Study On Aided Design Expert Database System For Chemical Process Simulations

Chemical Process Simulations are a complex one, when sufficient special knowledge and hands-on experiences are essential to get a better understanding and subsequently better simulations and optimizations of process flowsheet. So it highlights the necessary of development on Aided Design Expert Database System (ADEDS) for chemical process simulations. Both Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Database (DB) technology have the advantages and limits respectively, fortunately, the ADEDS can band the two together flexibly. Based on the principles of Expert System (ES) and powerful data processing ability of RDBMS (Related Database Management Systems), ADEDS for simulation design of chemical engineering process is developed by using Visual Basic 6.0 and Microsoft Office Access 2003. Knowledge and case are represented in the table of database and reasoned by database language.(1) Storing all the relevant knowledge in a specific way of organization in the tables of RDBMS, by using managing modules, ADEDS offers an easy way to edit, add and delete the knowledge in Knowledge Base (KB). For complex property methods selection during the simulation process, ADEDS can help users pick out appropriate property methods according to the characteristics of technology and material categories.(2) Using Case Based Reasoning (CBR) as the way of reasoning, storing all the old cases in Case Base, ADEDS can direct user to simulate new process by referring to previous similar cases and don't have to start from the beginning, making the simulation much simpler. Reasoning by SQL and VB, KB and reasoning separate from one another, any editing, adding and deleting the data of KB can be done without modifying program, which make ADEDS more universal.(3) ADEDS realized the interface with chemical engineering simulation software-Aspen Plus, users can apply the import or export files embedded in Aspen Plus as the exiting similar cases of ADEDS directly, and by revising, a new process simulation can be easily accomplished; Users don't have to start the simulation work all at the first beginning, thus applications of simulation software on practical engineering have been widened extensively through this System, which is also a powerful backbone for chemical engineering simulations.