Modelling real world industrial systems: an inter-disciplinary approach based on petri nets

A modelling approach that will facilitate an in-depth understanding of the inter-relations of the different phenomena, human interactions and environmental factors constituting "real world" industrial processes is presented. Important industrial systems such as aluminium smelters, nuclear plants and batch chemical reactors have inter-related internal process activities coexisting with external events and requires an inter-disciplinary approach to model them. This modelling framework is based on identifying as modules, processes prevalent in industrial systems which to some degree are homogeneous in their actions. The selected initial set of modules are structured as petri net models and made to interact iteratively to provide process states of the system. The goal is accomplished by identifying the evolution of the process states and interpreting this in a markov chain as a means of effective representation of the "actual running" of the industrial process. The paper discusses the function and the implementation of the modelling method as applicable to the industrial reduction (smelting) of aluminium. (C) 1998 IMACS/Elsevier Science B.V.