UniSim Design

Case Scenario Manager

Reference Guide

Copyright
Sept 2013 R430 Release
The information in this help file is subject to change over time. Honeywell may make
changes to the requirements described. Future revisions will incorporate changes,
including corrections of typographical errors and technical inaccuracies.
For further information please contact
Honeywell
300-250 York Street
London, Ontario
N6A 6K2
Telephone: (519) 679-6570
Facsimile: (519) 679-3977
Copyright Honeywell 2013. All rights reserved.

Prepared in Canada.

Table of Contents
1

Case Scenario Manager......................................... 1-1

1.1

Managing Simulation Cases ............................... 1-2

1.2

File Extensions................................................. 1-2

1.3

Creating a New Case Scenario Project ................. 1-3

1.4

The Main Properties of a Case Scenario Project..... 1-4

1.5

Status Display for a Case Scenario Project ........... 1-5

1.6

Storing a Case Scenario Project.......................... 1-5

1.7

Recalling a Case Scenario Project ....................... 1-6

Variable Selections ............................................... 2-1

2.1

Overview ........................................................ 2-2

2.2

Variable Selections in a Case Scenario Project ...... 2-2

Scenario Setup ..................................................... 3-1

3.1

Set up Displayed Columns ................................. 3-2

3.2

Set up Simulation Cases.................................... 3-4

Topology .............................................................. 4-1

4.1

Topological Identifications ................................. 4-2

4.2

Topological Identification Value and Color Coding . 4-3

4.3

Topological Data Display ................................... 4-3

Basis/Utility Parameters ...................................... 5-1

5.1

Basis/UtilityOverview ........................................ 5-2

5.2

Variable Identification ....................................... 5-2

5.3

Variable Values ................................................ 5-2

5.4

Variable Comparison......................................... 5-3

5.5

Parameters Display .......................................... 5-3

5.6

Modifiable Variable Value Propagation ................. 5-6

Flowsheet Object Parameters............................... 6-1

6.1

Flowsheet Object Overview................................ 6-2

6.2

Variable Identification ....................................... 6-2

6.3

Variable Values ................................................ 6-2

6.4

Variable Comparison......................................... 6-2

6.5

Parameters Display .......................................... 6-3

6.6

Modifiable Variable Value Propagation ................ 6-4

Case Scenario Manager

1-1

1 Case Scenario Manager

1.1 Managing Simulation Cases ........................................................... 2
1.2 File Extensions............................................................................... 2
1.3 Creating a New Case Scenario Project ........................................... 3
1.4 The Main Properties of a Case Scenario Project ............................. 4
1.5 Status Display for a Case Scenario Project..................................... 5
1.6 Storing a Case Scenario Project ..................................................... 5
1.7 Recalling a Case Scenario Project .................................................. 6

1-1

1-2

Managing Simulation Cases

1.1 Managing Simulation

Cases
In a simulation project, there could be many similar cases. The
similarity can be in the topology (process flow diagram or PFD) or in the
operating conditions (user specifiable or calculated variable values). In
any realistic simulation application, the topology or PFD can be quite
complicated and the resulting case can be very large. As more and
more similar cases are created, it will become more and more difficult
to keep track of all the changes among the simulation cases. In
addition, when it is necessary to make changes, it is rather tedious and
error-prone to manually port changes from one simulation case to
others.
To tackle these problems, UniSim Design created a new module in
release R400 - Case Scenario Manager (CSM). In UniSim Design, each
simulation setting is called a simulation case. To distinguish from
these individual simulation cases, each case scenario manager setting
is called a case scenario project, or just project for short.
With Case Scenario Manager, the user can achieve the following:

Select variables for various objects for both the basis

environment and the simulation environment of a simulation
case. These variables can be used by the CSM project for value
collection, comparison, and in the case of modifiable variables,
propagation.
Select simulation cases to be processed by the CSM project.
Display and compare stream-based topological identifications for
the selected simulation cases.
Display and compare values for the selected variables of the
selected objects from the selected simulation cases.
Propagate changes for the user modifiable variables from one
simulation case to others.

1.2 File Extensions

To store and recall all the data for a case scenario project, a binary file
type with extension of .ucsm is used. In order to easily share the
selected variables among different case scenario projects, the selected
variables for all the selected object types can be exported and imported
using an XML file format with an extension of .ucsv. In addition,
variable selections can also be exported and imported between a CSM
project and the session preferences using the same XML file format.

