6. Connecting Aspen Plus to the Wolfram Cloud for Flash Calculations

Recent examples published in Mendeley Data [1-5] demonstrate interconnectivity between CHEMCAD, Mathematica, and Excel. Those examples show that user-defined Mathematica functions can be called from Excel and passed to CHEMCAD in real time. This means process models can be built in Mathematica, expressed as functions, run in Excel, and passed to CHEMCAD, with all three programs running simultaneously. Both local PC-based and cloud-based Mathematica versions were used in those demonstrations. Other process simulators besides CHEMCAD allow data mapping to Excel. For example, the Aspen Simulation Workbook add-in for Excel is included in the Aspen products installation. This publication demonstrates that a similar approach can be used to connect Aspen Plus, Mathematica, and Excel. The results are interesting because a wide range of advanced design and simulation equations can be posed in Mathematica, deployed to the cloud, and then used directly by multiple users running Aspen Plus. To use this dataset, open and follow the procedure document.