Process Automation Study of a Helium Cryoplant Warm Compressor Station Using Dynamic Simulation

For the optimal control and full automatic operation, the process automation of a warm compressor station in a helium cryogenic system has been studied using dynamic simulation. The warm compressor station model was developed with a commercial modeling and simulation software EcosimPro. Based on this model, control strategies study and virtual commissioning of control system have been performed. This paper presents the modeling development and the process control design of the helium warm compressor station. Then the process automation operation including the compressors start and three stages of pressure control as well as the emergent stop process was simulated and analyzed. The simulation results prove the satisfied control performance during the entire process. And it shows that dynamic simulation for the complex helium cryoplant is the best way to design and test the new or improved control strategies without disturbing the real operation.