Simone Software

SIMONE

• Industry leading and most advanced standard software application for simulating and optimizing the flow of natural gas and other gaseous fluids in complex large-scale pipeline networks.
• Market leader in Europe, and top worldwide player.
• Optimized for the specifics of transmission and distribution systems.
• Covers all application areas of pipeline simulation, such as system design, real-time operation, leak detection, compressor fuel optimization, and energy billing.
• Common product of LIWACOM and SIMONE Research Group.

Unique Product Features

• Seamlessly integrated package over all applications.
• Common database and common user interface for all applications.
• Compatible real-time, transient and steady state simulation engines.
• Industry leading GUI.
• Robust, accurate, stable, and fast real-time model.
• Field proven on gas pipelines totaling several hundreds of thousands km.
• Statutory approval for energy billing use.
• Highest fidelity of compressor modeling and optimization.
• Excellent scalability.
• Metric and imperial units.

Key Modeling Features

• Simulates steady state and dynamic flow scenarios.
• Estimates real-time system states.
• Calculates survival times.
• Tracks gas compositions, gas parameters, and pipeline inspection gauges.
• Calculates temperature, line pack, flow speed, and more.
• Detects and locates leaks.
• Determines system capacities.
• Models and optimizes compressor stations.

Advanced Software Technology

• Single kernel source code for Windows, Unix and Linux systems.
• Client Server Technology.
• Multi-user Support.
• Industry leading Java-based GUI.
• Versatile Application Programming Interface, known as the SIMONE API, for integration with SCADA, GIS, databases, and customer applications.

SIMONE accurately and adequately models the hydraulics in large-scale, complex gas transmission and distribution systems with high fidelity. A SIMONE model consists of two parts - Network and Scenario. A Network describes the system's devices and their interconnection. A Scenario defines the flow situation which is to be simulated for the given Network.    

Network  

A SIMONE Network describes the static structure of a gas transmission or distribution system. It defines the topological interconnection of the system's objects (pipeline segments, valves, compressors, etc.), and the object characteristics and parameters.

Pipelines are associated with their length, internal diameter, roughness, and slope. Heat transfer coefficients and heat capacities enable simulating gas temperatures.  

Valves (block valves, check valves, control valves) have an internal diameter, and are optionally associated with a resistance coefficient, and with a by-pass valve used during opening the main valve. Control valves may have an opening characteristic, and include a generic pre-heater model.  

Compressor Stations are associated with basic parameters that include suction and discharge resistance coefficients, and the location at the pipeline where gas turbines tap off their fuel. SIMONE offers, in addition to the generic model, the Detailed Compressor Station Model. It describes the performance characteristics and operating limits of centrifugal and reciprocating compressors, prime movers (gas turbines, gas and electric motors), and gas coolers.  

Storages have a volume for modeling e.g. the capacity of upstream networks

Resistances cause a local pressure drop in order to model etc. the pressure drop caused by pipeline bends or station equipment (filters, etc.)  

Nodes are the locations where pipelines, valves, etc. are connected. Nodes have names, and optionally elevations. Artificial nodes model various gas streams entering or leaving the network at the same physical node.    

Scenario  

A SIMONE Scenario specifies a simulation or optimization task for a given Network. A Scenario defines:

• Type of simulation (e.g. simulation of steady or transient hydraulic states; measurement-based estimation of a transient system states)
• Simulation start and end times
• Initial conditions (system state at the outset time)
• Scenario Parameters  

Scenario Parameters define the boundary conditions (supplies and off takes), the controls (set points, valve positions, etc.), the constraints, as well as the choice of hydraulic model equations. Scenario parameters can be either time-driven (e.g. a compressor is started at a specified point in time), or event-driven (e.g. a compressor is started on some event, e.g. if some relevant pressure falls below a given threshold).

SIMONE offers various simulation engines that seamlessly work together using the same data structures and user interface.    

Steady-State Simulation Engine. It assumes all hydraulics be constant in time. This implies the system is balanced, i.e. the supply flows match the offtakes.  

Transient Simulation Engine. It models time-varying hydraulics that are induced e.g. by changes of supplies and offtakes, set points, valve positions, and arbitrary events (e.g. compressor start-up/shut-down, pipe ruptures).  

State Reconstruction Engine. It is a transient simulation driven by measurements. State Reconstruction estimates the probable system state by exploiting the redundancy of information (e.g. pressure measurements) and knowledge about the statistics of meter tolerances.    

These simulation engines employ a number of Model Equations:  

Flow Equations. SIMONE models pipeline flows, pressures and temperatures by a set of three partial differential equations. They express the conservation laws of physics for mass, momentum, and energy. For solving the partial differential equations, SIMONE employs its proprietary explicit integration method optimized for large-scale gas networks.  

Frictional Pressure Drop. SIMONE offers several industry standard friction-factor formulae within the Darcy-Weisbach equation that describes the frictional pressure drop used in the momentum equation.  

Equation-of-State. SIMONE accounts for the gas compressibility by offering a wide range of selectable equations-of-state, including SGERG, GERG2004 and AGA8DC92.  

Thermodynamic Gas Properties. SIMONE provides various methods to calculate specific heat, isentropic exponent, Joule-Thomson coefficient, and viscosity. These parameters enter into calculating pipeline flow, compression, pressure reduction, and heat exchange.  

Gas Tracking. SIMONE tracks Gas Parameters, like composition and properties, en route from the supplies to the off take locations. The software accounts for gas blending inside the network.  

