The mathematical modeling and validation of gas flow processes in large industrial facilities

The activation of large, industrial facilities characterized by gas pumping and conditioning equipment may require that facility operators be trained and control system hardware and software be activated via a computer system hosting a simulation of the various gas flow processes within the facility. The mathematical relationships represented by the simulation must be kept quite simple because the simulation must execute in "real time." The requirement for a high degree of accuracy for the mathematical model may also be present thus compounding an already challenging problem. The new Aeropropulsion Systems Test Facility (ASTF) at the Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tennessee is an example of such a facility. All of the gas flow processes within this facility were mathematically modeled and a large portion of the facility was simulated in real time utilizing an off-the-shelf minicomputer as a part of the facility activation and operator training. In the portions of the facility where "near steady-state" conditions exist, the development was relatively straightforward. However, in areas where transient phenomena occur, many challenges were successfully overcome without the necessity of resorting to partial differential equations in spatial coordinates and time -- a technique that would have surely negated the possibility of a real time simulation. Although many problems were encountered along the way, the Automatic Test Control System -- the system that controls test conditions in ASTF -- was successfully activated and the operators were trained prior to the initial operation of the facility. This dissertation presents a summary of the math modeling project for the ASTF. A conscientious attempt has been made throughout the presentation to keep all the material as general as possible such that the tailoring of methods and techniques to other, similar facilities will be minimal.