1-2

Case Scenario Manager

1-3

1.3 Creating a New Case

Scenario Project
To create a new CSM project, follow these steps:
1. Launch UniSim Design R400 or newer.
2. Click File, New, followed by Case Scenario Project as shown in
the following figure.
Figure 1.1

3. A new CSM project will appear as follows:

Figure 1.2

1-3

1-4

The Main Properties of a Case Scenario

1.4 The Main Properties of a

Case Scenario Project
To access the Main Properties view of a case scenario project, follow
these steps:
1. Click the Project menu of the case scenario project;
2. Select Main Properties menu item;
3. The following Main Properties window will show up.
Figure 1.3

The Main Properties window contains two tabs: Revision Control and
Notes. The Notes tab and the view contain the common items as any
other Notes tab in UniSim Design. The Revision Control view displays
the revision control information for the current case scenario project.
The following table describes the items in the Revision Control view:

1-4

Case Scenario Manager

1-5

Object

Description

Current default file path

textbox

Displays the current default file path for the case

scenario project.

Default file name for next

Save As textbox

Displays the default file name for next Save As.

The default file name for next Save As depends on
the value of the Use revision control info to
create default case scenario manager file
name for Save As checkbox. When checked, the
default CSM project file name will be created
according to the current values of the name
creation attributes and the selections on the CSM
Revision Control in the preferences. For details,
refer to Section 12.10.3 - CSM Revision
Control of the UniSim Design User Guide.

Current Value field

Displays the current values of the name creation

attributes.

Next Save As Value field

Displays the values of the name creation attributes

to be used for next Save As.

Optional attributes group

Displays the optional attributes for the case

scenario project.

File Name Revision Control

for CSM is Off static text

Indicates that currently the revision control

feature for CSM has been turned off.

File Name Revision Control

for CSM is On static text

Indicates that currently, the revision control

feature for CSM has been turned on.

Revision Control Preferences

button

Provides a short-cut to the Revision Control setup

view in session preferences.

CSM Options for Revision

Control button

Provides a short-cut to the CSM Revision Control

view in session preferences.

1.5 Status Display for a Case

Scenario Project
In line with most of the views in simulation cases, the workspace view
for a case scenario project also contains a status bar. The status bar
uses the similar color coding as in a simulation case to indicate the
current status. Appropriate text is also displayed to indicate the current
status.

1.6 Storing a Case Scenario

Project
Depending on the value of Use Revision control info to create
default case scenario manager file name for Save As checkbox on
the CSM Revision Control page of the session preferences and the
value of Show a pop-up view on Save As checkbox on the Revision

1-5

1-6

Recalling a Case Scenario Project

Control page of the session preferences, storing a case scenario project

file by using Save As will behave differently. Storing a new case
scenario project file using Save will behave similarly as using Save As.
The following figure shows the pop-up Save As window when both the
Use Revision control info to create default case scenario
manager file name for Save As checkbox and the Show a pop-up
view on Save As checkbox are checked.
Figure 1.4

It should be noticed that most of the values in the above Save As popup view may be changed, and the changes will be reflected in the
suggested new file name when they are made in the name creation
attributes. If you are satisfied with the suggested new file name, click
the Save button to save the CSM project with the suggested name. If
not, you can use the Save As button to bring up the Microsoft Windows
Save As view to make further changes to the file path and file name.

1.7 Recalling a Case Scenario

Project
To recall a CSM project into UniSim Design, follow these steps:
1. Launch UniSim Design, R400 or newer;
2. Click File, Open, followed by Case Scenario Project
3. The Open Case Scenario Project dialog box will appear;
4. Select any file with extension of .ucsm to load.

1-6

Variable Selections

2-1

2 Variable Selections
2.1 Overview ....................................................................................... 2
2.2 Variable Selections in a Case Scenario Project............................... 2

2-1

2-2

Overview

2.1 Overview
When a case scenario project is created, it will inherit all the selected
variables for all the selected object types from session preferences.
Therefore, it is important to set up the variable selections in the session
preferences to reflect the most common selections for the variables and
object types. Since the session preferences mainly provides a place to
hold the selected variables for the selected object types, most of the
selections need to be done in a CSM project first, and all the selected
variables for the selected object types can be set to the session
preferences with the click of one button. To access the selected
variables for the selected object types in the session preferences, refer
to Section 12.10.2 - CSM Selected Variables in the UniSim Design
User Guide.

2.2 Variable Selections in a

Case Scenario Project
It is very important to make proper selections on the variables for
various object types, since most of the data processing in a case
scenario project is based on the selected variables for the selected
object types.
The Variable Selections tab is the first tab when you start a new CSM
project. The following figure shows the initial view without any
selection.
Figure 2.1

2-2

Variable Selections

2-3

When any base object type (the one with a "+" or "-" symbol in the
front) is clicked on the object type tree, a base object type view will be
displayed as follows:
Figure 2.2

When any concrete object type (the one without a "+" or "-" symbol in
the front) is clicked on the object type tree, a concrete object type view
will be displayed as follows.
Figure 2.3

2-3

2-4

Variable Selections in a Case Scenario

The following table describes the items in the Variable selection:

select variables for object type; buttons apply to the selected
object type and applicable sub-types group:
Object

Description

Select Object Type object tree

Selects an object type to show the variables for

selection. When a base object type is selected, the
displayed variables are the variables most
commonly shared among the derived object types.

