We have been busy with our upcoming 25th OLI Simulation Conference (formerly known as the Users Group Conference).  There will be many presentations about the OLI software from OLI, Users and our Partners.  Here is a link to the conference details: OLI Simulation Conference

Hope to see you at the conference.

All the best,

Jim Berthold

Training and Support

The training website has been updated with some new material. Here is a current list of what is available.

• OLI Analyzer Installation Issues
• How to import data from Excel in to the Extreme Value Statistics (EVS) program.
• Installation problems
  • Howto validate that you downloaded an uncorrupted file
  • Obtaining diagnostic log files for install failures
• OLI Security Issues Updated
  • Security Test Program
  • Serial Numbers
  • Hardlock devices
  • Invalid Keys
  • Missing drivers
  • Static Security Provider Errors
  • Registry Settings
  • Using the OLI Keyserver Site
  • Install and use Network Security
  • Running the OLI Network Administration tool
• Getting Started with Aspen PLUS and OLI
  • Adding a private database to the OLI Chemistry Wizard for Aspen PLUS V7.1
  • Using OLI Modules in Aspen OLI (New)
  • Using EFLASH (ElectroChem) (New)
  • Using EFRACH (FraChem) (New)
• Getting Started with OLI Studio3.1
  • Units Manager
  • Advanced Features
    • Setting the automatic backups
    • Hiding curves on plots
    • Precipitation point calculations plus solids management
    • Using selective oxidation and reduction chemistry
    • Creating multiple plot windows
    • Changing the default file locations
• Getting Started with ESP 8.2
  • Removing N2 from NOx problems (Revised) Tips #36
  • Manually changing the K-values in the DBS File
  • Running the OLI Chemistry Wizard
  • How to generate database listings with the OLI Databook
• Getting started with OLI Pro
  • Restarting the security program (SimStation)
  • Installing
    
    • Network Version
    • Manually generating the Host ID fil
• Getting Started wiht OLI and ProII
  • Using the OLI Chemistry Wizard

OLI  has been busy this fall. We have our 25th OLI Simulation Conference coming up in November and we have just released updates to the OLI Analyzer and to ESP.

OLI Analyzers and ESP have been released.

We released ESP 8.2.4 in August this year and it was a stable version. Unfortunately this was not true for the Analyzers. We released version 3.1.4 at the same time but had all kinds of issues with the mix calculation. This prompted a quick release of a new version 3.1.5 to address the mix calculation issues. This emergency release did not include any database updates.

We are announcing the release of 8.2.6  of ESP and 3.1.6 of the Analyzers. Please note that there was no official release of ESP 8.2.5. Here are some of the updates for each product:

ESP

1. Updated Database
2. The API method for calculating thermal conductivity and surface tension has been added for pseudocomponenets.
3. Speed improvements for the computaion of pseudocomponents has been implemented.
4. Ion-exchange documentation has been improved
5. The code base for the alliance engines has been made unified.
6. 2nd liquid case initialization has been improved for multiple point surveys.
7. Copper Chemistry has been added to the corrosion rate model
8. See the full set of release notes for ESP

Analyzers

1. Updated Database
2. All of the solver updates for ESP were included
3. General improvements to the Mix Calculations
4. See the full set of release notes for the Analyzers

Alliance Products

Work continues on the Alliance Products. We have updated the following Alliance Products

Aspen PLUS

OLI Engine 8.2.in Aspen PLUS V7.3.8.2.4 (August 2010) for use in beta testing only
OLI Engine 8.2 in Aspen PLUS V7.2.8.2.3 (May 2010)
OLI Engine 8.2 in Aspen PLUS V7.1.8.2.3 (May 2010)
OLI Engine 8.2 in Aspen PLUS 2006.5.8.2.3 (May 2010) available by request only

Aspen HYSYS

OLI Engine 8.2 in Aspen HYSYS V7.1.8.2.3 (May 2010)
OLI Engine 8.3 in Aspen HYSYS V7.3.8.2.4 (August 2010) for use in beta testing only

ProII

OLI Engine in ProII9.x.8.2.4 (October 2010)

All the best,

Jim Berthold

Training and Support

The training website has been updated with some new material. Here is a current list of what is available. For this version I have added some links to the various support sites.
OLI Knowledge base (and FAQ)

