Project description: Metal finishing simulation software

The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) is working towards simulation software for metal finishing processes. As the processes under consideration have a similar structure as chemical engineering processes, composed from a number of unit operations connected to each other, the CAPE-OPEN standard has been chosen as a basis for this development.- The CAPE-OPEN standard is appreciated because it provides a reference architecture as well as a set of interface definitions which have already been proven in practical applications. Thus, the effort needed to develop these required pieces could be avoided. Obviously, a use of the CAPE-OPEN interfaces in metal finishing applications might lead to new interfaces that should be standardized in the long run as well. These could concern e.g. the handling of solid phases in material objects that occur in electroplating processes. Also, the development of a thermodynamic property package for aqueous solutions is in progress which is needed for modeling metal finishing processes.