Variable list

Displays the available variables list for the selected

object type.

Use checkbox

Decides if this variable should be used for this CSM

project.

Check All button

Checks or turns on all the displayed variables for

the selected object type. If the object type is a
base object type, such as Unit Operation, the base
variables will also be checked or turned on for all
the derived object types when the variables are
available.

Clear All button

Clears or turns off all the displayed variables for

the selected object type. If the object type is a
base object type, such as Unit Operation, the base
variables will also be cleared or turned off for all
the derived object types when the variables are
available.

Check Selected button

Checks or turns on the selected variables for the

selected object type. If the object type is a base
object type, such as Unit Operation, the selected
base variables will also be checked or turned on
for all the derived object types when the variables
are available.

Clear Selected button

Clears or turns off the selected variables for the

selected object type. If the object type is a base
object type, such as Unit Operation, the selected
base variables will also be cleared or turned off for
all the derived object types when the variables are
available.

Reset from Preferences

button

Sets the variable selections for the selected object

type from the session preferences. If the selected
object type is a base object type, all the derived
object types will also set their variable selections
from the corresponding session preferences.

Set to Preferences button

Sets the current variable selections for the

selected object type to the session preferences. If
the selected object type is a base object type, all
the derived object types will also set their variable
selections to the session preferences.

2-4

Variable Selections

2-5

Object

Description

Check Selected Object Set

button

Checks or turns on all the variables for both the

selected base object type and all the derived
object types. The difference between this button
and the Check All button is: This one turns on all
the variables for itself and derived object types,
but the other turns on only the base variables for
the derived object types.

Clear Selected Object Set

button

Clears or turns off all the variables for both the

selected base object type and all the derived
object types. The difference between this button
and the Clear All button is: This one turns off all
the variables for itself and the derived object
types, but the other turns off only the base
variables for the derived object types.

When making variable selections, it is sometimes convenient to check

the currently selected variables for the selected object type. This can be
realized by clicking the Selected Variables radio button located on the
lower left corner. The Selected Variables view is shown below:
Figure 2.4

The following table describes the items in the Applies to all object
types group and the remaining items on the Variable Selections
view:
Object

Description

Reset from Preferences

button

Sets all the variable selections for all the object

types from the session preferences.

Set to Preferences button

Sets the current variable selections for all object

types to the session preferences. This will make
the selections available for any new CSM project to
inherit.

Export Variable Selections

button

Exports the variable selections to an XML file with

extension .ucsv. This file can be imported back to
the session preferences or any CSM project.

2-5

2-6

Variable Selections in a Case Scenario

Object

Description

Import Variable Selections

button

Imports the variable selections from an XML file

with extension .ucsv. The file should have been
exported by the session preferences or a CSM
project.

Check All Variables button

Checks or turns on all the variables for all the

object types in UniSim Design. Since selecting all
variables for all object types may dramatically
prolong the processing of the simulation cases,
clicking this button will bring up a warning
message to ask you to confirm.

Clear All Variables button

Clears or turns off all the variables for all the

object types in UniSim Design.

Use Small SS Var Set button

Selects the built-in small steady state variable set.

Use Big SS Var Set button

Selects the built-in big steady state variable set.

Use Small Dyn Var Set button

Selects the built-in small dynamic variable set.

Use Big Dyn Var Set button

Selects the built-in big dynamic variable set.

Variable Selections radio

button

Displays the view for variable selections. All

available variables will be displayed for the
selected object type.

Selected Variables radio

button

Displays the view to show only the currently

selected variables for the selected object type.

Variable Selection Status text

box

Displays the current variable selection status. The

status contains two parts: The source of the
selection and the tally of the selected object types
and the selected variables. The source of the
selection may have one of the following values:
From Preferences: Same as the session
preferences.
Custom: user has made some changes.
File: newly imported from the displayed file,
or newly exported to the displayed file
Small SS Var Set: Same as the built-in small
steady state variable set
Big SS Var Set: Same as the built-in big
steady state variable set
Small Dyn Var Set: Same as the built-in small
dynamic variable set
Big Dyn Var Set: Same as the built-in big
dynamic variable set

2-6

Scenario Setup

3-1

3 Scenario Setup
3.1 Set up Displayed Columns.............................................................. 2
3.2 Set up Simulation Cases ................................................................ 4

3-1

3-2

Set up Displayed Columns

The Scenario Setup tab provides a view to allow you to set up the
simulation cases to be included in the CSM project. You may also check
the update status of the included cases on this view.