• OLI Analyzer Installation Issues
• How to import data from Excel in to the Extreme Value Statistics (EVS) program.
• Installation problems
  • Howto validate that you downloaded an uncorrupted file
  • Obtaining diagnostic log files for install failures
• OLI Security Issues Updated
  • Security Test Program
  • Serial Numbers
  • Hardlock devices
  • Invalid Keys
  • Missing drivers
  • Static Security Provider Errors
  • Registry Settings
  • Using the OLI Keyserver Site
  • Install and use Network Security
  • Running the OLI Network Administration tool
• Getting Started with Aspen PLUS and OLI
  • Adding a private database to the OLI Chemistry Wizard for Aspen PLUS V7.1
  • Using OLI Modules in Aspen OLI (New)
  • Using EFLASH (ElectroChem) (New)
  • Using EFRACH (FraChem) (New)
• Getting Started with OLI Studio3.1
  • Units Manager
  • Advanced Features
    • Setting the automatic backups
    • Hiding curves on plots
    • Precipitation point calculations plus solids management
    • Using selective oxidation and reduction chemistry
    • Creating multiple plot windows
    • Changing the default file locations New
• Getting Started with ESP 8.2
  • Removing N2 from NOx problems (Revised) Tips #36
  • Manually changing the K-values in the DBS File
  • Running the OLI Chemistry Wizard
  • How to generate database listings with the OLI Databook New
• Getting started with OLI Pro
  • Restarting the security program (SimStation)
  • Installing
    
    • Network Version
    • Manually generating the Host ID fil
• Getting Started wiht OLI and ProII
  • Using the OLI Chemistry Wizard

July has been busy, normally we take some time off during the summer but not this year…

OLI Analyzers and ESP have been released.

Last month we announced the changes that we have made to the code base. Now we have officially released the product. The OLI Analyzers version 3.1.4 has had the most work done. Click here for the release notes for version 3.1.4

We have also updated ESP to version 8.2.4. Click here for the release notes for version 8.2.4

The MSE Public database was also updated. Here is a list of the changes for the database:

Mixed-solvent electrolyte databank

Inorganic systems

Ammonium molybdates – H2O
FeBr2 – H2O (revision)
FeBr3 – H2O (revision)
CO2 – H2O (revision)
Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) species with various stoichiometries

Organic systems

Potassium butyrate – H2O
Calcium butyrate – H2O
Calcium heptanoate – H2O
Potassium heptanoate – H2O
H2S – hydrocarbons Viscosities of pure components

Alliance Products

Work continues on the Alliance Products. Updates for ProII are due by the end of August.  Aspen PLUS and HYSYS are due immediately after that.

All the best,

Jim Berthold

Training and Support

The training website has been updated with some new material. Here is a current list of what is available. For this version I have added some links to the various support sites.
OLI Knowledge base (and FAQ)

• OLI Analyzer Installation Issues
• How to import data from Excel in to the Extreme Value Statistics (EVS) program.
• Installation problems
  • Howto validate that you downloaded an uncorrupted file
  • Obtaining diagnostic log files for install failures
• OLI Security Issues
  • Security Test Program
  • Serial Numbers
  • Hardlock devices
  • Invalid Keys
  • Missing drivers
  • Static Security Provider Errors
  • Registry Settings
  • Using the OLI Keyserver Site
  • Install and use Network Security
  • Running the OLI Network Administration tool
• Getting Started with Aspen PLUS and OLI
  • Adding a private database to the OLI Chemistry Wizard for Aspen PLUS V7.1
  • Using OLI Modules in Aspen OLI (New)
  • Using EFLASH (ElectroChem) (New)
  • Using EFRACH (FraChem) (New)
• Getting Started with OLI Studio3.1
  • Units Manager
  • Advanced Features
    • Setting the automatic backups
    • Hiding curves on plots
    • Precipitation point calculations plus solids management
    • Using selective oxidation and reduction chemistry
    • Creating multiple plot windows (new)
• Getting Started with ESP 8.2
  • Removing N2 from NOx problems (Revised) Tips #36
  • Manually changing the K-values in the DBS File
  • Running the OLI Chemistry Wizard (new)
• Getting started with OLI Pro
  • Restarting the security program (SimStation)
  • Installing
    
    • Network Version
    • Manually generating the Host ID fil
• Getting Started wiht OLI and ProII
  • Using the OLI Chemistry Wizard

OLI took some time off for the 4th of July holiday here in the United States. After barbecues, parades and fireworks we are back to work.

