Flow Diagram Simulator for the Cement Industry

The most important aspect of work performed in a process engineering department is the development of process flow diagrams. These diagrams display the results of energy and material balances and equipment rating calculations for a complex process plant. The development, features, and implementation of a computerized flow diagram simulation program named Fuller's interactive simulator for process engineering calculations (FISPEC) are described. FISPEC is a comprehensive flow diagram simulator which performs steady-state energy and material balance calculations for a minerals processing plant. FISPEC allows the connection of process streams (solid, gas, liquid, or fuel), with the equipment simulation models that constitute a flow diagram. The unique features of FISPEC include an interactive language that allows the process engineer to step through the flow diagram stream by stream. This language is flexible to use yet rigid enough to simulate any process found on a flow diagram. A second feature is a restore backup feature that enables the process engineer to program the flow diagram in the simulator language and then rerun this program at a later date with any modifications that might have occurred. FiISPEC also includes an interface capability between the simulator and a computer graphics system. This graphics interface eliminates the manual intervention formerly required in the construction of a process flow diagram.