CAREER: Process Operations: Decision Making Under Uncertainty

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Among the challenges for the dynamic optimization of the entire supply chain enterprise is the rigorous treatment of uncertainty and risk factors. Uncertainty appears in all the different levels of the chemical industry from the detailed process description to multi-site manufacturing, so that the successful utilization of process models relies heavily on the ability to handle system variability. The overall scientific objective of this work is to investigate quantitatively the effects of uncertainty in process operations and to propose a methodology for the systematic incorporation of uncertainty in the decision-making process. Uncertainty analysis will be performed in all stages of process operations in an integrated way, taking into consideration the interactions and uncertainty associated with propagation. The first stage of the project concentrates on one of the production steps, short-term scheduling, while the next stage addresses the uncertainty in the detailed process description of complex kinetic networks. The final stage is concerned with the uncertainty and risk consideration in design and operation for a sustainable environment.The educational objectives are: (1) the development of an innovative instructional environment based on the Web and multi-media technology that enables hands-on interactive use of methods, tools, algorithms and examples; and (2) the incorporation of inquiry-based learning techniques into new courses and extending a version of existing ones in the area of process systems engineering to increase outreach to under-represented groups of undergraduate students at Douglas Undergraduate College for Women. The area of process systems engineering that mainly focuses on practical applications and new technologies offers a great opportunity to significantly alter the way in which chemical engineering is taught. The activities planned extend over undergraduate and graduate level modules to cover all the available tools for the effective solution of design, synthesis and operations problems.