Announcing some new releases.

OLI has recently upgraded the solvers and the interfaces to include some new features.  As an overview we have added Standard Liquid Volume, thermal conductivity and surface tension calculations to the code.  The surface tension and thermal conductivity  is based on work done by Peiming Wang of OLI.  The standard liquid volume was created by Bob Young of OLI.  Both ESP and the Analyzers have been updated with this code.

A long standing problem of phase inclusion when sublimation has been included has been fixed.  This pesky bug resulted in different answers for phase behavior depending on the starting condition of a calculation.  This was dramatically apparent in temperature surveys.  Previously if you started a temperature survey at 25 C you obtained different answers than if you started at 50 C.  This has been resolved.

We plan on releasing both ESP and the Analyzers sometime in July.  There will be an interim announcement when that occurs.  Work continues on updating the alliance products for Unisim Design, ProII and IDEAS. These updates should be ready by August.

All the best,

Jim Berthold

Training and Support

The training website has been updated with some new material. Here is a current list of what is available. For this version I have added some links to the various support sites.

OLI Knowledge base (and FAQ)

1. OLI Analyzer Installation Issues
2. How to import data from Excel in to the Extreme Value Statistics (EVS) program.
3. Installation problems
   • How to validate that you downloaded an uncorrupted file
   • Obtaining diagnostic log files for install failures
4. OLI Security Issues
   • Security Test Program
   • Serial Numbers
   • Hardlock devices
   • Invalid Keys
   • Missing drivers
   • Static Security Provider Errors
   • Registry Settings
   • Using the OLI Keyserver Site
   • Install and use Network Security
     • Running the OLI Network Administration tool
5. Getting Started with Aspen PLUS and OLI
   • Adding a private database to the OLI Chemistry Wizard for Aspen PLUS V7.1
   • Using OLI Modules in Aspen OLI (New)
   • Using EFLASH (ElectroChem) New
   • Using EFRACH (FraChem) New
6. Getting Started with OLI Studio3.1
   1. Units Manager
   2. Advanced Features
   3. Setting the automatic backups
   4. Hiding curves on plots
   5. Precipitation point calculations plus solids management
   6. Using selective oxidation and reduction chemistry
   7. Creating multiple plot windows (new)
7. Getting Started with ESP 8.2
   • Removing N2 from NOx problems (Revised) Tips #36
   • Manually changing the K-values in the DBS File
8. Getting started with OLI Pro
   1. Restarting the security program (SimStation)
   • Installing
     • Network Version
     • Manually generating the Host ID file

May was a quiet month here at OLI. We actually made it a whole month without a release of the software. This doesn’t mean we did not find any problem but none so serious as to warrant a release of the software.

OLI is pleased to announce the hiring of Adrian Ferramosca. Adrian joined OLI’s team in May and is currently getting up to speed on the Fortran side of the code. We expect great things from Adrian.

Andre Anderko, Marshall Rafal and Chris Depetris attended the OLI User’s conference in Japan hosted by Kohtaroh Tanaka. About 40 users attended the conference and the current state of the OLI code base was discussed.

The Corrosion in Overhead Refining consortium is winding down with the final touches to the proprietary database being added. This was a major undertaking for the past 4 years with both experimental work and data regression work being accomplished. Contact Pat McKenzie of AQ Sim for more details on this consortium.

The training material has been updated to include some documentation on how to use the OLI user added blocks inside of Aspen PLUS. The notes are below. OLI also hosted a rare data regression course for three days here at OLI Systems. The majority of attendees were from Mississippi State University with two oil companies also in attendance. It was a worthwhile course for seriously advanced users.

The summer is upon us and some OLI staff are either on vacations or attending conferences overseas. OLI Technical support marches on.

All the best,

Jim Berthold

Training and Support

The training website has been updated with some new material. Here is a current list of what is available. For this version I have added some links to the various support sites.

