The use of simulation for design and implementation of a pan station control system

THIS PAPER LOOKS at the real benefits of using a dynamic simulation in the design and implementation of a pan stage control system upgrade at Kalamia sugar mill in the 2016-2017 maintenance period. This upgrade was necessary as the existing control system was isolated, aging and requiring significant changes to meet the requirements of a concurrent project to upgrade the batch C massecuite production pan. SimSci DYNSIM, a commercially available simulation package, was used in conjunction with Matrikon Control Performance Optimiser to model the pan station. This simulation was further configured to communicate with the new control system input and output points and operator screens. This allowed the new and upgraded software to be tested and commissioned in a virtual environment. When the new control system was released to the real world, minimal changes were required, with most of the issues related to minor wiring or mechanical issues. The dynamic simulation also enabled programmers and operators to test and confirm sequences without needing actual vacuum pans and associated equipment operating. The start of the 2017 Kalamia crushing season was achieved with no lost time for commissioning of the pan stage. Overall the project has successfully changed the control system to a new environment and fully re-engineered the control logic for the Kalamia sugar mill pan station. This now provides a system with flexibility for the future needs of the Kalamia pan station and which integrates with existing systems across the site.