PFS Diagram Plots

You can create and view plots for PFS diagrams by clicking the Plot icon located on the Simulation page of the control panel.

If you click the Plot icon before the diagram has been simulated,  you will be prompted to simulate the diagram and then the data will be plotted in the plot sheet. (Note that the Plot icon on the Plot sheet control panel refreshes the plot. If data or analysis settings have been changed since the diagram was last simulated, you must resimulate the data before refreshing the plot.)

Tip: If you have excluded any task types from the simulation, a count of the number of excluded tasks will appear above the legend. To determine the excluded task types, return to the Process Flow Simulation window.

You can add additional plot sheets to the diagram by right-clicking the sheet index tabs at the bottom of the window and choosing Insert Simulation Plot on the shortcut menu. You can delete a plot sheet from the diagram by selecting the plot sheet, right-clicking and choosing Delete Plot.

The plots available for PFS diagrams fall into five types:

ClosedSystem Plots

  • Cost shows the system's cost over time. If there are costs associated with crews and with spare part pools, these are also displayed.

ClosedBlocks Plots

Blocks plots display information about the individual blocks that make up the system. To specify which blocks to include in the plot, you can:

  • Click Select Blocks by Value to specify the number of blocks to show in the plot. You can choose to show the blocks with the largest values or the smallest values.

    OR
  • Manually select blocks in the Available Blocks area of the control panel.

You can sort the list by clicking the Sort List icon to open the Sort List window.

 

Bar charts are always displayed in descending order of value. The list order will not affect this, except in cases where bars have equal values. For the Block Up/Down plot, the order of the blocks in the plot corresponds directly to the list order.

Tip: When you point to the Sort List icon, a tooltip will appear that shows the current selections in the Sort List window.

Blocks plots include:

  • Costs shows the cost of each block during the simulation.
  • Downtime shows the amount of time each block is down during the simulation.
  • Expected Failures shows the expected number of failures for each block during the simulation.
  • Expected Downing Events shows the expected number of downing events for each block during the simulation.
  • Block Up/Down shows each block's uptimes and downtimes over the course of the simulation. Please note that Block Up/Down Plots are designed for only one simulation (i.e., 1 must be entered for the Number of Simulations in the Process Flow Simulation window). If you run multiple simulations, the plot shows the results for the first simulation only.

ClosedThroughput Plots

Throughput plots display information about the flow through the system during simulation. You will need to:

  • In the Available Flow Types area, select the flow types that you want to include in the plot.
  • In the Available [Items] area of the control panel, select the tanks, connectors, sources or sinks that you want to include in the plot. You can sort the list by clicking the Sort List icon to open the Sort List window.

For most of the throughput plots, the list order also affects the order in which items are shown in the plot legend and, therefore, line appearance settings such as color, which are applied according to the order in which they appear in the legend. The Total Mass plots are bar charts, which are always displayed in descending order of value. The list order will not affect this, except in cases where bars have equal values.

 Tip: When you point to the Sort List icon, a tooltip will appear that shows the current selections in the Sort List window.

Throughput plots include:

  • Tank Level vs Time shows the amount of mass in each tank over time.
  • Connector Flow Rate vs Time shows the flow rate through each connector over time.
  • Connector Cumulative Mass Flow shows the cumulative mass that passed through each connector over time.
  • Connector Total Mass Flow shows the total mass that passed through each connector during the simulation.
  • Source Flow Rate vs Time shows the flow rate through each source block over time.
  • Source Cumulative Mass Flow shows the cumulative mass that went through each source block over time.
  • Source Total Mass Flow shows the total mass that went through each source block during the simulation.
  • Sink Flow Rate vs Time shows the flow rate through each sink block over time.
  • Sink Cumulative Mass Flow shows the cumulative mass that went through each sink block over time.
  • Sink Total Mass Flow shows the total mass that went through each sink block during the simulation.

ClosedCrews Plots

Crews plots display information about the crews that are used in simulation of the system. These plots are available only if your analysis includes maintenance tasks that use defined crews.

To specify which crews to include in the plot, you can:

  • Click Select Crews by Value to specify the number of crews to show in the plot. You can choose to show the crews with the largest values or the smallest values.

    OR
  • Manually select crews in the Available Crews area of the control panel. You can sort the list by clicking the Sort List icon to open the Sort List window.

Bar charts are always displayed in descending order of value. The list order will not affect this, except in cases where bars have equal values.

Tip: When you point to the Sort List icon, a tooltip will appear that shows the current selections in the Sort List window.

Crews plots include:

  • Crew Accepted Calls shows the total number of calls that each crew accepted during the simulation time, indicated by bar size, and the percentage of calls each crew accepted, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the crew's name, percentage of calls accepted and number of accepted calls.
  • Crew Rejected Calls shows the total number of calls that each crew rejected during the simulation time, indicated by bar size, and the percentage of calls each crew accepted, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the crew's name, percentage of calls accepted and number of rejected calls.
  • Crew Costs shows the costs incurred by each crew during the simulation time, indicated by bar size, and the percentage of calls each crew accepted, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the crew's name, percentage of calls accepted and total costs.
  • Crew Time Used shows the amount of time used by each crew during the simulation time, indicated by bar size, and the percentage of calls each crew accepted, indicated by the colors shown in the legend. Point to a bar to view the crew's name, percentage of calls accepted and time used.

ClosedSpare Part Pools Plots

Spare part pools plots display information about the spare part pools that are used in simulation of the system. These plots are available only if your analysis includes maintenance tasks that use defined spare part pools.

To specify which pools to include in the plot, you can:

  • Click Select Pools by Value to specify the number of pools to show in the plot. You can choose to show the pools with the largest values or the smallest values.

    OR
  • Manually select pools in the Available Pools area of the control panel. You can sort the list by clicking the Sort List icon to open the Sort List window.

Bar charts are always displayed in descending order of value. The list order will not affect this, except in cases where bars have equal values.

Tip: When you point to the Sort List icon, a tooltip will appear that shows the current selections in the Sort List window.

Spare part pools plots include:

  • Pool Average Stock Level shows the average number of spare parts in the pool during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and average stock level.
  • Pool Items Dispensed shows the average amount of spare parts dispensed during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and number of items dispensed.
  • Pool Average Time to Dispense shows the average amount of time taken to dispense items during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and average time to dispense items.
  • Pool Rejected Calls shows the average number of calls rejected by the pool during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and number of rejected calls.
  • Pool Emergency Calls shows the average number of emergency restock calls by the pool during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and number of emergency calls.
  • Pool Costs shows the average cost of the pools during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and pool cost.
  • Pool Cost Per Item shows the average cost of the items in each pool during the simulation time. Point to a bar to view the pool name and cost per item.
  • Pool Events shows events in the pools during the simulation time (e.g., when a pool is stocked, becomes empty, becomes overstocked or rejects a call). Point to an event to view more information about it.

Related Topics and Links