constant Temperature” or “LMTD” can be selected. To select the options, please follow this selection process: Block > Forms > AllVariables > HeatOpt. Please see the screenshot as an example.
Key Words
Thermal Convergence, Heat Duty, Constant
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: What are the default performance & efficiency curves for pumps in Aspen Plus if user does not enter any performance data? | Solution: If user did not enter performance and efficiency curves in Aspen Plus, the user will get the below message when exporting the simulation to Aspen Plus Dynamics.
In this case, what are the “standard� pump performance curves used by default?
Go to Online Help in the Aspen Plus Dynamics in V8.8.
1. Go to the link for the default curves available for Pump.
2. There will be a plot of Head Vs. Suction Volumetric flow rate & Efficiency Vs. Suction Volumetric flow rate.
Head vs. suction volumetric flow rate curve:
Efficiency vs. suction volumetric flow rate Curve:
Key Words
Default Pump Performance curves.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Why is a gas stream was not included in a Group total in the Full | Solution: report?
Solution
The stream in question might be included in Table UNITS. Table UNITS is used to specify a unit of measure for a stream that is different than the default. If a particular stream has different units of measure than the other members of the group, PIMS will not sum this stream with the liquid streams.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: Is it possible to see a record of past Aspen PIMS runs, especially objective function values? I have cleaned up my model and have lost the reports and other solution files. | Solution: PIMS maintains a database with the run history of your model. This is an MS Access file with a name like PMLOG11.mdb and is kept in the parent folder of your model. The PIMS Log file requires MS Access to be installed on your machine.
You can access the PIMS Log database from the PIMS menu system: File | View PIMS Log Mdb Database.
The name of the database table is PrLog.
The PMLOG11.mdb table is found in the parent directory of the model.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Gaseous streams were previously modeled in the same way as liquid streams; for volume - weight conversions, the SPG used was relative to water. This necessitated the use of artificial volume measures for gases (e.g. "fuel oil equivalent barrels") or very small SPG values for gases. | Solution: A new table, GASES, is available under the Miscellaneous branch of the PIMS model tree.
Table GASES is used to indicate which materials in the model are gases. PIMS treats the SPG for these streams as their density relative to air and not water so that their values are of reasonable size. During reporting time, PIMS segregates the gases from the liquids when performing the volume balance around a process unit. The volume of these gases is not included in the volumetric balance. However, their masses are included in the mass balance.
Attached is a presentation that shows the use of Table GASES in more detail.
Some key points to summarize the use of table GASES:
A new setting, GVTW or "Gas Volume to Weight Factor," is used for volume - weight conversions. It can be found under Model Settings | General Model Settings | General Tab.
Another new setting, GAS, is used to specify the volume measure text for gases. This is found in Model Settings | General Model Settings | General Tab.
The gaseous streams in the model are declared in Table GASES.
The SPG of gas streams must be reviewed in Table BLNPROP as they are now defined relative to the air, not to water.
You can pool gases volumetrically, but it is not correct to volumetrically pool combinations of gases and liquids. In other words, feeds to a VBAL row should not be a mix of gas and liquid streams.
Gases are not accounted on a Volume basis for the feeds and yields volume percentages in the submodel reports. However, they are accounted for the weight percentages.
KeyWords
GASES
gas
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: In Table PINV in multiperiod Aspen PIMS models, there are two mutually exclusive inventory penalties sets:
1) OCOST, CPRICE
2) AOCOST, ACPRICE
In both cases, also HCOST and PCOST are used.
The first set of penalties (OCOST, CPRICE) is described in solutions 113149 and 103932. This solution describes the use of AOCOST and ACPRICE. | Solution: Description of AOCOST and ACPRICE
AOCOST stands for Actual Opening Cost and ACPRICE stands for Actual Closing Price. AOCOST will be used as the cost of "purchasing" the opening inventory of the first period and ACPRICE as the price of "selling" the closing inventory of the last period.
In the Objective Function (OBJFN) for the last period (period n), for every inventoried stream (e.g. ZZZ), one variable called CINCZZZn will be included, whose activity is equal to:
CINCZZZn = CLOSE*ACPRICE - OPEN*AOCOST
This values the actual closing inventory of the last period (CLOSE) as a sale at ACPRICE and the opening inventory of the first period (OPEN) as a purchase at AOCOST. Therefore, there can be a net profit or loss from this inventory valuation. The optimization will try to accommodate the inventories to produce a net profit or at least minimize the loss.
