Computer Aided Design

qw-

Design Engineering Tools for Chemical Plants

Rajiv Patki , Sudeep Guha, C Joshi

Engineering activities have e advent of 3D computer systems in the mid-nineties

undergone a quantum jump has revolutionised the design engineering activities
associated with many industries, including the chemi-
with powerful computers
cal and allied industries and sectors. The latter has benefited
and latest softwares. The through their myriad features including accuracy, speed, cal-
drawing board and the culations and versatility across databases and systems.
draftsman have been There are many 3D systems available in the market today
antiquated . With global- with a variety of features. Choosing the right one is of ut-
most importance to achieve the desired result. The most com-
isation , through the use
monly used 3D modelling systems in the market are Idea,
of such softwares and IT, Catia, PDMS, PDS, Autoplant, etc. Systems like Catia and
multilocation and overseas Idea are used mainly in the automobile industries and manu-
jobs have become easier to facture of machined components. The systems which are
handle from a specified based on databases are used to cater to the requirements in
country base. layout engineering, ship building, city planning, etc. PDMS
and PDS are among the more favoured of these systems.

This article describes how

3D systems in vogue
engineering and project Engineering companies today extensively use PDMS for
work are powerfully enabled their projects. Design teams are equally adept in working in
using computer aided tools. any of the 3D Cad systems effectively, and are flexible to
i mplement projects in a manner requested by clients. Projects
are also implemented in PDS and Autoplant apart from
PDMS. Different 3D Cad systems have been deployed to ex-
ecute both small and mega-sized projects depending upon
project specific requirements. These 3D systems are inte-
grated to other engineering systems for seamless data trans-
fers. The fundamental needs of a 3D software are its versa-
tility and should offer customisation tools that allow users
to harness its features in an optimum manner. Currently,
PDMS 11.6 sp4 is used in most of the organizations for
projects, with a new version namely PDMS 12 round the cor-
ner. The sections that follow, mention the various steps un-
dertaken while executing projects.

This article has been co-authored by Rajiv N . Patki - General

Manager ( extreme left), Sudeep Guha - Manager (centre) and C
J Joshi (extreme right) - Executive Engineer in Uhde India Pri-
vate Limited 's Piping Department.

100 Chemical Industry Digest. August 2008

Computer Aided Design

to implement projects. The con-

cept is the result of a number of
years' experience. The experience
gained over the years in various
projects can be channelised into
the development of the master
project, which is now used as a
base for new projects. The checked
data available in this master
project ensures error free output
for the new projects. Master
project also houses a wide variety
of component catalogues. This en-
sures that minimum effort is spent
to get the optimum benefit.

Master project also houses nu-

merous draft libraries for drawing
Figure 1 shows a petrochemical plant executed using PDS
symbols, styles and rule-sets
which aid in generation of appro-
Managing and implementation of priate drawings. Preparation of
backing sheet is the only work required in a project.
systems
The chemical plant, as we know, is a complex cre- Thus the master project concept in PDMS not only
ation, requiring the utmost care during both design minimises efforts required in the project, but also en-
and implementation. Engineering companies today sures right output from the system. Constantly focused
have specialised group dedicated to handling 3D sys- on improving its systems, the company invests re-
tems. This group is normally, completely responsible sources in further refining the master project in the
for the smooth running of PDMS system during execu- system, so that its client's projects continue to benefit
tion of a project. To start with, this specialized group from these developments.
studies and summarizes the project requirements and
in accordance with these requirements, the "project" Work sharing and multi-centred engi-
is defined. An administrator then creates the project neering
in the system using the standard master setup avail- International engineering organisations regularly
able, assuming responsibility for maintaining and execute projects for their parent companies, and other
managing the project. Responsibilities include defini- business partners across the globe. This calls for shar-
tion of users, installation of software, managing data-
ing of work worldwide (with data security) across dif-
bases, managing servers and systems, backing up and
ferent time zones on a daily basis, through dedicated
restoring data.

Customization of librar-
ies, templates , catalogu-
ing & specification
Various libraries are defined
for creating 3D model and ex-
tracted 2D data with minimum
possible efforts. These are prima-
rily organised in two categories
viz. Design and Draft libraries.
Experienced users are known to
use the "Master project" concept
Figure 2 shows a petrochemical plant executed using PDMS

