SFB 476: Information Technology Support for Collaborative and Distributed Design Processes in Chemical Engineering

自1997年以来，亚琛工业大学的计算机科学、过程系统工程、塑料加工、工业工程和动力学研究人员一直在合作研究中心IMPROVE开展工作，其目标是提高化学工程中分布式设计过程的计算机支持。IMPROVE调查生命周期的早期阶段，即概念设计和基础工程。一个长期的目标是为化工设计过程建立一个集成的过程和产品模型，并在此模型的基础上开发新的工具，在集成的开发环境中协同工作。为了避免重新实现可用功能，尽可能重用现有工具。开发环境是基于一个软件体系结构，它依赖于集成的过程和产品模型，但支持现有工具的后验集成。IMPROVE中开发的概念在参考方案（生产聚酰胺6的化工厂设计）的帮助下进行了评估。

The goal of the collaborative research centre IMPROVE, which has beencarried out by researchers from computer science, process systemsengineering, plastics processing, and industrial engineering andergonomics at RWTH Aachen since 1997, is to improve computer support for distributed design processes in chemical engineering. IMPROVE investigates the early phases of the lifecycle, namely conceptual design and basic engineering. A long-term goal is to elaborate an integrated process and product model for design processes in chemical engineering.Based on this model, new tools are developed which cooperatesynergetically in an integrated development environment. To avoidre-implementation of available functionality, existing tools are re-used wherever possible. The development environment environment is based on a software architecture which relies on the integrated process and product model but supports a posteriori integration of existing tools. The concepts developed in IMPROVE are evaluated with the help of a reference scenario (design of a chemical plant for producing Polyamide6).