VIRILE - Virtual Polymerisation Plant

VIRILE logoA problem identified by academic staff at the University of Nottingham was the student cohort’s lack of awareness about ‘real’ process equipment. Question and answer sessions indicated that the undergraduates are often not only unfamiliar with full-scale industrial plant, but are also unable to identify some of the main components. To address this issue it was decided that further to work done previously representing laboratory experiments, the next project would be to replicate a real industrial process plant. This would allow the students to experiment with large-scale equipment to which they would not normally have access. It was decided to build a far larger scale virtual simulation where students are able to design and build a particular chemical plant and then operate the major equipment. Key features of this project will include the design orientated nature of the task facilitated by the interactive character of the technology.

VIRILE screenshotA continuous polymerisation plant was modelled, consisting of a reactor section and three distillation columns. It is important not to underestimate the work involved in developing commercial quality, virtual reality software tools to a professional standard. To a generation weaned on animated movies and computer games, the level of expectation of our student cohort is high. Previous virtual learning environments developed have provided experience of the quality of the software required to gain a level of acceptance among the students. Massive amounts of simulation data was generated using HYSIS (steady state chemical flowsheet simulation software). A complex realtime, mathematical model was programmed to reference the data generated.

The final learning environment contains over a billion discrete configurable states, allowing the students unlimited scope for experimentation and configuration. This also allows academics to set individual tasks within the learning environment for particular students. A full economics and costing model has also been integrated into the simulation, giving students an insight into the constraints facing engineers in the real world. The software has now been completed and the final version will be distributed using the Director Shockwave engine. Interest has been expressed in this training simulation system by professional trainers including the Institution of Chemical Engineers, industrial contacts and other University Engineering Departments.

Contact

Dr Edward Lester
School of Chemical Environmental and Mining Engineering
University Park, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD
tel: 0115 951 4974
web: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/scheme
email: edward.lester@nottingham.ac.uk

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Video

Dr. Ed Lester talks about VIRILE...

General introduction to VIRILE

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Applications of VIRILE

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Benefits for students

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Uniqueness of VIRILE

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Further uses for VIRILE

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