Visualizing Process Design, Operation and Failure Impacts through State Space Representations

Abstract

Visualization can improve insights into choices made in early stages of design, particularly in relation to the impact of system related failures. Improved decision making can lead to higher commitment to inherently safer designs, more fault tolerant systems and increased operational resilience. This paper proposes a means to visualize the function of a design in terms of the state space defined by multiple capabilities possessed by the individual components that constitute the system. Capability is related to the abilities of the component to affect the states of the system, primarily the properties of mass and energy streams that flow through the system. A representation that is constructed from these capability vectors maps out the potential space in which the system can normally operate. It also shows the impact on that space when selected capabilities are degraded or lost. The visualization benefits of the proposed methodology will be displayed with an industrial case study. A typical supply line configuration to a fuel storage facility is investigated to show the fundamental concepts and to assess the utility of the ideas within conceptual process design and operations.