OLI Knowledge base (and FAQ)

1. OLI Analyzer Installation Issues
2. How to import data from Excel in to the Extreme Value Statistics (EVS) program.
3. Installation problems
   • How to validate that you downloaded an uncorrupted file
   • Obtaining diagnostic log files for install failures
4. OLI Security Issues
   • Security Test Program
   • Serial Numbers
   • Hardlock devices
   • Invalid Keys
   • Missing drivers
   • Static Security Provider Errors
   • Registry Settings
   • Using the OLI Keyserver Site
   • Install and use Network Security
     • Running the OLI Network Administration tool
5. Getting Started with Aspen PLUS and OLI
   • Adding a private database to the OLI Chemistry Wizard for Aspen PLUS V7.1
   • Using OLI Modules in Aspen OLI (New)
   • Using EFLASH (ElectroChem) New
   • Using EFRACH (FraChem) New
6. Getting Started with OLI Studio3.1
   1. Units Manager
   2. Advanced Features
   3. Setting the automatic backups
   4. Hiding curves on plots
   5. Precipitation point calculations plus solids management
   6. Using selective oxidation and reduction chemistry
7. Getting Started with ESP 8.2
   • Removing N2 from NOx problems (Revised) Tips #36
   • Manually changing the K-values in the DBS File
8. Getting started with OLI Pro
   1. Restarting the security program (SimStation)
   • Installing
     • Network Version
     • Manually generating the Host ID file

Spring has sprung and through a rash of seasonal allergies we are getting some new releases out.

At the request of some of our users,  OLI is making available the content of the presentations for various OLI User Conferences.  OLI is currently scheduling a User Conference for October 2010.  You can view the past contents by viewing the OLI User Conference Page: User Conferences

A lot of changes have occurred to the Analyzer programs since we released version 2.0 almost 5 years ago. Not much of those changes have been documented.  Sure we created release notes but none of the new features were highlighted in anything other than AJ Gerbino’s “Tricks of the Trade”.  Thus I have been slowly updating my our OLI Aqueous Course notebook and putting the updated material on the OLI support website.  The first installation is precipitation point calculations.  Here is a direct link:

Precipitation Point Calculations

OLI is pleased to announce the rehiring of Honggang Zhao in April of this year. Honggang was (and is) an important part of the product development team. His primary role is to support Bob Young in developing and maintaining the calculation engine for all of the OLI products.  Honggang temporarily left OLI back in January for personal reasons and has rejoined the team.

All the best,

Jim Berthold
Director of Client Relations.

Release Status

ScaleChem

version 4.0 build 3 (4.0.3) has been released which fixed some minor issues. These are:

• Fixed random crashes
• Updated the Add Mixer dialog to show the fraction of the second stream
• Fixed a failure in the Add Mixer calculation when opening from old cases. The total brine flow was not read correctly.
• When you left the results tab, you had to re-calculate to view the results again. This screwy logic was corrected.

Analyzers

Version 3.1 build 3 (3.1.3) has been released. The current list of bug fixes can be found here:
Bugs

We have also added the ability to selectively remove individual oxidation states for REDOX chemistry. We developed this feature specifically to remove elemental nitrogen (N2) from NOx REDOX cases.  The new training items below.

ESP

Version 8.2 build 3 (8.2.3) has been released.  There is a major upgrade that standard ideal liquid volume is being added to the database. This will support holes found in the alliance products. There is no time table for the release. Here are the bug fixes

Training and Support

The training website has been updated with some new material. Here is a current list of what is available. For this version I have added some links to the various support sites.

OLI Knowledge base (and FAQ)

1. OLI Analyzer Installation Issues
2. How to import data from Excel in to the Extreme Value Statistics (EVS) program.
3. Installation problems
   • How to validate that you downloaded an uncorrupted file
   • Obtaining diagnostic log files for install failures
4. OLI Security Issues
   • Security Test Program
   • Serial Numbers
   • Hardlock devices
   • Invalid Keys
   • Missing drivers
   • Static Security Provider Errors
   • Registry Settings
   • Using the OLI Keyserver Site
   • Install and use Network Security
     • Running the OLI Network Administration tool
5. Getting Started with Aspen PLUS and OLI
   • Adding a private database to the OLI Chemistry Wizard for Aspen PLUS V7.1
6. Getting Started with OLI Studio3.1
   1. Units Manager
   2. Advanced Features
   3. Setting the automatic backups
   4. Hiding curves on plots
   5. Precipitation point calculations plus solids management (new)
   6. Using selective oxidation and reduction chemistry(new)
7. Getting Started with ESP 8.2
   • Removing N2 from NOx problems (Revised) Tips #36
   • Manually changing the K-values in the DBS File
8. Getting started with OLI Pro
   1. Restarting the security program (SimStation)
   • Installing
     • Network Version
     • Manually generating the Host ID file

