Abstract
This paper describes a real-time expert system that offers on-line decision support to operators of complex plant who are faced with unusual and potentially hazardous situations. The overall background and philosophy of the system as well as its essential functionalities are described. A pilot application for an extractive distillation unit of a petrochemical plant is then presented with emphasis on the techniques and models being used. This includes in particular a description of the structural, functional, and behavioral models of the plant which support many of the required functionalities of this type of system. Finally, the distributed and object oriented software architecture, a key technique for such systems, is illustrated.
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