Application of web browser and software component technologies in operator user interfaces in process simulation: a case study on dynamic simulation of rotary lime kiln

The use of the web opens a large variety of possibilities in dynamic process simulation. Simulators can be rather expensive to buy for a casual user and also heavy to run in an ordinary PC. Often the user wants to test the simulator in order to be convinced about its capabilities. In this paper a solution to these problems is discussed and architectural approaches for implementation are introduced. A lime kiln user interface and the communication architecture behind it is shown as an example. There are a number of ways to design a client-server on-line web simulation environment. Some of the architectural options are discussed in this paper. The user interface can be implemented e.g. with Java applets or with ActiveX controls. The applet and the simulator may communicate directly by using low level communication (TCP/IP) or by following some application level standard e.g. CORBA. In this paper two particular architectures are discussed. As a case study, a web user interface for the lime kiln simulation model is introduced. The lime kiln model is implemented as a part of APMS (Advanced Paper and Pulp Mill Simulator) and it uses mechanistic modelling to capture the dynamic behaviour of the calcining process in a kiln. This example also gives an overview to the reader on how to implement these kinds of controls in the web environment.