Below is a screenshot of the objective function, OBJFN, for the last period of a sample model showing the CINCZZZn variables:
Recommended Values for AOCOST and ACPRICE
AOCOST should be similar to the cost of buying that material.
ACPRICE should be similar to the price of selling that material.
Differences with OCOST and CPRICE
AOCOST and ACPRICE differ from the approach used with OCOST and CPRICE, which only values the difference between the OPEN and CLOSE inventory. If there is an increase in inventory over the whole time period, CPRICE values the difference, if there is a decrease in inventory over the whole time period, OCOST values that difference.
Another difference is that CPRICE must be lower than OCOST, while there is no such restriction for ACPRICE.
Impact of PCOST and HCOST when AOCOST and ACPRICE are used
The inventory policy in multiperiod Aspen PIMS is based on target inventories, which are defined in Table PINV in column TARG.
The deviations to the target are accounted by two inventory variables: IEXCZZZp (inventory excess from target for stream ZZZ in period p) and IDEFZZZp (inventory deficit from target for stream ZZZ in period p). When the target inventories are not met, the deviations are penalized with PCOST (Penalty Cost) and HCOST (Holding Cost) in the objective function.
PCOST can be understood as the cost per barrel of deviation (excess or deficit) from the target.
HCOST can be understood as the holding cost of inventory for the portion deviating from the target (increases if there is an excess, decreases if there is a deficit).
Below is a description of how the coefficients that multiply IEXCZZZp and IDEFZZZp in the objective function are calculated based on the HCOST and PCOST.
Penalty Coefficient in OBJFN when Inventory exceeds the target
The coefficient that will multiply the IEXC inventory variable for stream i, for period j will be:
Therefore, the coefficient consists of a penalty term based on PCOST for not meeting the target, plus the Inventory holding cost penalty term for the excess inventory above the target.
Normally, PCOST has the largest impact.
Penalty Coefficient in OBJFN when Inventory goes below the target
The coefficient that will multiply the IDEF inventory variable for stream i, for period j will be:
Therefore, the coefficient consists of a penalty term based on PCOST for not meeting the target, minus the inventory holding cost penalty term for the deficit inventory below the target (there is less inventory, therefore the Holding Cost goes down).
Normally, PCOST has the largest impact.
Recommended values for HCOST and PCOST
HCOST should be a value that reflects the actual accounting holding cost per day for a stream. A typical value could be about 0.05% to 0.1% of the value of the stream.
PCOST is an artificial penalty value and can be set at an arbitrary value; suggested values are about 1% to 10% of the cost of the stream. In any case, the higher the PCOST, the higher the incentive to meet the Target.
Differences in the use of HCOST and PCOST when used together with OCOST and CPRICE
When OCOST and CPRICE are used, PCOST is only used in the coefficient for the IDEF column (i.e. when there is an inventory deficit). It has no impact on the inventory excess (IEXC).
When AOCOST and ACPRICE are used, PCOST is used to penalize both the excess and the deficit inventory.
Keywords: AOCOST
ACPRICE
OCOST
CPRICE
PINV
PPIMS
MultiPeriod
Inventory
Penalty
Penalties
References: None |
Problem Statement: A PIMS user asked if it were possible to report whole crude properties in the | Solution: xxx.xls report.
Solution
The Summary Solution Report is not easily configurable by the user. The categories of solution information in this report are limited to purchases, sales, capacity utilization, and process limits. So, the trick is to alter the model so that the additional data fit into one of these categories.
Another thing that we need to overcome is that a PIMS model, by default, does not track the properties of crude feedstocks. We will need to add structure to the model to compute the aggregate crude properties. Once these properties are computed, we will need to capture them in column activities.
We will demonstrate how to report the aggregate API gravity and weight % sulfur in the Solutionxxx.xls report. This involves the following steps:
? Add driver rows to Table ASSAYS
? Make a new submodel to calculate the while-crude properties
? Pick up the properties and report them using Capacity rows and Table CAPS
The best way to represent a property in the Summary Solution Report would be as a Process Limit. This involves Table PROCLIM and adding "Z" rows to a submodel. Unfortunately, as of this writing (February 2005), "Z" rows are not supported in Table ASSAYS.
