CIRCLE: Trail Computer Exercise Facility

Main article: APCS - typical structure

The Tropa computer simulator complex (Tropa CPC) is designed to create simulators on its basis for preparing the operating and maintenance personnel of the enterprise to work on real technological equipment, maintaining and evaluating its qualification, developing the skills of safe and economical equipment management in complex transient and emergency modes, etc.

Simulators created using CPC "Tropa" allow training with the training of personnel the ability to correctly respond to abnormal situations, to accurately determine the ways out of any existing conditions that arise at production.

CPC "Tropa"

2021: Inclusion in the Register of Domestic Software

On January 26, 2021, the Krug NPF company announced that the Tropa computer simulator complex by order of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation (Tropa CPC) was included in the Register of Domestic Software under number 8669.

CPC "Trail" is used when creating simulators for the operational and maintenance APCS personnel of the enterprise for the purpose of:

• preparation for operation on real process equipment (APCS)
• maintaining at the required level of qualification and evaluating it
• working out the skills of safe and economical equipment management in complex transient and emergency modes
• and so on.

2018: Fields of application and main functions of CPC "Tropa"

(data current as of June 2018)

Applications

On the basis of the Tropa simulator complex, simulators can be created to train and test workers in various industries, including heat power, oil, gas, petrochemical industries, etc.

The simulator complex is used both to create simulators for training operating personnel, which studies the issues of maintaining technological modes, behavior in emergency situations, etc., and to create simulators for service APCS personnel who develop skills in adjusting regulators, working with algorithms of protections and interlocks, etc.

Using the Tropa CPC, both "large" full-scale simulators with high accuracy of the model of the control object, and simpler and more budget ones with less accuracy of the mathematical model of the control object can be created for use in studying the PLA or forming regulator tuning skills.

The simulator complex can be used to check the operability of the software and hardware complex until it is installed on the control object and for virtual commissioning of the object. Thus, the APCS developer has the ability to debug control algorithms before the start of commissioning at the facility and without the presence of controller equipment, which makes it possible to reduce the time for system implementation.

Main functions

CPC "Tropa" has software tools easily mastered by automation engineers that allow 100% imitation of the behavior of a real APCS. Due to the great flexibility and wide possibilities, the behavior of APCS of various manufacturers can be simulated using the Tropa CPC.

• Model time management. CPC "Trail" allows you to start, stop, "rewind," accelerate and slow down time in system components.
• Management of initial states. CPC "Trail" allows you to save the values ​ ​ of all system parameters and launch with these values. These functions are used to create and load the initial training states, and are also used to save intermediate results in order to continue training in the future. A distinctive feature of the Tropa CPC is the ability to maintain as an initial state not only a "slice" of the system parameter values, but also a history of parameter changes.
• Equipment malfunction and scenario management.
• Demonstration. These functions allow you to view the actions of the student in the demonstration mode from a selected moment in time. The demonstration can be carried out both in normal mode and in accelerated time mode. If the demonstration is stopped at any time point, it is possible to continue the training from this time point.
• Exchange information with mathematical models of third-party control objects using various protocols, such as ModBus, through files, etc.
• Simulation of the control object. Using these functions, it is possible to create a mathematical model of an object based on typical dynamic links (differentiation, integration, lag, etc.). This method can be used with low requirements for the accuracy of a mathematical model. At the same time, the use of ready-made blocks of typical dynamic links in the development environment significantly reduces labor costs and time for the development of a mathematical model, and, accordingly, its cost. This approach also makes it possible to adjust the model directly by the customer using the development environment, since in this case the object model is created using the same technological programming language (PDB and PT) corresponding to the IEC 61131-3 standard as the technological programs in the controllers.
• Simulator configuration functions that allow you to configure different projects with a different set of software components and functionality, manage a set of training, initial states and malfunctions.

At the same time, CPC "Tropa" performs all the functions characteristic of software and hardware systems, namely:

• Polls object model parameters and issues control effects. This function is the usual functionality of CAS, only in this case, not physical signals from sensors act as a source of information about the object, but an object model.
• Signal processing. CPC "Trail" performs "standard" processing by signal validity, exceeding the specified alarm limits, etc.
• Execution of technological programs of protections and interlocks, regulation, design tasks. These programs are created using a technological programming language, which serves to create similar programs in real APCS.
• Display of parameter values, alarms, trends, message protocol at the operator station (s). Graphical interfaces of operators are created identical to real APCS interfaces using tools tailored specifically for APCS creation.