March has been a busy month for OLI Systems. Andre Anderko attended the NACE Corrosion 2010 conference in San Antonio, Texas this month along with OLI’s director of business development Pat McKenzie. The show was very busy from all accounts.

Northern New Jersey (where OLI is located) experienced some severe storms this month. As a result some from OLI were out of service for several days. We are all back to work now with only a few minor problems still remaining.

Development work continues on the OLI Amine JIP project as well as the ScaleAnalyzer project.  Bug fixes and development work also continue along all the product lines.  We anticipate some new releases in the month of April.

OLI has started a knowledge base and FAQ. This is not hosted by OLI but we are populating the site as fast as we can. Other issues will be added such as a forum for users to share ideas.  Right now you can see the knowledge base here:  OLI Knowledge base (and FAQ)

With the release of Analyzers 3.1.2 OLI is now accepting crash reports from Microsoft.  When you see the infamous error message:

Please click the Send Error Report button. OLI will now receive exactly what happened to your run. This service is not in real-time. Please contact technical support for a more timely response (but still send the report).

Example crash report.

All the best,

Jim Berthold
Director of Client Relations.

ESP & Solver Updates 8.2.3

In response from our partners for Aspen Hysys and Honeywell Unisim, OLI has added a new property to our calculation engine (solver). This is the calculation of the standard-ideal-liquid volume for a stream.  This is the theoretical liquid volume for a stream at 60 F and 14.7 PSIA. In reality the stream could be all vapor or all solid but we will report this liquid volume. This fills out some holes in the interface between OLI and some of the alliance programs.

OLI Engine 8.2 for Aspen PLUS V7.1 (Chemistry Wizard)

For quite some time OLI has provided a windows based chemistry generator for Aspen PLUS. We call this the Chemistry Wizard.  User have complained that they could not use private databases with the Chemistry Wizard.  For the moment, the elegant solution eludes us but we have provided a procedure that allows for the use of private databases. Please click the link to find out out: Private Databases

Installation Help

With the release of ESP 8.2 and Analyzers 3.1 we have included some diagnostic help for installing the software. Sometimes the software fails to install and there is no reason we can detect. Now the user can generate a log file to help OLI diagnose what may be the problem.  For a list of procedures click here: Installation Help

We have had some issues with users downloading our installation files to shared drives. This occurs frequently with Microsoft Server 2003. Microsoft has issued a patch for this See this link: Server Patch

Release Status

ScaleChem

version 4.0 build 3 (4.0.3) has been released which fixed some minor issues. These are:

• Fixed random crashes
• Updated the Add Mixer dialog to show the fraction of the second stream
• Fixed a failure in the Add Mixer calculation when opening from old cases. The total brine flow was not read correctly.
• When you left the results tab, you had to re-calculate to view the results again. This screwy logic was corrected.

Analyzers

Version 3.1 build 3 (3.1.3) is under development and not yet ready for release.  There is no time table for the release. The current list of bug fixes can be found here:
Bugs

ESP

Version 8.2 build 3 (8.2.3) is also still under development. There is a major upgrade that standard ideal liquid volume is being added to the database. This will support holes found in the alliance products. There is no time table for the release.

Training and Support

The training website has been updated with some new material. Here is a current list of what is available. For this version I have added some links to the various support sites.

