Process Flow Graph Analysis for Industrial Plant Side Effects
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial plant operators face difficulties in predicting the effects, including side effects, of value changes or actions due to complex interdependencies between elements in processing systems, making it challenging to identify the impact of unusual process values on production processes.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced that transforms a process flow diagram into a directed graph, allowing for the selection of a starting node and construction of a subgraph to visualize interdependencies, including side effects, by representing elements as nodes and relations as directed edges, and using fuzzy attributes to quantify effects, facilitating operator understanding and preventing undesired outcomes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If operators manually monitor and analyze complex interdependencies in industrial plants, then they can identify process issues, but the complexity and time required for analysis increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-computes and stores interdependency relationships between process elements in a database before incidents occur. When an incident happens, operators can immediately query pre-analyzed impact paths without performing real-time complex calculations, thus reducing analysis time while maintaining comprehensive safety coverage
Solution Approach 2:
An automated software system acts as an intermediary between operators and complex process interdependencies. The software automatically traces and displays affected elements and impact paths, freeing operators from manual analysis while providing reliable safety information
2Adaptability or versatility
If the processing system includes more elements and connections to increase functionality, then production capability improves, but the difficulty of predicting effects and side effects increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the complex processing plant into discrete elements (process units, equipment, control systems) and represents their relationships as a structured graph. This segmentation allows operators to analyze only the relevant subset of elements affected by a specific action, rather than considering the entire complex system, thus making effect prediction manageable while maintaining system versatility
Solution Approach 2:
The automated analysis software serves as an intermediary that systematically traces impact paths through the segmented system structure. It automatically identifies all affected elements and side effects without operator intervention, handling the complexity of predicting effects in versatile production systems
3Reliability
If operators perform detailed analysis of all possible effects to ensure safety, then safety improves, but the ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-analysis by automatically querying the interdependency database and generating impact assessment results without requiring operator expertise in trace analysis. Operators simply input the action or incident, and the system independently identifies all affected elements and potential side effects, maintaining high safety standards while reducing operator workload
Solution Approach 2:
The software intermediary handles the complex task of detailed safety analysis automatically, presenting simplified results to operators. This maintains comprehensive safety analysis while making the operation easy for users with varying levels of expertise
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to the field of processing systems, particularly for industrial plants. The invention discloses a method for determining an interdependency between a plurality of elements in an industrial processing system. The method comprises the steps of: providing a process flow diagram, PFD, of a topology of the processing system; transforming the PFD into a directed graph, wherein each element of the plurality of elements is transformed into a node and each relation between the plurality of elements is transformed into a directed edge; selecting one node of the plurality of nodes as a starting node; and constructing a subgraph, wherein the subgraph consists of all the nodes that are forward-connected from the starting node, thus showing at least one interdependency between the plurality of elements in the subgraph.