3.1 Set up Displayed Columns

To set up displayed columns from CSM Revision Control: Some optional
columns can be included in the display for the scenario cases. The
labels of these optional columns will come from the CSM Revision
Control setup in the session preferences. There are two ways to access
the CSM Revision Control setup:

From Preferences: Click Tools, Preferences, Case Tools, CSM

Revision Control;
From Main Properties of CSM: Click Project, Main Properties,
Revision Control, CSM Options for Revision Control

The shortcut view of the CSM Revision Control is reproduced below:

Figure 3.1

To make any of the attributes to show up on the Scenario Setup view,

check the corresponding Used in scenario setup checkbox. For
example, with the selections in the above view, the Scenario Setup view
will be as follows (pay attention to the Project Name, Scenario

3-2

Scenario Setup

3-3

Number and Comment columns):

Figure 3.2

The following table describes the fixed columns in the matrix for
Scenario Setup tab.
Column Label

Description

Scenario Order

Displays the position of the scenario case.

Scenario Case File Path

Displays the path of the scenario case file.

Scenario Case File

Name

Displays the name of the scenario case file.

Master

Designates the master case, to be used in parameter

values comparison. No more than one scenario case can
be designated as master at any time.

Last Updated

Displays the time when the scenario case was last

updated.

Update Status

Displays the status of the scenario case. Possible status

values are:
Updated: Indicating that the case is in updated
status;
File Missing: Indicating that the case file is missing;
Needs Updating: Indicating that the case needs to
be updated, either due to variable selection
changes or a new file has been saved.
Needs Propagating: Indicating that some
modifiable variables have been assigned new
values and are waiting to be propagated.

Has Newer Case

Indicates that the scenario case has a newer version

according to the rules of CSM Revision Control. However,
the newer version case must not be one of the cases
already included in the same CSM project.

3-3

3-4

Set up Simulation Cases

3.2 Set up Simulation Cases

For a new CSM project, the only button accessible on the Scenario
Setup page is Append a Scenario button. Clicking that button will
bring up the following dialog box:
Figure 3.3

Clicking the Browse button will bring up the Windows Open file dialog
box. Browse for any existing UniSim Design simulation case file with an
extension of .usc. After selecting a simulation case file and returning to
the Append Scenario Case for Project dialog box, clicking the OK button
will load the case into the CSM project. CSM will collect the topological
data and all the parameter values for the selected variables for the
selected object types as described in Section 2: Variable Selections.
When the case has been successfully loaded into CSM, the status bar
for the whole CSM project will turn green and OK will be displayed as
seen in the following figure.
Figure 3.4

3-4

Scenario Setup

3-5

After the case has been successfully loaded, if you go back to the
Variable Selections tab and make some changes in the variable
selections, the Update Status for the case, as well as the status bar for
the whole CSM project will change as follows:
Figure 3.5

At this time, if you want to update the loaded cases, you can either use
the Update Selected Scenarios button on the top or the Update All
Needed Scenario Cases button on the bottom right corner to update the
cases.
The following table describes all the buttons on the Scenario Setup
view.
Button

Description

Append a Scenario

Appends a new simulation case to the CSM

project.

Relink Selected Scenario

Relinks the selected scenario to a different

simulation case.

View Selected Scenario

Loads the selected simulation cases into UniSim

Design to be viewed. If more than one case is
loaded, you need to click Window and then Load
Workspace to toggle among the active files.

Update Selected Scenarios

Updates the selected simulation cases so that the

loaded data is synchronized with the variable
selections and the latest data from the cases is
displayed.

Remove Selected Scenarios

Removes the selected simulation cases from the

CSM project.

Re-Order Scenarios

Re-order the loaded simulation cases.

Update All Needed Scenario

Cases

Updates all the simulation cases that show the

status of Needs Updating. This button will be
hidden if no case needs updating.

3-5

3-6

Set up Simulation Cases

Case Scenario Manager keeps an internal timer to check the loaded

simulation case files in their file folders every two minutes. If a case has
been saved by a different UniSim Design session after it has been
loaded in a CSM project, the periodical timeout file checking will detect
this change and the Update Status of that case will be changed to
Needs Updating. If the case has been saved by the same UniSim
Design session, the Update Status of the file will be updated
immediately. The Has Newer Case flag will also be updated if a newer
version of the simulation case file is detected in the same path during
the timeout file checking.

3-6

Topology

4-1

4 Topology
4.2 Topological Identification Value and Color Coding ......................... 3
4.3 Topological Data Display................................................................ 3
4.3.1 Data Filtering Options............................................................... 4
4.3.2 Data Sorting Options ................................................................ 5

4-1

4-2

Topological Identifications

The Topology tab displays stream and unit operation based topological
information for the simulation cases in a CSM project.

