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NEWS RELEASE
Thermoflow Introduces GT PRO Version 9.0; Popular Software Program Now Even Easier to Use
SUDBURY, MA (March 10, 1999) – Already the most widely utilized program of its type in the world, Thermoflow, Inc.’s GT PRO heat balance design software for thermal power plants now is even easier to use. Offering a new look and feel while retaining all the power of previous versions, GT PRO Version 9.0 was demonstrated by Thermoflow at a users’ meeting in Houston in February and is being released for the global market this month.
“This is the first complete reorganization of the input logic and sequence since GT PRO was introduced in 1988,” said Dr. Maher Elmasri, president of Thermoflow. “With Version 9.0, we have enhanced the simplicity of using the program while retaining the flexibility that some customers require during detailed analyses.”
Over the years, Thermoflow has added many features to GT PRO at the request of customers and due to advances in the industry. “As new features and their inputs have mushroomed -- the original version offered 150 inputs and that number has now grown to 1,400 – we’ve learned that new and occasional users, and even some veteran users, are sometimes unaware of the existence of new, powerful features,” said Dr. Elmasri. “With Version 9.0, we added an enhanced graphical user interface that further streamlines the program, allowing users to locate the specific information they need even easier and quicker than before.”
Version 9.0 features an expanded, WIZARD startup screen which acts as an initial filter to block the display of unneeded menus and entries. Responding to the user’s selections within the various menus, the system displays only relevant input boxes. The result is a simpler layout of menus which benefits both experienced and less experienced users. To further enhance user friendliness, GT PRO Version 9.0 also offers intuitive input screens and a more logical grouping of main and secondary inputs by topic.
GT PRO, the flagship in Thermoflow’s fleet of PC-based software products for the design and simulation of thermal power plants, now has more than 1,000 users around the world. This intelligent, high-speed, application-specific program can generate – in less than 30 minutes -- accurate and detailed heat balances, cycle flow schematics, equipment designs and economic analyses that could take days or even weeks if done manually or by cumbersome computer tools.
One veteran user of GT PRO is Peter Hansen, general manager of Coral Energy in Houston, TX. He says, “GT PRO is the fastest way to get as close as you can to the right solution during the development stage of a project.” He has used GT PRO for power plants ranging from “the smallest to the largest.”
When GT PRO is coupled with Thermoflow’s recently launched Plant Engineering and Construction Estimator (PEACE) program, the result is a combination of tools being used by a growing number of power industry leaders. Since PEACE was released in September of 1998, more than 180 copies have been ordered. Feedback from users to date indicates that PEACE has displayed high accuracy, producing estimates that are within 5% of the final project cost.
Thermoflow, Inc has been developing engineering design and simulation
software for the power industry since 1987, and has more than 100,000 hours of
development time invested in its products. In addition to GT PRO and PEACE,
Thermoflow’s family of application-specific products include GT MASTER for
optimizing and simulation analysis of gas turbine-based plants,
and STEAM
PRO and STEAM MASTER for steam power plants. Along with these
application-specific products, Thermoflow also offers THERMOFLEX, a fully
flexible design system.
In addition to the standard software products, Thermoflow provides custom programs for on-line or off-line simulation, monitoring and optimization of power and cogeneration plants. Thermoflow offers training courses and consulting services. Thermoflow is based in Sudbury, MA with a sister company, Thermoflow Ltd., located in Gloucester, England.