We can, however, use "E" type control rows to pick up quantities in Table ASSAYS and drive them into a submodel.
Figure 1: Driver rows in Table ASSAYS for whole-crude quantities and qualities
Figure 1 shows four rows added to Table ASSAYS. Row ESUMCRD adds up all barrels fed to the crude units. Row ECRDSPG sums up the SPG (specific gravity) barrels of crude fed to the crude units. Row ECRDAPI adds up the API-barrels of crude fed to the crude units. Row ECRDSUL sums up the barrels multiplied by the SPG and the weight percent sulfur of each type of crude fed to the crude units. These sums are driven into a dummy submodel, SRPT.
Figure 2: Crude property driver rows terminating in Table SRPT
Figure 2 shows part ot Table SRPT. Column BBL represents the total number of crude barrels; SGB represents the total SPG-barrels; APB represents the total API-barrels; SSB represents the total "SUL-SPG-barrels." We will use these quantities to compute the aggregate API and SUL of crude.
Figure 3: Calculation of whole-crude API and SUL
Figure 3 shows the calculation of the whole-crude properties. API is recursed into the dummy pool DCV (for Dummy Crude Volume). SUL is recursed into pool DCW (for Dummy Crude Weight). Please do not forget to specify initial guesses for the properties of these new pools in Table PGUESS.
In a PIMS model using Distributive Recursion, properties are represented as coefficients in a matrix, not as column values. So, we need to PCALC the crude properties into columns whose activities are fixed to 1 and use "E" rows to set the activities of columns equal to the property values.
The API property of DCV is transferred to the tag DV1 via Table PCALC. The SUL property of DCW is transferred to the tag DW1, also via Table PCALC. Columns DV1 and DW1 of SRPT are both fixed to 1. Figure 4 shows Table PCALC.
Figure 4: Table PCALC for the whole-crude API and SUL calculations
Rows EAPIRPT and ESULRPT (see Figure 3) drive the API and SUL values into Columns API and SUL. We can now pick up the whole-crude API gravity and weight % sulfur directly from the activities of these columns.
Now that we have isolated these whole-crude properties into column activities, we can use Capacity rows to pick up and report the property values. Figure 5 shows rows CCAPCRA and CCAPCRS in submodel SRPT.
Figure 5: Capacity rows to report whole-crude API and SUL
In Table CAPS, we reference CCRA and CCRS, but do not have to specify limits for these capacities (Figure 6). Figure 7 shows the Capacity Utilization section from Solutionxxx.xls, including the average crude API and SUL.
Figure 6: Table CAPS excerpt
Figure 7: Capacity Utilization section from the Summary Solution report
You can download and run the attached example model for a demonstration. It is based on PVOLSAMP, the volume-based, multi-period sample model.
KeyWords
crude
property
summary
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: How can we force our Aspen PIMS model to recurse a property for a specification blend? | Solution: By default, Aspen PIMS does not recurse properties for specification blends. In most ciccumstances, it is sufficient for Aspen PIMS to place constraints, to enforce blend specifications, on the properties of the finished blend. Explicit recursion of those properties would create unnecessary structure in the model.
Properties of specification blends should be recursed under the following circumstances:
? When implementing reformulated gasoline with Table RFG.
? When using the Aspen Blend Model Library (Table ABML). See Solution 121252 for further explanation.
? When implementing a preblend, or a specification blend that is a component to another blend.
? When a specification blend is used as a feed pool for a process unit.
To force a model to recurse properties of a blend, the following steps are employed:
1. In Table BLNSPEC, define a specification for each property to be recursed for the blend. The specification need not be a practical limitation on the blend property, but some specification does need to be defined.
2. In Table PGUESS, define an initial guess for each property to be recursed for the blend.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: What is the possible reason for error message “IterationLog.lst was not found”? | Solution: Users may face the error message “IterationLog.lst was not found” when they run a fresh model the first time. The possible reason for this error message may be related with the matrix and output setting in the execution dialog. In the execution dialog box, if users select “Generate Matrix” and “Open Report Windows” without selecting “Solve Matrix”, PIMS will give the error message that “IterationLog.lst was not found”. As the final report is based on the solved matrix and iteration log, PIMS will not be able to create and open report without a solved matrix.
If users just want to generate the matrix to do analysis, deselecting Open Report Windows will eliminate the error message.