4.1 Topological Identifications

In a simulation case, the unit operations can be generalized to refer to
most of the flowsheet objects which have one or more inlet or outlet
connections through process streams. The unit operations may include
physical unit operations such as valves and pumps, logical unit
operations such as Adjust and Set operations. As a special object type,
Spreadsheet is also classified as a unit operation and hence its data can
also be displayed in the Topology view.
Based on the generalized concept of unit operations, the Topological
Identification (Topo ID) is defined as a process stream with
connecting information to a unit operation. Specifically, a topological
identification is composed of the following identifiers:
Identifier

Description

Flowsheet

The tag name of the flowsheet the unit operation

belongs to. The tag name of the flowsheet is
unique within the whole simulation case.

Unit Op Type

The name of the unit operation type, such as

Valve, Mixer, Cooler, etc.

Unit Op Name

The name of the unit operation, such as Valve-1,

T-100, Main-TS, etc..

Direction

The connecting direction of the stream in the unit

operation, such as Inlet or Outlet.

Connection

The connection to the unit operation, such as

Feed, Product, Duty, 1_Main TS, SPRDSHT-1@A1,
etc.

Stream Type

Type of streams. This is one of Material, Energy or

Column Internal.

Stream Name

The name of the stream.

The Topological Identification will uniquely define the topological

connection of a stream in the process flow diagram (PFD) and will be
used to display the topological data in the Topology view. From the
above definition, it can be seen that because of the lack of connecting
information, a dangling stream itself does not show up on the Topology
view, although the internally created feeder block connected to the
stream does.

4-2

Topology

4-3

4.2 Topological Identification

Value and Color Coding
With a given Topo ID, a scenario case will have one of the three
possible values:
Value

Description

Existing

Shows that a stream matching the Topo ID exists in the

case. No special background color is shown.

Empty

Shows that a stream matching the Topo ID does not exist

while the same named unit operation along with the owner
flowsheet does. The background color coding for this value
is yellow.

Absent

Shows that both the stream and the unit operation

matching the Topo ID are missing. The background color
coding for this value is red.

4.3 Topological Data Display

The Topo ID values on the Topology tab are displayed as follows:
Figure 4.1

In the above figure, the first column displays the item number. The
next 7 columns show the identifiers for the Topo ID. The Topo ID values
for the scenario cases are shown to the right of the Stream Name
column. On the top of the page, there are two groups of radio buttons,
showing the data filtering and sorting options, respectively.

4-3

4-4

Topological Data Display

4.3.1 Data Filtering Options

As shown in the figure above, there are three radio buttons to filter the
topological data. The following table describes the three data filtering
radio buttons.
Radio Button

Description

Show All Data

Shows all the topological data. The rows to be shown

are all the unique Topo IDs for all the scenario cases in
the CSM project.

Show Differences Only

Shows only the rows with Topo ID value differences.

This is a convenient way to identify the topological
differences among the scenario cases.

Show User Selected

Shows the Customize Filtering button to allow you to

bring up the Topological Data Display Filtering
view for customization.

The user customizable Topological Data Display Filtering view is

shown below.
Figure 4.2

In the above figure, the two radio buttons on the lower left corner allow
you to have the option to show all the selected topological data or only
the data with topological differences among the scenario cases. The
figure contains seven groups of filters, each targeting a topological
identifier. The groups of filters work like waterfalls. Any selection will
affect the current level and all the "downstream" levels. For example, if
you uncheck the T-100(COL1) from the Flowsheet Filter, all the items
contained in this sub-flowsheet will be removed from the downstream
filters. Once you finish the changes, click the Submit Changes button

4-4

Topology

4-5

to close the data filtering view and update the topological data display.
You may also abandon the changes by clicking the Cancel button.

4.3.2 Data Sorting Options

There are two options for sorting the topological data: Default and
Custom. For the Default option, the data will be sorted in the order of
the seven identifiers. Within each identifier, the data will be sorted
alphabetically. The Custom option allows you to click the Customizing
Sorting button to bring up the following Topological Data Display
Sorting view.
Figure 4.3

You are free to decide the sorting priority for any of the seven
identifiers. For example, if you want to see all the topological data
sorted by stream names, you can make the Stream Name as the first
priority and update the display by clicking the Submit Changes
button. The customizable topological data sorting view also allows you
to click Set to Default button to set the sorting to default, or click the
Cancel button to abort the changes.