OLI Knowledge base (and FAQ)

1. OLI Analyzer Installation Issues
   
2. How to import data from Excel in to the Extreme Value Statistics (EVS) program.
3. Installation problems
   • How to validate that you downloaded an uncorrupted file (New)
   • Obtaining diagnostic log files for install failures (New)
     
4. OLI Security Issues
   • Security Test Program
   • Serial Numbers
   • Hardlock devices
   • Invalid Keys
   • Missing drivers
   • Static Security Provider Errors
   • Registry Settings
   • Using the OLI Keyserver Site (new)
   • Install and use Network Security
     • Running the OLI Network Administration tool
5. Getting Started with Aspen PLUS and OLI
   • Adding a private database to the OLI Chemistry Wizard for Aspen PLUS V7.1 (New)
6. Getting Started with OLI Studio3.1
   1. Units Manager
   2. Advanced Features
   3. Setting the automatic backups
   4. Hiding curves on plots
7. Getting Started with ESP 8.2
   • Removing N2 from NOx problems (Revised) Tips #36
   • Manually changing the K-values in the DBS File (new)
     
8. Getting started with OLI Pro
   1. Restarting the security program (SimStation)
   • Installing
     • Network Version
     • Manually generating the Host ID file

OLI Studio 3.1.2 has been released.  There has been many fixes to the software. Check the Release Notes for more details.

ESP version 8.2 has been out for some time but OLI had never updated the User Guide. Well that has finally occurred.  The User Guide was updated for version 8.2 but does not include much new material except for some of the OLI Support Guides that have been written over the years.  Here is a link to the new user guide: ESP v8.2 User Guide

ScaleChem version 4.0 was released in January 2010. We did not make much noise about this release. Some of the features we changed were

• Added new heavy hydrocarbons,  C21,  C22, C23, C24, C25, C30, C35 and C40.
• Added some neutral inorganic species to the input
  • HCl
  • HBr
  • H2SO4
  • HNO3
  • Boric Acid
  • SiO2
  • N2
• Removed some uncommon solid phases from the solid selection dialogs
• Removed some uncommon ions from the brine entry dialogs
• Renamed species to more familiar names
• Updated the menu items to be easier to use
• Created a new brine entry dialog (but allows  you to use the old form as well)
• Updated various calculation dialogs to be easier to use

We have also made some more subtle updates. Check the release notes for ScaleChem 4.0 for more details.

Training and Support

The training website has been updated with some new material. Here is a current list of what is available. For this version I have added some links to the various support sites.

1. OLI Analyzer Installation Issues (new)
2. How to import data from Excel in to the Extreme Value Statistics (EVS) program.
3. OLI Security Issues
   • Security Test Program
   • Serial Numbers
   • Hardlock devices
   • Invalid Keys
   • Missing drivers
   • Static Security Provider Errors
   • Registry Settings
   • Install and use Network Security
     • Running the OLI Network Administration tool (New)
     • Getting Started with Aspen PLUS and OLI
     • ESP Tips and Tricks (New)
       • Removing N2 from NOx problems (Revised) Tips #36
         
     • Getting Started with OLI Studio 3.1
       • Units Manager
       • Advanced Features
         • Setting the automatic backups
         • Hiding curves on plots
     • Getting Started with ESP 8.1
     • Getting started with OLI Pro
       • Installing
         • Network Version
         • Manually generating the Host ID file
       • Restarting the security program (SimStation)

We have upgraded the OLI  Engine (version 8.2.1) for Aspen PLUS 7.1. We decided to upgrade the numerical solvers to match the rest of the OLI products. This upgrade also upgrades the databases to the same version as ESP 8.2.1 and Analyzers 3.1.1.We now hope to avoid the issues that the different OLI products gave slightly different answers due to differences in versions.  You can review the OLI Release notes for ESP and the databases to see what has been updated.

Another major improvement is that we have updated the OLI blocks in Aspen PLUS – EFLASH and EFRACH.  In the 7.x version of Aspen PLUS the forms did not load correctly which has now been fixed.

We also updated the Chemistry Wizard for OLI to properly include REDOX chemistry.

Till Next time

Jim Berthold

Director of Customer Relations.

The start of the new year has become a busy time for OLI. We spent the last several months upgrading our ScaleChem program. We are pleased to announce the release of ScaleChem 4.0.  This new program features some major improvements to the user interface as well as using the latest solvers that are also used in OLI Studio and ESP.  The new version of ScaleChem also uses the latest database updates found in our aqueous PUBLIC database.

Check out What’s new in ScaleChem 4.0 for more details.  You can download the latest software from the OLI Downloads page