Keywords: Iteration Log
Solve Matrix
Open Report Windows
References: None |
Problem Statement: How does Aspen PIMS choose whether to use either a blend property or a blend index spec? And how does Aspen PIMS report them in solution files? | Solution: Aspen PIMS calculates blend properties based on what the user defines in BLNSPEC. Take RVP and RVI as example. If a user defines a spec for the property index, such as XRVI (MAX RVP index spec), then Aspen PIMS will obey the property index limit, and report both RVI and RVP, where RVP is calculated from blend index RVI. If a user defined XRVP (MAX RVP spec),Aspen PIMS then uses RVP as the spec, and will report RVP only. If both RVI and RVP specs are defined, Aspen PIMS will use both RVI and RVP as spec, and report them both straight from blend property calculation.
Here are the examples using blend product URG from Volume Sample model.
Example 1: Spec XRVI =15.6
* TABLE
BLNSPEC
*
Blended Product Specifications
TEXT
URG
XRVI
RVP Index
15.6
Below is part of report from solution. Aspen PIMS will report both RVI and RVP. RVP is calculated from blend index RVI.
Product Qualities
Minimum
Product
Maximum
Marg Val
$/Unit/BBLS
RVP*
RVP Index
9.0000
9.0000
0.258
RVI
Vapor Pressure Index
15.5885
15.5885
0.119
*Quality calculated from blend index
Example 2: Spec XRVP = 9.0
* TABLE
BLNSPEC
*
Blended Product Specifications
TEXT
URG
XRVP
RVP Index
9
Aspen PIMS will use XRVP as spec and report RVP only
Product Qualities
Minimum
Product
Maximum
Marg Val
$/Unit/BBLS
RVP
RVP Index
6.6936
9.0000
Example 3: Spec XRVP = 6, and XRVI=15.6
* TABLE
BLNSPEC
*
Blended Product Specifications
TEXT
URG
XRVP
RVP Index
6
XRVI
RVP Index
15.6
Aspen PIMS will use both RVP and RVI as specs and report them both. As shown from the report, the values of RVP (6.0) and RVI (14.18) of URG may not be consistent with the relationship defined for the index (RVI=RVP^1.25). The reason is that they are each calculated independently straight from the blending components.
Product Qualities
Minimum
Product
Maximum
Marg Val
$/Unit/BBLS
RVP
RVP Index
6.0000
6.0000
0.332
RVI
Vapor Pressure Index
14.1828
15.6000
Keywords: property index
specification
blend spec
References: None |
Problem Statement: What is the easiest way to convert from an Aspen HYSYS databank to Aspen Properties? | Solution: In V8.0 and above, you cannot convert an Aspen HYSYS databank to Aspen Properties directly. The workaround is to copy the component list and select Aspen properties when windows pop up as below screenshot.
Â
After adding the component list, Aspen Properties fluid package needs to be added with the properties component list attached.
Keywords: Convert databank, Aspen Properties
References: None |
Problem Statement: How does Aspen HYSYS convert a dimensional curve to a Quasi-Dimensionless curve? | Solution: These are the calculations Aspen HYSYS follows in order to convert the information from a dimensional curve to a quasi-dimensionless curve:
1. Converted Mass Flow:
Where:
FQD is the converted quasi-dimensionless Mass Flow.
FD is the actual mass flow.
Tin is the inlet stream’s temperature
Pin is the inlet stream’s pressure
If the dimensional curves use Volume Flow, the mass flow (FD) is converted based on the stream’s density
2. Converted Pressure Drop:
Where:
∆PQD is the converted quasi-dimensionless pressure drop
Pout is the actual outlet pressure
Pin is the actual inlet pressure
3. % Efficiency:
There is no conversion of efficiency for quasi-dimensionless curves.
Keywords: Quasi-Dimensionless, curves, compressor, mass flow, pressure, efficiency
References: s
Meherwan P. Boyce, Centrifugal Compressors-A Basic Guide, ISBN 0-87814-801-9. |
Problem Statement: Why is the Tray Sizing Utility predicting a diameter of less than 1ft when in rating mode? | Solution: Even though you are doing a rating calculation, HYSYS does a preliminary design calculation based on the liquid and vapor flowrates and fluid properties to determine some initial parameters that are then used to calculate the parameters when a full rating calculation is done.
