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NEWS RELEASE
Thermoflow Unveils a Fully Integrated Software Package; GT PRO/GT MASTER Features Combined with PEACE
SUDBURY, MA (June 27, 2000) - Thermoflow, Inc. is taking the integration of its broad family of software solutions to new levels with the introduction of a package combining key features of its most popular software programs for combined-cycle engineering design, simulation and cost estimation.
Version 10 of Thermoflow’s GT PRO/GT MASTER software seamlessly integrates the heat balance functions of those programs with newly expanded capabilities of the company’s PEACE (Plant Engineering and Construction Estimator) program. Version 10 will be released to customers worldwide in mid-July.
“Version 10 is our latest step in integrating Thermoflow’s wide suite of software products into a comprehensive, seamless system which provides heat balance design and simulation, preliminary engineering, cost estimation and economic evaluation,” said Dr. Maher Elmasri, president of Thermoflow. “It includes tools for rapid, automated design of new plants as well as tools for fully flexible simulation of complex systems.”
With previous versions of GT PRO and GT MASTER, users were able to export their results to the PEACE program. PEACE then combined the heat balance and main equipment designs generated by GT PRO or GT MASTER with its own “project profile” inputs to perform preliminary engineering, size the balance-of-plant, calculate a detailed cost and labor estimate for the project, and run a discounted cash flow analysis.
With Version 10, PEACE has been expanded and integrated into GT PRO and GT MASTER, and no longer runs as a stand-alone program. Thermoflow customers who have a PEACE license will get additional input tabs within the GT PRO and GT MASTER menu systems.
Following the well-proven GT PRO/GT MASTER process, PEACE inputs that can be readily assumed at the design phase to size the plant equipment are grouped with GT PRO’s heat balance design inputs. PEACE inputs that explicitly define the dimensions or nameplate ratings of specific equipment are automatically generated by GT PRO, then presented for possible editing by the user within the GT MASTER environment. Thus, the concept of maximizing automation to create a design in GT PRO while preserving flexibility to alter that design’s details in GT MASTER is applied to preliminary engineering, just as it has been applied to heat balance by Thermoflow’s programs for more than ten years.
“This integration results in a bi-directional link between heat balance and engineering, rather than the old uni-directional link,” said Elmasri. “As an example, in the previous (Version 9) system, the pressure drops in the main steam pipes were taken from the heat balance and used by PEACE to size the main steam pipes. Allowing the user to change pipe diameter or length or the number of elbows would alter the cost estimate, but could not be automatically fed back to the heat balance to re-compute performance.
“With Version 10, the heat balance and engineering inputs live side-by-side, and their calculations are simultaneous. Therefore, if a user edits a pipe’s details in GT MASTER, both the new cost and the new heat balance will be taken into account when the calculation is run.”
In addition to the integration capabilities, Version 10 includes several other significant new features to further enhance the versatility and user friendliness of the program.
About Thermoflow, Inc.
Thermoflow, Inc. has been developing engineering design and simulation software for the power industry since 1987, and has about 120,000 hours of development time invested in its products. Its first product, GT PRO, creates heat balance and equipment designs for given thermodynamic inputs. Optimized to help find the most suitable plant design for a specific application, GT PRO now has more than 1,200 users around the world. GT MASTER simulates performance of fixed plant equipment under various operating conditions.
In addition to GT PRO, GT MASTER and PEACE, Thermoflow’s family of products also includes STEAM PRO and STEAM MASTER for steam power plants. In addition to these application-specific products, Thermoflow also offers THERMOFLEX, a fully flexible design system.
Besides software products, Thermoflow provides custom programs for on-line or off-line simulation, monitoring and optimization of power and cogeneration plants, and consulting services. Thermoflow is based in Sudbury, MA with a sister company, Thermoflow Ltd., serving European clients from Gloucester, England.