Online course and simulator for engineering thermodynamics

Industrial applications

Welcome,

Are you aware of the numerous advantages that the Thermoptim simulator offers from a manufacturer's perspective? Indeed, this simulator significantly enhances the efficiency of your engineers when modeling energy-powered systems, allowing them to save both time and money.

  • Firstly, its user-friendly work environments facilitate modeling and ensure security by minimizing the risks of errors during model definition. This is attributed to the automation of links between various components, the automatic generation of equations, and consistency testing.

  • Furthermore, Thermoptim's problem-solving capabilities and its extensive range far surpass the abilities of a single engineer developing their own models.

  • It incorporates a wealth of knowledge, ensuring the accuracy and realism of its outputs.

  • It allows for the archiving of studied projects. Additionally, a library of pre-built projects can be utilized for new projects, with the flexibility to modify and adapt them as needed, facilitating sensitivity analyses.

In addition, it incorporates very powerful advanced features aimed at advanced users, which make it a very well-suited tool for studying innovative systems with low environmental impact:

  • It is possible to extend Thermoptim by adding modules recognized by the software, called external classes, which define elements (bodies or components) that appear automatically in its interfaces seamlessly for the user.

  • Thermoptim can also be coupled with external thermodynamic property servers (such as TEP Lib, CTP Lib, ThermoBlend, and RefProp) to account for new fluids, including vapor mixtures.

  • The software features powerful optimization algorithms based on the pinch method (refer to Diapason sessions and a guidance page to familiarize yourself with this method).

  • It allows for the generation of productive structures (in the sense of Valero) and automates the establishment of exergy balances for complex systems, leading to thermo-economic optimization.

  • Thermoptim can also be used for the technological design of energy installations and to study their behavior in off-design conditions.

Thus, Thermoptim is a generic platform for modeling energy systems, capable of representing a wide range of systems, from the simplest to the most complex.

It is equipped with powerful exergy analysis tools, as exergy methods are increasingly regarded as among the most suitable for optimization studies, considering both the quantities of energy involved and their quality.

This versatile software application is available in in seven languages. Currently, it is being utilized by approximately fifty manufacturers, including CEA (Center for Atomic Energy) in Cadarache and Grenoble (France), EDF (Electricité de France) in its Research Center near Chatou, Framatome Areva, Laborelec, Elyo Lyon, Symicro, ACSEL Society, CETIM, ISL, and ENERIA.

You will find in this portal numerous resources about Thermoptim. They are the following :

Substance models from TEP Lib, CTP Lib, ThermoBlend and RefProp can be directly used in Thermoptim, provided some specific libraries are loaded. These three tools have been respectively developed by the Centre of Thermodynamics of Processes of the Ecole des Mines de Paris and by the NIST .

Thermoptim facilitates the modelling of energy powered systems

Indeed, technologies used for energy powered systems can be described as follows :

  • some multi-functional and complex systems which are connected together.

  • some highly integrated systems. These systems are required to adapt to various specifications during their lifetime.

Regarding these systems, the Thermoptim software has a high potential to facilitate and simplify the modelling process :

In this context, Thermoptim offers significant potential by simplifying the modeling process.

It combines a systemic approach with classical analytical and/or empirical methods, allowing for the visual construction of models for numerous energy systems, ranging from the simplest to the most complex.

Thermoptim facilitates the calculations of thermodynamic cycles

Because on one hand, there are lots of already defined components in the core such as 20 perfect and pure gases, (from these may be built quite an infinity of compound gases), 17 condensable vapors, compressions, expansions, throttlings, heat-exchanges, combustion chambers, simple mixing devices and simple dividing devices, phase separators. For all these already defined components, there is no need to write any equation or to enter any line of code.

For components or substances not included in the core, integrating custom models written in Java into the Thermoptim environment significantly extends the tool's capabilities.

Note

It enables an easy maintenance and makes the evolution of models possible through the use of models libraries and projects libraries

Model construction security

It ensures model construction security through the automation of couplings between different elements, guarantees the coherence of built couplings, and provides diagnostic tools for model debugging.

These aspects are crucial, especially for large systems involving numerous equations where verification needs to be automated.

Examples of models built with Thermoptim

In addition to the basic cycles presented in the Diapason sessions , you will find below links to thematic pages, guidance pages for practical work or exercices based on cycles modeled with Thermoptim.

The following mind maps have been designed to help you find the relevant sections of the book Energy Systems: A New Approach to Engineering Thermodynamics and pages of the portal:

Advanced motor cycles

Advanced receptor cycles

Thermodynamic conversion of renewable energies

Diapason session ENR01 " Conversion thermodynamique des énergies renouvelables " introduces you to the following technologies:

In addition, other ressources on renewable energies are available:

CO2 capture

Several exercises focusing on cycles with CO2 capture have been modeled, including six related to oxy-combustion cycles and one centered on capture within methanol.

Fuel cells

  • SOFC fuel cells (guidance page)

  • Reforming (Diapason session S64)

  • PEMFC fuel cells (Diapason session S65)

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