For example, the downcomer area is calculated from the given tray diameter and the ratio of estimated downcomer area to the estimated cross sectional area. Estimated values such as tray diameter might have an impact on the final calculated tray dimensions in HYSYS.
This is why the warning message is generated.
Keywords: tray sizing, diameter, rating, warning
References: None |
Problem Statement: Why I'm not able to see the Rate-Based Distillation Column unit operation in HYSYS? | Solution: This unit operation was removed after HYSYS 8.3. User can continue working with this unit operation directly from Aspen Plus or use Rate-Based Distillation through HYSYS regular column (go to Colum Editor view> Parameters tab> Acid Gas). This option is only available when you are using Acid Gas Property Package. for more information please refer to solution 137919 and 140055
Keywords: Acid gas, Rate Based Distillation
References: None |
Problem Statement: How do I install Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 runtime? | Solution: In this knowledge base article we will be looking at how we can install Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 runtime.
Step 1: Download both files for 64bit OS (vcredist_x64.exe and vcredist_x86.exe) Only vcredist_x86.exe is required for 32bit OS. Files are attached in this knowledge base article.
Step 2: Right click on the downloaded file and then click on "Run as administrator"
Install 1: vcredist_x64.exe
Install 2: vcredist_x86.exe
Silent Install Option: To install silently you can use the switch command /q after the file name. So it will look like this (vcredist_x64.exe /q) or (vcredist_x86.exe /q)
Step 3: Installer will now load up. Read and accept the License Terms and then click the "Install" button (Example shown below)
Once the runtime has been installed you should see in your Control Panel | Programs and Features the following items.
Keywords: VC++ 2010 Runtime
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable
SLM
SLM Patch requirement
References: None |
Problem Statement: How can I block the SLM Configuration Wizard from launching on a non admin user machine? | Solution: The System Administrator would like to restrict users from making changes to the SLM Configuration Wizard. This can be done by modifying the Windows Registry on the user's machine.
To block changes to the SLM Configuration Wizard, please follow the below steps.
1. Open the Windows Registry and navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
2. Right click the Explorer key and Select New->Key with the name DisallowRun. Modify it with a Value of 1.
3. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\DisallowRun.
4. Create a String Value and label it as 1. Modify the value with SLMConfigWizard.exe
5. When any non-admin users try to launch the SLM Configuration Wizard, they will see the below message.
NOTE: If the above registry keys are applied on user’s machine, then only the Administrator will be able to launch the SLM Configuration Wizard.
Keywords: Block
Non admin
Restrict
SLM Configuration Wizard
Administrator
References: None |
Problem Statement: Unable to launch Aspen Process Manual on a machine with aspenONE Web Interface installed | Solution: Aspen Process Manual and aspenONE Web Interface uses the same Internet Information Services (IIS) port 80, which creates a conflict with Process Manual and that leads to HTTP Error 404.0 – Not Found error.
Alternate Solution:
- Users who need Process Manuals Articles can use aspenONE Exchange as a replacement of Aspen Process Manual. All the articles are available through aspenONE Exchange within HYSYS or AspenPlus.
Keywords: aspenONE Process Manual
aspenONE Web Interface
HTTP Error 404.0
References: None |
Problem Statement: Trying to run standard trends on Process Browser gives "Invalid Server" message and no trends are displayed. This happens when the IP.21 Process Browser server is running on Windows 2012 Server. | Solution: In order for Process Browser trend controls to work, Remote Data Services (RDS) must be functional. If this is not the case, you get "Invalid Server" errors in the value field. Microsoft have done away with Remote Data Service server components from the operating system after Windows 7, so it is not present in Windows 2012 Server.
The work around is to either use Windows Server 2008 R2 to host Process Browser server, or alternatively redirect the “Trend” link o use the High Performance Trends (HPT). There is a mechanism to do this. Run the batch file _use_html5.bat in the folder
\inetpub\wwwroot\AspenTech\Web21\Trend HTML5\
This removes from the Home page the link to the PEPlot.asp page and replaces it with link to PEPlot2.asp – labeled “Trend” as before.
Keywords: Invalid Server
HTML5
IP.21 Process Browser
Web.21
References: None |
Problem Statement: When opening a project received from colleague, the following error message is encountered. | Solution: The error is due to the colordef.dat file is missing from the project. To resolve this issue,
1. Browse to C:\Program Files\AspenTech\Web21GraphicStudio\etc or C:\Program Files (x86)\AspenTech\Web21GraphicStudio\etc folder.
