Integrating hydraulic simulation and on-line process control

A dynamic hydraulic model was integrated with a model that simulates the behavior of the control system in the field. Open Model Interface (OMI) was used to connect the different simulation components into an overall simulation environment. The model (simulator) of the control system uses the same actual code that runs on Remote Terminal Units (RTU's) in the field. This architecture simplifies the maintenance of the simulation software, provides a realistic simulation of the control elements, and provides a mechanism for testing the control system logic with full consideration of hydraulic impacts.