4-5

4-6

Topological Data Display

4-6

Basis/Utility Parameters

5-1

5 Basis/Utility Parameters
5.1 Basis/UtilityOverview.................................................................... 2
5.2 Variable Identification ................................................................... 2
5.3 Variable Values.............................................................................. 2
5.4 Variable Comparison...................................................................... 3
5.5 Parameters Display........................................................................ 3
5.5.1 Data Sorting............................................................................ 4
5.5.2 Data Filtering .......................................................................... 5
5.6 Modifiable Variable Value Propagation .......................................... 6

5-1

5-2

Basis/UtilityOverview

5.1 Basis/UtilityOverview
To facilitate the collection and comparison of variable values
(parameters) from the scenario cases, the object types for all UniSim
Design simulation cases are divided into two groups: Basis/Utility
object types and Flowsheet Object types. This classification helps to
collect, compare, display, and propagate the related variable values.
Specifically, the Basis/Utility object types are not associated with any
flowsheet but the Flowsheet Object types are. Therefore, to collect,
compare, display and propagate the parameters from these two groups
of object types, they need to be treated differently.

5.2 Variable Identification

To uniquely identify a variable in the Basis/Utility object types group,
the Basis/Utility Variable Identification needs to contain the following
identifiers:
Identifier

Description

Object Type

Shows the name of the object type, such as Fluid

Package, Oil Hypothetical, Pure Component, etc.

Object Name

Shows the name of the object, such as Basis-1,

NBP[0]1009*, Ethane, etc.

Variable Name

Shows the name of the variable, such as Number of

components, Critical Pressure, Formula, etc.

5.3 Variable Values

There are four value types for the different variables. The following
table describes details of these value types.
Value Type

Description

Text

Displays the text value, such as the object status, input

and output text, etc.

Attachment

Displays the name of the associated object. Although

this variable type also shows as text, the treatment is
different from the regular text, especially in variable
propagation (if the named object cannot be found, it will
return a failure status).

Numerical

Displays real or integer values, with or without unit.

Enumeration

Displays enumeration values. This type of variable uses

pre-determined text to represent value. If the variable is
modifiable, a dropdown list will allow you to make a
selection.

5-2

Basis/Utility Parameters

5-3

5.4 Variable Comparison

If there are two or more scenario cases in the CSM project, the variable
values of the non-master cases will compare against the values of the
master case with the same Basis/Utility Variable Identification. There
can be up to three comparison results, as shown in the following table:
Result

Description

Identical

Shows that the values from both cases are identical. As a

special case, if the variable exists in the master case, the
comparison results for the master case itself must be
identical. No special color coding for this result.

Different

Shows that the values from both cases are different. This
can happen in two occasions: 1) The difference is larger
than tolerance for real numbers or the values are different
for any other value types; 2) The variable is missing from
the master case. The color coding for this comparison
result is yellow.

Absent

Shows that the variable is missing from this scenario case.

This can also happen to the master case. The color coding
for this comparison result is red.

5.5 Parameters Display

The Basis/Utility Parameters tab shows the following window:
Figure 5.1

On the top of the above figure, there are three groups: Display Options,
Data Sorting and Data Filtering.
In the Display Options group, there are two radio buttons: Filtered &
Sorted Results and Variable Propagation Setup. The above figure

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5-4

Parameters Display

shows the view when Filtered & Sorted Results button is selected.
Section 5.6 - Modifiable Variable Value Propagation will examine
the view when the Variable Propagation Setup button is selected.
A helpful feature in the various views of the Basis/Utility Parameters tab
and the Flowsheet Object Parameters tab is the "Navigate to object"
object inspection. When only one cell is selected, and the cell is showing
a valid value from a case (not a cell with absent value and red
background color), right click on the cell will bring up an object
inspection menu containing a "Navigate to object" menu item. Selecting
this item will open the simulation case and navigate to the object which
owns the variable you are trying to inspect. This is a very convenient
feature to allow you to make quick changes to some variable values.
The case will remain open until you close it manually. If you save the
case with the same name, with or without changes, CSM will
immediately change the Update Status for the case to "Needs
Updating" with a warning background color. The status bar will also
change accordingly if no other and more severe status is detected.

5.5.1 Data Sorting

In the Data Sorting group, there are two radio buttons: Default and
Customized. The Default sorts the data according to the order of the
Basis/Utility Variable Identifiers: Object Type, Object Name and
Variable Name. Within each identifier, the items are sorted
alphabetically. When the Customized button is selected, the
Customize Sorting button shows up. When you click it, the following
Basis/Utility Variables Display Sorting view will show up:
Figure 5.2

You can change the sorting priority for any of the three Basis/Utility
identifiers. Upon finishing the sorting customization, you may submit
the changes and update the display by clicking the Submit Changes
button. You may also click the Set to Default button to set the sorting
to default, or click the Cancel button to abort your changes.