2. Copy the default colordef.dat from the folder to the project folder.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: What are the 2 phase relief valve sizing methods available in HYSYS when compared to Aspen FLARENET? | Solution: HYSYS uses only a basic relief valve sizing method that uses the simple all-vapor or all-liquid equations similar to API 520 1977 method. Two-phase systems are modeled simply as a the sum of the vapor and liquid contributions. Refer to solution 116775 for more information for methods used for relief valve sizing in HYSYS.
HYSYS does not include HEM and DIERS 2 phase relief valve sizing methods that are available in FLARENET. Refer to solution 109481 for more information for methods used for relief valve sizing in FLARENET.
Keywords: Relief valve, DIERS, HEM, API 520
References: None |
Problem Statement: I have selected as property package NRTL from HYSYS and NRTL from Aspen Properties to compare results; however I notice that the results are not the same, although both of them use NRTL and both have the same component’s composition and conditions. Why is that? | Solution: NRTL has an equation that is used to calculate the VLE and LLE. Aspen Properties’ NRTL (And NRTL-RK, NRTL-2, NRTL-HOC, NRTL-NTH) uses the following equation:
Where:
Also aij, bij, eij, and fij are unsymmetrical. That is, aij may not be equal to aji, etc.
Aspen HYSYS’ NRTL uses the following equation:
As you can see, the equations are pretty much the same, however the way the parameters are calculated are different:
aij = non-temperature dependent energy parameter between components i and j (cal/gmol),
Now you can see how τ is calculated differently from the Aspen Properties and HYSYS. Also in HYSYS aij = aji for all binaries, different than the specification in Aspen Properties.
Furthermore the equation uses parameter values stored in HYSYS or any user supplied value for further fitting the equation to a given set of data. This is not the case for Aspen Properties which makes a regression to calculate the parameters.
This is why you are prompted with different results in the simulation even if you use the same property method, the way the parameters are being calculated is not the same, hence showing different equilibrium / flashing results.
Keywords: NRTL, Aspen Properties, HYSYS, comparison, different
References: None |
Problem Statement: Line Sizing calculations in the Safety Analysis Environment: Assumptions, limitations, and known issues | Solution: The attached document describes the line sizing calculations as they are currently implemented in the Safety Analysis Environment.
This is important to note that calculations are not as detail as in Aspen Flare System Analyzer. If you are interested in performing a more rigorous calculation user may use Aspen HYSYS pipe segment or Aspen Flare System Analyzer instead.
For more information on Aspen Flare System Analyzer please click here.
Keywords: line sizing, safety analysis
References: None |
Problem Statement: Why is Tray Sizing oversizing a stage where there is a feed stream leading to it? | Solution: Tray Sizing may oversize trays where there is a feed stream because the vapour portion of the feed may get included in the vapour flow to the tray. This will cause the vapour flow rate to and from the tray to be exaggerated, thus leading to an oversized tray.
The following steps can be taken to exclude the vapour in the feed stream from the calculation:
1. Double click on the column to open up the column runner form,
2. Go to Flowsheet | Setup and check the Split option for the feed in question.
3. Go to Equipment Design | Tray Sizing | Design
4. Select Below Tray from the drop-down menu labeled Use Vapour [ ] for Design/Rating.
If stage n has a feed stream, selecting Split inlet will pre-flash the feed stream, and the vapour portion of the feed stream will be fed above stage n and directly to stage n-1. Selecting Use Vapour Below Tray for Design/Rating will use the vapour flow rate to stage n, which does not include the vapour in the feed stream if the Split inlet option is checked. Selecting both of these options in conjunction is the only way to exclude the vapour in a feed stream to a stage from being included in a tray sizing or rating calculation.
Keywords: Tray Sizing Rating Vapour
References: None |
Problem Statement: In some cases, there is big difference in calculation results between Oil Manager and Assay Manager, TBP temperature in Assay manager is much lower than the calculation results in Oil Manager. | Solution: There is difference between Oil manager and Assay manager for the method which convert from D1160 to TBP. Oil Manager provides the option for Vacuum and Atmospheric conditions, while Assay Manager only can do Atmospheric, in some cases, the data entered into Oil manager is Vacuum. So there will be calculation results difference. Please pay more attention when input the date into the Oil manager and Assay manager.