State Reconstruction. SIMONE State Reconstruction estimates the likely system state based on real-time measurements and their nominal accuracies.  

Optimization. SIMONE optimizes e.g. the network-wide costs of gas compression within constraints. Control variables are the on/off commitments and the set points of the compression units.  

Hydrate Formation. SIMONE evaluates the three-phase equilibrium gas, free water, and hydrate. The software identifies the pipeline sections where free water and gas hydrates may form.

SIMONE excels with its intuitive industry-leading graphic user interface (GUI). Its new JAVA design incorporates many years of practical experience. It optimally serves the professional power- user, as well as the occasional or novice simulation user.  

World Picture. The SIMONE GUI centers around object-oriented interaction within the SIMONE world picture of the pipeline system. The user simply clicks the objects of interest, and selects the requested action (e.g. define scenario parameters, or display simulation results). The world picture provides dynamic network coloring, user defined object sets, graphic layers, and much more.  

Graphs. SIMONE features numerous practical tools for graphical representation of simulation results. SIMONE provides various types of graphs. Trends show values versus time, Profiles display values versus location, and XY-Graphs present values versus values. Trajectories show the temporal movement of the working points time within compressor or turbine operating envelopes.  

Tables. SIMONE provides spread sheet like tables. They allow showing values for a given point in time, as well as over time. Tables are easily adapted to the specific user needs.  

Object Sets and Paths. SIMONE allows defining variables containing information for arbitrary object sets (e.g. the accumulated line pack of a set of pipes). A Path is an ordered object set used e.g. for display of a pressure profile. A Pig Path defines the route of a PIG (pipeline inspection gauge) from the launcher to the catcher.  

Functions. SIMONE features functions of scenarios parameters and simulation variables. They can be used e.g. for display or scenario definition and control. A host of built-in functions is at hand, and users can easily define own functions with the SIMONE Function Editor.  

Network Editor. The SIMONE Network Editor provides effective support for developing and upgrading a pipeline system model. It serves defining the topological network structure, the object parameters, and the graphical layout of the World Picture.

SIMONE is an open application. It provides ample possibilities for exchanging arbitrary data with other applications and databases.    

SIMONE API. This unique Application Programming Interface allows transferring any simulation input and output data to and from the simulator. Extended API functions enable integrating SIMONE into host applications, e.g. SCADA or GIS systems, or custom applications. They allow e.g. triggering the execution of the simulator, handling networks, controlling real-time simulation, and archiving data.  

Data Import. Besides the API, SIMONE offers various flat file interfaces for importing network descriptions, scenario parameters, offtake and supply flows, and more.  

Data Mapping. Configuration tools serve defining the relation between SIMONE data tag names and their corresponding data IDs of the external data source/sink (e.g. SCADA).

A large number of our customers employ SIMONE's Online Simulation System supporting the real-time supervision and control of their gas transmission and distribution systems. Online Simulation exploits real-time measurements (e.g. flows, pressures, gas parameters) providing a complete and realistic picture of the current system state and its near-future states. SIMONE Online Simulation consists of the Online Environment and of various simulation modes (e.g. real-time simulation, look-ahead simulation, leak detection).    

Online Environment. It provides complete functionality required for on-line simulation. The Online Environment simply plugs into any SCADA system. It autonomously controls the execution of the online simulation tasks, retrieves measurement data from SCADA and submits simulation results to it, provides initialization mechanisms, enables the uninterrupted update of the network model and data mapping, and backs up data.  

Real-time Simulation. SIMONE keeps track of the actual flow processes going on in a gas transmission or distribution grid. The simulator exploits current measurements, set points, and valve status information that are retrieved from SCADA at a configurable cycle. The real-time simulator leverages the redundancies in the available measurements, and thus provides the most likely and complete system state consisting of all hydraulic values. SIMONE's unique filtering method, known as State Reconstruction, is a heuristic implementation of a Kalman Filter.

Compressor Fuel Optimization. SIMONE allows optimizing the system-wide operation of compressors, providing the most fuel cost efficient commitment of the compressor units and their operational set points.  

Look-ahead Simulation. SIMONE continuously predicts the hydraulic situation within the next hours (typically until the end of the following gas day) starting from the actual system state, which Real-time Simulation has estimated. Look-ahead Simulation assesses the robustness of system operation by alarming the gas controllers of potentially dangerous situations that may develop in the future.

Survival Time Analysis. Several different Look-ahead simulations may assess different potential outage scenarios (e.g. loss of a gas source, or of a compressor station). SIMONE calculates the survival time, i.e. the remaining time until the gas system develops an improper hydraulic state (e.g. violation of a contractual pressure).  

What-If Simulation. This is an interactive mode of a look-ahead simulation. It allows gas controllers and office users to evaluate the effects of planned controls, or potential contingencies.  

Leak Detection. SIMONE detects leakages by continuously evaluating the gas system's input/output flow balance and comparing it to the change of the system's line pack (transient estimation model compensated mass balance method). SIMONE Leak detection executes in parallel to Real-time simulation, typically in a faster cycle. SIMONE alarms the leak upon identifying the leak signal out of the measurement noise.  

Leak Locating. SIMONE exploits the information provided by Leak Detection(i.e. the affected hydraulic area, the estimated leak flow rate, and the estimated leak starting time). SIMONE uses the hypothesis testing method to find the nearest node to the leak, with after-processing that locates the leak milepost of the affected pipeline.