Chemical Industry Digest. August 2008

101
Computer Aided Design

leased lines on automated servers. attention. A strong checking system is of the utmost
necessity to prevent such errors.
British company, Aveva (formerly Cadcentre),
world's leading engineering software supplier, has By means of the customisation tools available in
taken PDMS to the next stage with PDMS Global, PDMS, it is possible to develop check points at vari-
by virtue of which multi-location engineering is pos- ous stages of model progress. The initial check in
sible. Today, a number of companies use the soft- model gives an on-screen report for users to take care
ware to implement their projects from a number of lo- at the root stage. Before the issue of any deliverable as
cations across the globe. Modelling may be handled "Released for Construction", a final check report is
from more than one location. The model data bases are generated through a collection of programs. This re-
updated across all locations without any human in- port basically comprises clash check and consistency
terference, through the system. At the end of the day, check for all items.
the status of PDMS 3D model is the same across all
Apart from these checks, there are other checks de-
the locations.
termined by project specific requirements and based
on the company's specific experience.
3D Modeling - Work sharing within an
organization PDMS interface with other softwares
Different engineering disciplines model the entities a) Interface with specification & P&ID
of their interest in a single virtual world. The compiled
Seamless data integration between 3D utilities,
version of this data is a 3D project, which is very simi-
P&ID and specification is generally followed. The vari-
lar to the actual construction site. These include:
ous areas of bridges are:
a) Mechanical - equipments with external details with i) Line list
platform, clips, nozzles.
ii) Piping specification
b) Civil & Structural - concrete & structural steel
iii) Support specification
c) Piping - with piping components, inline and online iv) Extraction of BOM
instruments.
d) Electrical and instrumentation - cable trays and b) Interfaces with other standard softwares
their supports, junction box, lightings, local push In today's market of competition and demand, the
button stations, etc. need of the hour is to ensure that the requisite data is
entered only once and electronic transfers are used to
Given the demands of speedy, quality and first- the maximum extent to enhance effectiveness and ef-
time-right designing, engineering companies are fol- ficiency. Some of the popularly used interfaces are:
lowing intensive in-house
training programmes to
familiarise their engineer- Spec. - - - - - - - - - -I- - - - - - - - 1
Spec. Born
Line list
I I
ing resources with the sys-
14,
tems through their Administration Standard Libraries 3D Modeling Interface
Admin; Reconfig; Paragon; specon Desi tt Saint; Export
specialised groups.
Dice
Input____,'
Data Base Properties
Model checking Lexicon Propcon

As mentioned earlier,
the master project is very
useful in minimising most
2D Drawings
Draft

3D Output
r Isometrics
Isodraft
J

of the errors, especially Copying Iso Construction Copying

4
Macro Input Review Reality Datal
those involving material
and data inconsistency. Reports
utput
There are however model- Reports

ling mistakes, human errors - - 3 Data transfer Using Macro ._- Dynamic Reference - 3^ Data Transfer
and typical project require-
ments which need special Fig 3 - A typical data interface chart indicating data flow between the modules
and external specification system of PDMS.

102 1 Chemical Industry Digest. August 2008

Computer Aided Design

• Laser Model interface : 3D laser photographs of a) Isometrics

plants to be revamped are taken and the soft file b) Equipment arrangement plan
generated is converted to an interface file that can
c) Piping GA
be understood by PDMS. There are various options
available in the market which convert the laser d) Nozzle and clip orientation
photography to a file ready to be loaded in PDMS. e) Concrete and structural GA, etc.
Photogramary is one such application.
PDMS can be utilised at various phases during the
• Caesar II Interface : Aveva has developed a new
life cycle of the plant. The various stages apart from
package which extracts a file from the PDMS model engineering are:
of pipe line(s). This file can be loaded directly in
a) During construction
Caesar II and analysis activity can be started right
away with minimal set-up changes as per project b) During post construction phase
requirement. The modelling and checking efforts in
Caesar II are saved. Engineering companies and Usage during construction
users can therefore capitalise on the enormous sav- Engineering companies are known to deploy
ing potential in this regard and can even develop PDMS tools at site to issue site modified drawings to
an in-house interface program. maintain the model in line with reality.
• AutoCAD: Interface with AutoCAD is the oldest of
all interfaces. The drawing generated in PDMS Usage post construction
draft and Isodraft can directly be saved as dxf for- Once the AS-Built PDMS model is furnished to the
mat which can be opened in AutoCAD. With a client as a deliverable, the same is further utilized by
lisp file from Aveva, the format can be made to the clients for de-bottlenecking, expansions, etc.
match with that of PDMS.

• Steelworks: This interface is realised by means of Conclusion

SDNF interface file. The file is two-way transfers Effective utilisation of the latest available software,
which makes it more useful. in-house development and deployment of routines, ap-
plications and systems, backed by a desire to con-
• STAAD: It is observed that modelling of steel struc-
stantly improve on its systems, will undoubtedly en-
tures in Staad is much simpler and easier than in
hance an organisation's reputation as a sound design
PDMS. It is also possible to transfer the modelled
and engineering company, ensuring quality, avoiding
structure from Staad to PDMS, through the creation
re-work and getting first-time-right results on time.
of an interface.
Complementing these factors, is a judicious use of
some 2D systems, where required, so that optimum re-
Review facilities sults of design engineering are achieved and made
Review Reality and NavisWorks are amongst the available to the company's clients.
favoured review utilities. These reviews can be con-
ducted on individual basis or jointly. In joint reviews, Editor's Note : Uhde India is a leading engineering
personnel from various disciplines review the model consultancy company with vast experience in imple-
in totality on a large screen with a view to have a re- menting Indian and international projects using the
alistic picture of the plant and identify the problems state-of-the-art design engineering tools described in
jointly (if any) at an early stage and find solutions the article . Many of developments elaborated herein
amicable to all. have been successfully developed and put to use for
the company' s projects . The company also follows an
For nominal users of review, Aveva has come up
intensive programme for training its engineering re-
with yet another review software called Review LE
sources and fine-tuning its design tools.
which has comparatively lesser features and is rela-
tively less expensive.

Extraction of various documents

The following drawings can be extracted from the
PDMS system:

Chemical Industry Digest. August 2008 1 103