Aspen Version Comparison Assistant

Best Practices Workflow

V9

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY

REQUIREMENTS BEFORE USING AVCA

2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6

3
3
4
4
4
4

BOTH SIMULATION VERSIONS MUST BE INSTALLED ON THE SAME MACHINE

RUN SIMULATIONS IN BOTH VERSIONS PRIOR TO USING AVCA
NATIVE FILES MUST BE USED
FILES FOR DIFFERENT VERSIONS MUST BE NAMED EXACTLY THE SAME
FILES MUST BE LOCATED IN SEPARATE FOLDERS
LIMITED RESULTS AVAILABLE

BENEFITS

3.1
3.2
3.3

4
4
4

MULTIPLE SIMULATIONS MAY BE COMPARED

QUICK ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
SAVE, PRINT, AND EXPORT

PROCEDURE

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SUMMARY
This document outlines the best practice workflow to use the Aspen Version Comparison Assistant
version V9 for comparing model results between two versions of the simulation software.
The Aspen Version Comparison Assistant (AVCA) supports version comparisons between Aspen Plus and
HYSYS. AVCA allows the user to compare simulation results between two different versions of the
simulator, and provides the results in an easy-to-use format. Basic stream properties (T, P, total mass
flow, composition) are compared to tolerances. Default tolerances may be used, or the user can set
different tolerances. The results may be saved, printed, or exported to Excel for further comparison.
This procedure describes the best practice workflow for AVCA V9. Additional Help can be found by
opening AVCA and selecting Help on the bottom left of the initial window.

REQUIREMENTS BEFORE USING AVCA

AVCA has specific requirements for successful use. These requirements apply to both Aspen Plus and
HYSYS simulators.

2.1

BOTH SIMULATION VERSIONS MUST BE INSTALLED ON THE SAME MACHINE

To compare simulations between two versions, both versions of the simulator must be installed on the
same machine. Although there is an option to run a simulation on a remote computer, the procedure is
complex and not recommended.
If the Fortran Compiler is required to run code within the simulation, ensure that the proper version of
the compiler is installed along with the simulator.
Care must be taken to ensure that an older version of the simulator is not installed after a newer
version. If an older version is required and the newer version is already installed, the newer version
should first be removed then install the older version, and re-install the later version.

2.2

RUN SIMULATIONS IN BOTH VERSIONS PRIOR TO USING AVCA

In order to ensure that the simulations load, run, and provide results in both versions of the simulator,
the simulations should be run in each version prior to using AVCA. The user should not rely on the tool
to run the simulation in the newer version as there are typically pop-up windows that need to be
addressed when a simulation is upgraded to a newer version.
Copy all models to a baseline folder, and run each model using the older version.
Then copy all baseline models to a new version folder, and run each model using the new version.
Without using remote access, AVCA cannot be used to evaluate a released version against a patch. On a
single machine, comparisons can only be made between released versions (or old release and new
patched version).

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2.3

NATIVE FILES MUST BE USED

To compare Aspen Plus files, the simulations must be in .bkp or .apw* format. For HYSYS, .hsc files must
be used.

2.4

FILES FOR DIFFERENT VERSIONS MUST BE NAMED EXACTLY THE SAME

Simulations must be named exactly the same for both versions. Although you can compare a single
model file between two versions, it is recommended you copy the baseline files to a new version folder
as described above, because you typically will want to make some changes including use of new
databanks.

2.5

FILES MUST BE LOCATED IN SEPARATE FOLDERS

It is recommended to create new folders specifically for the simulation(s) to be compared with this tool.
The folders may be named anything.
The simulation(s) for the older version must be in one folder; the simulation(s) for the newer version
must be in a different folder. One folder may be a subfolder of the other.

2.6

LIMITED RESULTS AVAILABLE

The only results compared are stream temperature, pressure, total mass flow, and stream
composition/mole fraction. No additional stream properties or block data are available, and AVCA
compares all streams in the simulation.

BENEFITS
AVCA provides a straightforward comparison of the differences between simulations run in different
versions. This can be a time-saver showing newer versions provide results that are consistent with the
older version, within set tolerances.

3.1

MULTIPLE SIMULATIONS MAY BE COMPARED

AVCA allows for multiple simulations to be compared at the same time. You can select all or a subset of
the models in the baseline folder to be compared.

3.2

QUICK ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

By default, AVCA opens the results in Show Differences Only mode. Only those streams where the
difference in results exceeds the set tolerances are shown. To view all stream data, the box may be
unchecked and all stream information may be reviewed.

3.3

SAVE, PRINT, AND EXPORT

The result of the comparison may be Saved as a CSV file, printed, or exported directly to Excel for
reporting purposes.
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When you exit AVCA, and restart at a later time, the models to compare must be selected again, and
AVCA will rerun the simulations in both versions.

PROCEDURE
To use AVCA:
1. Ensure both versions of the simulator package are installed on the computer.
2. Run the simulation in both versions to ensure successful runs.

a. Copy all simulation native files (.bkp/.apw*, or .hsc) to a baseline folder, and run
each model using the older version.
b. Copy all simulation native files (.bkp/.apw*, or .hsc) to a new version folder, and run
each model using the new version.
c. Be sure you do not include models saved using the newer version in the baseline
folder the older version simulator will not be able to open new version files.
3. Open AVCA. Go to Start/All Programs/Aspen Tech/Common Utilities/Aspen Version
Comparison Assistant. Select the version of the tool that matches the *latest* version you are
comparing. If you are comparing 7.3 vs 8.8., select the 8.8 version of the tool.

4. Select the simulator to be used and the versions to compare. Leave Local selected. Do not
check Use previous results.

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5. Select the folders that contain the simulations to be compared. Do not select Same as
Baseline.

6. Press Load Data. The files that have the same name between the two folders will be
listed.

7. Find the simulation name on the left side and tick the check box next to it. Multiple simulations
may be checked at the same time. A check is done to ensure the simulations are suitable for
comparison, and then the title is listed on the right side.
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8. Check the box(es) in the right hand window that will be compared then Next.

9. Select the UOM for temperature and review the default tolerances for comparison. Change if
desired, then Next.

10. The time to obtain results will be as long as it takes to run in both versions of the simulator. The
progress bar shows progress, 50% after completing all runs in the old version, and then 100%
after completing the new version.

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11. If there are differences that exceed the set tolerances, Differences will be shown in red text.
To see details of the differences, select View Report.

12. By default, only those streams with data differences exceeding the set tolerances will be shown.
To show ALL stream data, uncheck the Show Differences Only box.

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13. The results use a drill-down method for display. Red color indicates the differences.

14. Export results to Excel for future reference.

The Excel file contains multiple tabs. The first is a Summary tab listing all simulations that were
compared.

On subsequent tabs, each simulations full report is provided. Differences are noted.

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The Above Tolerance column may be filtered for Yes values to show only those differences.

15. Save Report saves the results in CSV format. However, since most users would then open the
CSV file using Excel, this option is not recommended over Export to Excel.

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16. The report can be printed but there is no Print Preview or Save As PDF. You may Print to PDF if
you have PDF print capability (i.e. full version of Adobe Acrobat installed).
All data for streams with differences are printed. It prints Landscape mode with no
header/footer and small margins.

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