Keywords: Oil manager, Assay manager
References: None |
Problem Statement: The expected equilibrium curves with Glycol package (which uses TST EOS) when compared with TST thermodynamic package are not similar. Why the difference? | Solution: The Glycol package is based on the same basic EOS as the TST package, however it uses a different, more advanced mixing rules which are better suited for very non-ideal systems such as TEG, water and methanol, etc. Therefore, we do not expect Glycol to give the same (or similar results) as TST for this system.
The TST property package in HYSYS does not use the TST zero-pressure mixing rules at all. The mixing rules for TST is just a normal quadratic mixing, like that used in PR. Basically, it uses the TST equation of state (the same basic equation as that used in the Glycol package), the Twu alpha function (the same alpha function used in PRTWU, SRKTWU and Glycol packages), but simple quadratic mixing rules for "a" and linear mixing rules for "b" (the same as PR, PRTWU and SRKTWU). There is only one kij used for "a".
The Glycol package implements the zero-pressure mixing rules as described in section D.3.2 in the HYSYS Simulation Basis Guide.
However, for normal hydrocarbon mixtures, both EOS should give similar results.
Keywords: TST, Gycol, TST zero-pressure mixing, Twu alpha function, EOS
References: None |
Problem Statement: Can an imported variable be copied (exported) from one spreadsheet to another spreadsheet? | Solution: Yes, you can copy from the imported variable from one spreadsheet to another spreadsheet by using the Send to option as shown below.
This copied imported variable will be now linked to the spreadsheet it was sent and not to the stream/object variable in the flowsheet.
You either copy this imported value to a new spreadsheet or to another spreadsheet.
If copied it to a new spreadsheet, this value if copied to the A1 cell.
If copied to an existing spreadsheet it will give you an option to paste this value to any cell of your choice.
Keywords: spreadsheet, Send To, Imported Variable
References: None |
Problem Statement: How to find the maximum concentration of a component in my simulation? | Solution: You can use the colour scheme for the streams in your simulation in order to find which one has the maximum concentration of an specific component.
In the Flowsheet/Modify tab located in the Ribbon click on the Editor button.
In the Conditional Formatting window, go to the Scheme Name and select the “Add New” option. A New Scheme will be added. Then click on “Select Variable” and search the variable “Master Comp Mole Frac” and then the component in which you are interested. Finally click OK.
Different colour schemes are added with some ranges of composition that you can customize. You can also change the number of segments. With this you can identify in which stream is located a range of compositions in your simulation for an specific component.
Keywords: concentration, component, color scheme
References: None |
Problem Statement: How to simulate a column where on a particular stage, the liquid leaving the stage is cooled (external to the column, i.e. the liquid flow path is not via the downcomer) before re-entering the column on the stage below?
A sketch of this system is shown below: | Solution: This column configuration is not typical and as such, there is no pre-made template for this. However, this can be simulated by customising an existing column template (available from the model palette) or creating a new column template. A flowsheet picture (from within the column sublfowsheet view) is shown below:
Note: The cooler unit operation in the above subflowsheet environment could be replaced by a shell and tube heat exchanger.
It is important to understand that the above configuration does not contain a pump-around and should be not simulated as one. The major differences are:
· Pumparounds take liquid from a lower stage to a higher stage in the column system whereas in this configuration, liquid continues along its 'natural' flow path continually moving down the column
· Pumparounds usually take a fraction of the liquid from the stage off to the cooler whereas in this configuration, all of the liquid from the stage is routed to the cooler
· Pumparounds can result in stages of separation being 'bypassed' whereas in this configuration, the liquid is only being subcooled prior to entering the stage below.
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Keywords: Custom Column configuration, cooler, downcomer, subflowsheet
References: None |
Problem Statement: What is the definition of average velocity in the PSV line sizing tab for inlet and outlet lines and how is it calculated? | Solution: The average velocity on the PSV line sizing tab is the volumetric flow rate divided by the cross sectional area.
For the vapor case, the average velocity is based on the rated flow, the cross-sectional area of the line, and an average of the exit density and the density at the total back pressure. Note that in both cases, the density is calculated based on an ideal gas, it is not calculated using the simulator.
For the two-phase case, the average velocity is based on the rated flow, the cross-sectional area of the line, and the overall density at exit conditions (based on a flash by the simulator).
Keywords: PSV, Average velocity
References: None |
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