The Chemical Engineering Data Model VeDa. Part 6: The Process of Model Development

Abstract:
The development of good (mathematical) process models is essential to the successful simulation of chemical processes. Simulation serves Simulation serves process design, process optimization and operator training. It thereby contributes to the design of safe and economically optimal processes.

The process of model development comprises many different activities. Some can be described by a simple algorithm, while others are not fully understood and rely heavily on the experience and creativity of the engineer developing the model.

Activities can be formalized using the chemical engineering data model Veda. Formal representation is the first step towards a computer based support for model development.

The report describes the general ideas and motivations which are the basis for the Veda activity model, as well as the general concepts which are provided by the Veda activity model to formalize activities and decisions.

As an example, concepts representing a concrete modeling procedure for the behavioral description and the analysis of elementary parts in a model of a chemical process are given.