MODELING GOALS AND FUNCTIONS OF COMPLEX INDUSTRIAL PLANTS

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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to describe a modeling methodology called multilevel flow modeling (MFM), which the author has developed for the representation of goals and functions of complex industrial plants. The idea of the methodology is to apply functional concepts to represent a plant at multiple interrelated levels of abstraction. MFM is currently used in supervisory control applications for aiding the operator in diagnosis and planning. It is also used in the conceptual analysis and synthesis of control systems. The paper provides an introduction to the basic concepts of MFM, details two modeling examples, and describes the object-oriented tool Abstractions used for the implementation of MFM models and for diagnosis and planning applications. Finally, the paper presents a review of the use of MFM in previous and ongoing international projects.