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Basis/Utility Parameters

5-5

5.5.2 Data Filtering

In the Data Filtering group, there are two radio buttons: All and
Customized. When you click the All button, two checkboxes will show
up: Excluding Identical and Excluding Calculated.
Checking the Excluding Identical checkbox will remove all the
identical data and only show the data with differences. Checking the
Excluding Calculated checkbox will remove all the data where all
values have the calculated variable status. In other words, when the
Excluding Calculated button is clicked, in order for a record to be
displayed, at least one variable value from a case must be modifiable.
When you click the Customized button, the Customize Filtering
button will show up. When you click it, the following Basis/Utility
Variables Display Filtering view will show up.
Figure 5.3

In the above figure, the three groups of filters target the three
identifiers of the Basis/Utility Variable Identification. The groups of
filters work like waterfalls. Any selection will affect the current level and
all the "downstream" levels. For example, if you uncheck the Fluid
Package checkbox from the Object Type Filter, all the items associated
with this object type will be removed from the downstream filters.
The two checkboxes located on the lower bottom corner allow you to
filter out the identical and calculated records, respectively.
When you finish the changes, click the Submit Changes button to

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5-6

Modifiable Variable Value Propagation

close the data filtering view and update the display. You may also abort
the changes by clicking the Cancel button

5.6 Modifiable Variable Value

Propagation
To avoid making similar parametric changes manually to the related
cases after you have changed the master case, you can use the
propagation feature of the CSM to do the work for you automatically.
The following figure shows the variable propagation setup view when
you click the Variable Propagation Setup radio button in the Display
Options group.
Figure 5.4

When the Exclude Identical checkbox located on the lower left corner is
not checked, the propagation view shows all the Basis/Utility variable
values with at least one modifiable in each row. When this checkbox is
checked, all the data with identical values will be removed.

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Basis/Utility Parameters

5-7

The following table describes the columns or column groups shown in

the Figure 5.4.
Column or Column Group

Description

No. column

Displays the row number.

Variable Identifiers (Object

Type, Object Name and
Variable Name) columns

Displays the identifiers which uniquely identify a

variable in the Basis/Utility object types.

Unit column

Displays the unit for this variable, if any.

Old Value column

Displays the existing values for the cases.

New Value column

Displays the target values to be propagated to the

variables. By default, the New Value field assumes the
existing value for the corresponding case, and shows a
red foreground color, indicating a default value. If you
make a change directly on the cell, the text color will
change to blue to indicate a specified value.

Propagate column

Displays a checkbox for each case. If you check this

checkbox, the cell will copy the value from the New
Value cell of the master case.

Status column

Displays the propagation status for the variable. There

are three possible values:
N/A: Not applicable, no propagation.
New: Newly set to propagate. If the value in the
corresponding New Value column is in blue,
indicating that a different value is specified,
propagation will be attempted.
Failed: The last attempt to propagate this variable
failed.

Propagate to All column

Displays the checkbox to work on all cases. When you

check this checkbox, the new value from the master
case will be copied to every non-master case. This
checkbox is dimmed if one or more cases have an
absent value or calculated value. When you uncheck
this checkbox, the New Value cell for all the cases,
including the master case, will restore their
corresponding existing value.

There are two buttons on the bottom right corner of the variable
propagation view. Click the Check all propagation checkboxes
button will check every undimmed Propagate to All checkbox for you.
Click the Clear all propagation checkboxes will clear all the checked
checkboxes for you. This is also a button to use to clear out the failed
propagation status values.
When the New Value cell value does not have a blue color, no
propagation will be performed for this variable, even when the
Propagate checkbox is checked.
Once you have finished setting up the new variable values for the
variable propagation, you are ready to go to the Scenario or
simulation case level. Click the Scenario Propagation Setup button
located in the Display Options group will bring up the following

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Modifiable Variable Value Propagation

Scenario Propagation Setup view:

Figure 5.5

This is a scenario case level view similar to the Scenario Setup, but with
the following columns to handle the propagation:
Column

Description

Propagate

Displays a checkbox to indicate if this scenario case will be

propagated. If there is nothing to propagate for a case, the
corresponding checkbox will be dimmed.

File Saving Option

Displays the file saving options. There are two file saving
options:
Overwrite Existing: The existing file will be overwritten
after the variables are propagated and the case is
solved.
Use Save As: This option allows you to type a different
name for the case to be saved to. If the CSM Revision
Control is set up properly as described in the Section
12.10.3 - CSM Revision Control in UniSim Design
User Guide, this option will automatically create a
new file name based on the name creation attribute
values of the case.

Target File Path

Shows the path for the target file. If the Overwrite

Existing option is selected, the value of this column may
not be changed.

Target File Name

Shows the name of the target file. If the Overwrite

Existing option is selected, the value of this column may
not be changed.

