A new program to create chemical process flow diagrams

Abstract

A new program has been developed for plotting ASPEN (advanced system for process engineering, MIT 1981) input files. The program called GRAF (graphical representation of ASPEn flow diagrams) is a tool which enables quick graphical reproductions of updated or modified flowsheets during chemical process development. It consists of FORTRAN-77 routines to accept valid ASPEN input files and to create connectivity drawings of process blocks based on the longest continuous flow sequence. A reflected S, row-dominant pattern is the basic framework on which material, heat, work and electricity streams are plotted and labeled to represent interaction between unit operation blocks. Special considerations were made to highlight long directional flows which simplified visual interpretation of stream block connectivities. Input is based on four ASPEN-defined keywords and the graphical output can be modified by GRAF-defined secondary keywords.