Flow Network Class

Description:

A network that flows a Commodity

See also Flow Network Property Reference for a detailed list of properties for this class of object.

Related Classes: Commodity, Process, Facility, Market, Flow Node, Flow Path, Flow Storage.

Overview

A Flow Network flows a single Commodity through a collection of Flow Node objects linked by Flow Path objects, with optional storage in Flow Storage objects.

Example

Figure 1 shows a three node network in which a Facility "Plant" produces a Commodity "Water" that flows on the network from the "Source" node to the "Sink" node where it is sold in a Market. The Flow Path from "Source" to "Sink" is limited in capacity but the market can be reach via the "Bypass" node along a different set of Flow Path objects but there is a cost associated with flows through that node.

Figure 1: Flow Network Example

Table 1 lists the objects for this example, Table 2 the memberships and Table 3 the properties.

Table 1: Example Flow Network Objects

Class	Name	Category
Commodity	Water	-
Process	Production	-
Market	Demand	-
Facility	Plant	-
Flow Network	Water	-
Flow Node	Bypass	-
Flow Node	Sink	-
Flow Node	Source	-
Flow Path	Bypass.to.Sink	-
Flow Path	Source.to.Bypass	-
Flow Path	Source.to.Sink	-
Flow Storage	Tank	-

Table 2: Example Flow Network memberships

Collection	Parent Name	Child Name
Commodity.Markets	Water	Demand
Process.Primary Output	Production	Water
Facility.Primary Process	Plant	Production
Facility.Flow Nodes	Plant	Source
Flow Network.Commodity	Water	Water
Flow Network.Flow Nodes	Water	Bypass
Flow Network.Flow Nodes	Water	Sink
Flow Network.Flow Nodes	Water	Source
Flow Node.Markets	Sink	Demand
Flow Path.Flow Node From	Bypass.to.Sink	Bypass
Flow Path.Flow Node From	Source.to.Bypass	Source
Flow Path.Flow Node From	Source.to.Sink	Source
Flow Path.Flow Node To	Bypass.to.Sink	Sink
Flow Path.Flow Node To	Source.to.Bypass	Bypass
Flow Path.Flow Node To	Source.to.Sink	Sink
Flow Storage.Flow Node	Tank	Source

Table 3: Example Flow Network properties

Collection	Child Object	Property	Value	Data File	Units
Commodities	Water	Price	0		$/kL
Processes	Production	Processing Charge	5		$
Markets	Demand	Demand	0	Water Demand	-
Markets	Demand	Shortage Price	10000		$
Markets	Demand	Max Sales	1000		-
Facilities	Plant	Units	1		-
Facilities	Plant	Max Operating Level	1000		-
Flow Nodes	Bypass	Flow Charge	10		$
Flow Paths	Bypass.to.Sink	Min Flow	0		-
Flow Paths	Source.to.Bypass	Max Flow	100		-
Flow Paths	Source.to.Bypass	Min Flow	0		-
Flow Paths	Source.to.Sink	Flow Charge	1		$
Flow Paths	Source.to.Sink	Max Flow	550		-
Flow Paths	Source.to.Sink	Min Flow	0		-
Flow Storages	Tank	Max Inventory	10000		kL
Flow Storages	Tank	Opening Inventory	5000		kL

External Networks

A Flow Network can have connections to other networks through the following memberships:

• Node Exporting Flow Paths
• Node Importing Flow Paths

These connections allow you to import/export to/from your external electric network to the Flow Network.