Target File Status

Shows the status for the case target file. There are three
possible values for this status:
OK: No problem with this file; no special color coding
for this status.
Overwriting File: This status shows up when you select
the Use Save As option, but the target file name is
the same as the existing case file name. The color
coding for this status is yellow, a warning status.
Write Protected: This status shows up when the file on
the disk is read only. The color coding for this status is
red, an error status.

Propagation Status

Shows the current status for propagation. There are three

possible values for this status:
N/A: Not applicable. This is an indication that this
scenario will not be propagated.
New: There are some changed values to be
propagated.
Incomplete: At least one variable was not successfully
propagated in the last attempt. The color coding for
this status is red, an error status.

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Basis/Utility Parameters

5-9

The Propagate, Solve and Update Selected Scenarios button will

be accessible if one or more cases are slated to propagate. After
clicking this button, for each case that needs propagating, CSM will load
the case, put the case on hold, enter the basis environment if
necessary, propagate the Basis/Utility variables if needed, return to the
simulation environment, propagate the flowsheet object variables if
needed, solve the case, save the case, and update the case with the
new values.
If all the cases which need propagating are successfully propagated,
solved and updated, there will be no need to do more propagation.
Therefore, the Propagate, Solve and Update Selected Scenarios
button will be dimmed. If there is any failure, this button will remain
accessible, indicating that more attention is needed in variable
propagation.

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Modifiable Variable Value Propagation

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Flowsheet Object Parameters

6-1

6 Flowsheet Object
Parameters
6.1 Flowsheet Object Overview ........................................................... 2
6.2 Variable Identification ................................................................... 2
6.3 Variable Values.............................................................................. 2
6.4 Variable Comparison...................................................................... 2
6.5 Parameters Display........................................................................ 3
6.5.1 Data Sorting ........................................................................... 3
6.5.2 Data Filtering .......................................................................... 4
6.6 Modifiable Variable Value Propagation .......................................... 4

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6-2

Flowsheet Object Overview

6.1 Flowsheet Object

Overview
Compared to the Basis/Utility object types, the Flowsheet Object types
have one more identifier Flowsheet. Other than this difference, most
of the descriptions on the Basis/Utility Parameters are also applicable to
the Flowsheet Object Parameters.

6.2 Variable Identification

To uniquely identify a variable in the Flowsheet Object types group, the
Flowsheet Object Variable Identification needs to contain the following
identifiers:
Identifier

Description

Flowsheet

Shows the tag name of the flowsheet that contains the

current object, such as Case (Main), T-100 (COL1), etc. The
tag name uniquely identifies the flowsheet in the whole
simulation case.

Object Type

Shows the name of the object type, such as Column SubFlowsheet, Heater, Spreadsheet, etc.

Object Name

Shows the name of the object, such as T-100, Crude

Heater, SPRDSHT-1, etc.

Variable Name

Shows the name of the variable, such as Spec Value(Reflux

Ratio), Feed Temperature, Cell Value(A_1), etc.

6.3 Variable Values

The value types for the Flowsheet Object variables are the same as the
Basis/Utility object variables. Please refer to Section 5.3 - Variable
Values for details.

6.4 Variable Comparison

The way of comparison and the comparison results for Flowsheet Object
variables are the same as those for Basis/Utility object types. Please
refer to Section 5.4 - Variable Comparison for details.

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Flowsheet Object Parameters

6-3

6.5 Parameters Display

The Flowsheet Object Parameters tab shows the following window:
Figure 6.1

Except for the extra identifier of Flowsheet, this view is very similar to
the corresponding Basis/Utility Parameters view. Please refer to
Section 5.5 - Parameters Display for details.

6.5.1 Data Sorting

In the Data Sorting group, there are two radio buttons: Default and
Customized. The Default sorts the data according to the order of the
Flowsheet Object Variable Identifiers: Flowsheet, Object Type, Object
Name and Variable Name. Within each identifier, the items are sorted
alphabetically. When the Customized button is selected, the
Customize Sorting button shows up. When you click it, the following
Flowsheet Objects Variables Display Sorting view will show up:
Figure 6.2

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6-4

Modifiable Variable Value Propagation

You can change the sorting priority for any of the four Flowsheet Object
Variable identifiers. When you finish the sorting customization, you may
submit the changes and update the display by clicking the Submit
Changes button. You may also click the Set to Default button to set
the sorting to default, or click the Cancel button to abort your changes.

6.5.2 Data Filtering

The Data Filtering functionality for Flowsheet Object variable types is
similar to the corresponding functionality for the Basis/Utility object
variable types. Please refer to Section 5.5.2 - Data Filtering for
details.

6.6 Modifiable Variable Value

Propagation
The propagation functionality for Flowsheet Object types is very similar
to that for Basis/Utility object types. Please refer to Section 5.6 Modifiable Variable Value Propagation for details.

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