Beyond performing complex calculations, iPRSM also acts as a historian and file server for all of your company and facility’s important documents. iPRSM is not designed to replace asset management software, rather it complements your existing packages. iPRSM utilizes an easy to understand hierarchy. At the corporate level you might store items like engineering standards and directives or industry codes. At the unit level, store your process unit’s P&ID’s and heat and material balances. And at the protected system level iPRSM will house all of the information upon which your relief calculations are based. You can store required equipment parameters like discharge coefficients, flow capacity, links to vendor brochures, etc and attach them directly to the corresponding equipment. Uploading field data sheets, process data sheets, spreadsheets, pictures, etc is simple. Now you can have all of the information for these complex calculations housed in one convenient location.
Integrated thermodynamics
iPRSM uses an integrated thermodynamics calculation engine to determine flow rates, phase information, temperatures, pressures, etc, for your process conditions and determines the conditions your equipment may experience during a relieving scenario. iPRSM has many different equations of state to select from depending on the type of compounds you are working with. iPRSM can easily handle normally time consuming calculations like two-phase flow using direct integration. iPRSM’s physical properties library contains more than 2,000 pure components and allows the flexibility to add custom compounds.
Project work flow tool
iPRSM will help your multi-discipline team move efficiently through each phase of a relief system design or audit project. iPRSM has task queues available to assign work to different team members. iPRSM enhances the effectiveness of a project team by making work handoffs and collaboration seamless.
What are the alternatives to iPRSM?
The traditional method of performing relief system calculations has involved complex spreadsheets combined with process simulators to obtain physical properties and thermodynamic data. A major deficiency with a spreadsheet approach is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to automatically evaluate the effects of process or equipment changes on multiple protected systems. This approach will likely provide you with an accurate snapshot of the process as calculated. However, with ongoing changes to your process and equipment, deficiencies in your relief systems are likely to slip by undetected. The most dangerous issue at your facility is the one you don’t know about.
Other PC based software packages are available. These packages lack the connected nature that iPRSM offers as a web based tool. In iPRSM, users collaborate in a single, common database as opposed to working from isolated computers. This approach ensures that all users always work with the most current data.
Other packages also require your entire team to have a common computing platform which becomes an issue when operating systems or other related software are upgraded. iPRSM simply needs a device with a web browser and can even be accessed via tablet or smart phone. With iPRSM the calculations take place on secured servers. The result is the bare minimum of computing power requirements.
Want to learn more?
For further information, a demonstration or evaluation session and training classes, please contact us at:
T: +1.281.724.2222 | E: FES@curtisswright.com