About This Session
For most LNG engineering teams, simulation is already part of the workflow. The question is scope. Sixty percent of engineers surveyed during this live session cited energy efficiency and refrigeration cycle optimization as their primary bandwidth driver. Although, more engineers were familiar and routinely used steady-state models than transients.
In this webinar, Ana Khanlari, PhD and Eric Hubatch from Datacor walk through how LNG engineering teams are using CHEMCAD and Impulse to close that gap: expanding from steady-state to dynamic simulation, from design-phase validation to operational prediction, and from manual analysis to calibrated digital twin deployment across the full LNG value chain.
What This Session Covers
Steady-State vs. Dynamic Modeling
The session opens with a framework for selecting the right modeling approach at each stage of LNG design. Steady-state simulation is appropriate for early-stage design, equipment sizing, and mass and energy balance work. Dynamic simulation is required wherever process conditions change with time: startup and shutdown sequences, pressure transient events, safety case analysis, and systems with boil-off gas dynamics or cryogenic phase transitions. For teams already running steady-state models, the session addresses what expanding to dynamic simulation unlocks and where it materially changes design and safety decisions.
Energy Efficiency and Refrigeration Optimization
The session covers simulation approaches for energy efficiency across the LNG value chain: refrigeration cycle optimization, heat integration, equipment sizing under varying feed conditions, and identifying improvement opportunities in liquefaction and regasification operations. For teams where efficiency and refrigeration optimization drives the most engineering bandwidth, this section addresses where simulation-based optimization replaces iterative manual analysis.
Surge Analysis and Emergency Shutdown Simulation
The session covers how Impulse is used to model pressure transients in cryogenic transfer systems, loading arms, and send-out pipelines. Surge events in LNG systems carry consequences beyond those in standard hydrocarbon pipelines: cryogenic temperatures introduce material and mechanical constraints, and pressure excursions during emergency shutdowns must be validated against design limits before reaching the field.
Featured Case Study: LNG Fuel Tank Digital Twin
The webinar includes a detailed walkthrough of a digital twin developed in CHEMCAD for an LNG-fueled vessel operated by Azbil and NSY. The project directly addresses the barrier that 38 percent of this session's audience cited as their top obstacle to expanding simulation use: trust in simulation results.
The model was calibrated against actual vessel data in two stages. Heat transfer coefficients were identified from isolated tank tests with all valves closed. Spray efficiency parameters were tuned using LNG bunkering operation records. Both calibration stages used measured field data rather than assumed design values, producing a validated model with a demonstrated match to real vessel behavior.
The validated digital twin was deployed to a cloud environment and integrated with the Sea-Navi® 2.0 system, delivering live simulation results and future predictions during active voyages. Voyage simulations covering a 65-day route (Singapore to Australia to Japan and back) accurately predicted LNG consumption, tank pressure behavior, liquid inventory, and methane composition across changing operating modes.
Tangible outcomes from the deployment:
- LNG tank pressure maintained within safe operating limits during voyage and bunkering
- Reduced boil-off gas losses through optimized spray operation
- Improved LNG fuel consumption forecasting over long voyages
- Lower risk of fuel shortages or excessive onboard LNG inventory
- Operational support for CO₂ reduction through more efficient LNG fuel management
Who This Session Is For
This session is designed for process engineers, mechanical engineers, and safety and reliability engineers working on LNG system design and operations. It is particularly relevant for teams already running steady-state simulation who are evaluating when and where dynamic simulation changes their design or safety case, and for engineers responsible for liquefaction efficiency, regasification design, cryogenic system transient analysis, or LNG fuel gas supply system engineering on vessels.
