After you download the modules to a workstation, launch the SimulatePro interface from the Start menu by selecting DeltaV | Advanced
Control | SimulatePro.
Note: If the SimulatePro interface is already running when you download, you must close and reopen it to update the information within
SimulatePro.
The DeltaV SimulatePro User Interface
The tree view in the left pane of the application window contains a hierarchical view of the simulation nodes in the system. The tree view does not include controllers.
In the tree view you can select the entire Control System or individual nodes. The selection in the tree view determines the node or nodes affected by actions you take in the right pane.
The right pane contains three tabbed dialogs: Setup, Summary, and IO References.
DeltaV SimulatePro Menu Functions
The following functions are found on the SimulatePro File menu:
Print… – use this command to print current control simulation information. The print dialog allows the selection of a Summary Report or a Detail Report.
The Summary Report includes: a header containing a title and the time the print request was issued, as well as the simulation node name, the execution rate, the defined setup mode, whether or not the L_TYPE will be forced to Direct Independent on AI blocks and, a summary of the status of all modules in the simulation.
The Detail Report prints the block details for the selected module and includes: a header containing a title and the time the print request was issued, as well as the name of the selected module and, a summary of the status of all blocks in the selected module. Exit – use this command to exit the SimulatePro application.
The following functions are found on the DeltaV SimulatePro Applications menu:
Control Studio – launches the DeltaV Control Studio application. The application is launched with no context information. In order to launch Control Studio in a specific context, refer to the Module Summary Context Menu topic.
Diagnostics – launches the DeltaV Diagnostics application. The application is launched with no context information. In order to launch Diagnostics in a specific context, refer to the Module Summary Context Menu topic.
The following functions are found on the DeltaV SimulatePro Options menu:
Setup… – use this command to define basic process definitions required for SimulatePro to effectively manage control simulation commands. Two pieces of information are defined on the Options dialog:
The setup mode, either MAN or AUTO.
Whether or not the L_TYPE of the AI blocks is to be forced to Direct Independent when Enable Simulate is selected.
These options must be defined following the installation of SimulatePro. The current value for each option is shown on the status bar. If a function is selected that requires the Enable Simulation and Setup Mode information and the options have not yet been defined, the application prompts the user to define the information.
Auto Save – opens a dialog from which you can define settings to automatically save the state of the simulation periodically.
SimulatePro Setup Tab
The SimulatePro Setup tab contains the following buttons and controls. In the Setup: Control Network area:
Enable Simulate – Sets the SIMULATE parameter to Enabled on all blocks with direct input reference in the currently selected node. Disable Simulate – Sets the SIMULATE parameter to Disabled on all blocks with direct input reference in the currently selected node. Setup Mode – Sets the target mode to the currently defined setup mode on all blocks with direct output reference in the currently
selected node.
Normal Mode – Sets the target mode on all blocks with direct output reference in the currently selected node to each block's configured normal mode.
Save – Save the current state of the simulation. You are prompted for a description. The file is stamped with the date and time.
Restore – Restore the simulation state from a saved state. This button opens a dialog from which you select a time and date to restore. Initialize Dynamic Blocks – Resets all dynamic blocks (DI, DO, PIN, PID, Fuzzy, MPC, MPC-PRO, Rate Limit, Ratio, Splitter,
Integrator, and Filter) in the currently selected node to their initial steady state conditions. In the Real-Time Execution Multiplier area:
The modules' configured execution period and the Real-Time Execution Multiplier determine the execution rate of modules running in the workstation. Time dependent function blocks use the actual configured execution period in their calculations. Thus, the behavior of the blocks is such that their calculations are done faster or slower than real time, depending on the Real-Time Execution Multiplier.
Real-Time Execution Multiplier Slider Bar – sets the execution rate for the simulation node. The execution multiplier may be set anywhere from 30 times slower than real-time to 30 times faster than real-time. An execution rate of 0 is defined as stopping execution. An execution rate of 1 is defined as real-time. Regardless of the execution rate, modules will not run faster than 100ms.
Pause Execution – saves the current execution rate of the simulation node and then sets the execution rate to stopped (0). The slider bar continues to show the saved rate but the execution rate status bar entry shows Paused. The Pause Execution button is disabled when the simulation is shown as Paused.
Resume Execution – sets the execution rate of the simulation node to the currently saved execution rate. The currently saved execution rate can be determined from the slider bar or by placing the cursor over the slider bar, which then displays the exact rate as a tooltip. The Resume Execution button is only enabled when the simulation is shown as Paused.
SimulatePro Summary Tab
The Summary tab contains two grids: The Summary Module grid and the Summary Details grid.
The Summary Module grid shows simulation, status, and mode information for all of the modules in the currently connected simulation node. Sim column –shows a frowning face for modules containing at least one block with input reference that does not have simulate
enabled.
Status column – shows a frowning face for modules containing at least one block with input reference but that has a bad or uncertain simulate status.
Mode column – shows a frowning face for modules containing at least one block that is not in normal mode. Click a column heading to sort the items in the column.
The Summary Details grid shows detailed information for blocks within a selected module. Choose a specific module by selecting that module in the Module Summary grid.
Sim column – shows Enabled or Disabled. If a block references I/O and the Simulate parameter is not set, then the word Disabled is displayed in red. If a block does not reference I/O this field has a light gray background.
Value column – shows the current value of the SIMULATE parameter for a block. If a block does not reference I/O this field has a
light gray background.
Status column – shows the current Status of the SIMULATE parameter's value for a block. If the status of the value's status value is Bad or uncertain, the status appears in red. If a block does not reference I/O then this field has a light gray background.
Mode column – shows two values separated by a forward slash for each block. The first value is the target Mode and the second value is the actual Mode for the block. If the block does not have direct output reference then this field has a light gray background. Out column – shows the current OUT value for each block. If the block does not have direct output reference then this field has a light
gray background.
Note Values in the Selected Module grid are changed by right clicking the desired cell and selecting Edit from the context menu, or by
double-clicking on the desired value to change. Click a column heading to sort the items in the column.
SimulatePro IO References Tab
contains external references that have been converted using the Simulate Conversion function.
The Module grid lists the modules that have external I/O references that have been converted. The number of parameters converted in each module is shown.
The Parameter Details grid shows the following information for each converted reference in the module selected in the summary grid: The name of the parameter that has been converted
The I/O reference path The parameter value The parameter status
The module parameters that are created for the converted references may be changed from this interface or through OPC.