What is WinUbro.NET

WinUbro.NET is software package for simulation of salt cavern leaching process.

It has been developed on the basis of the extensive and long-standing tradition of salt solution mining in Poland. The current code version is upgraded to accommodate over 25 years of CHEMKOP's experience in modelling cavern leaching processes.

Due to its original algorithm of cavern wall movement the model favourably matches the results of actual leaching. The model is capable of predicting the course of leaching by direct or reverse circulation, with or without protecting cavern roof with an oil blanket. Operation of blanket movements can be simulated and inhomogeneity of rock salt can be accommodated for.

Sedimentation of insoluble parts as well as volume contraction are also taken into account in the balance formulae. This is possible since a special formula for dependence of brine density on concentration, based on laboratory measurements (which differ from tabulated data for pure NaCl solution), is incorporated in the code. The original, laboratory-tested leaching rate formula with physically meaningful coefficients is the part of the model. The shape of the cavern can be asymmetrical, the code can find the asymmetrical differentiation of rock-salt leaching rates, comparing the model with the results of sonar measurements using KORLOG subroutine. The package contains many graphical utilities (2D and 3D).

Major features of WinUbro

• Model:
  • possibility to use the model both for optimizing the design of new caverns and for monitoring the development of caverns during leaching,
  • simulation of a general case of vertical cavern with no axial symmetry,
  • taking into account non-homogeneous leaching properties of the salt rock, both along the vertical (depth) and azimuthal directions,
  • possibility to adjust automatically the model coefficients after each sonar measurement and to restart the program from the sonar-updated cavern shape,
  • consideration of depth-dependent insoluble content,
  • possibility to model any changes in blanket level (up or down) during cavern leaching,
  • possibility to model any changes in leaching pipe locations and circulation direction,
  • possibility to model leaching with single pipe string without blanket medium,
  • possibility to calculate hydraulic pressures of water, brine and blanket for better estimation of pumping station parameters.

• Software package:
  • modern computational tool equipped with a user-friendly interface,
  • bringing down to a minimum the computer literacy of its prospective users,
  • well-organized menu and toolbars give easy access to WinUbro commands and utilities using mouse or keyboard,
  • greatly simplified input,
  • variety of graphic presentation methods for both current and final results, including the zoom features,
  • interactive mode of simulation, making it possible to break, save the results and return to an earlier simulation stage with different parameters,
  • on-screen monitoring of cavern development during modelling, in a graphic as well as a digital way ("user-witnessed" leaching),
  • clipboard support makes transferring text parts or graph to other Windows application, such as a word processor, quick and easy,
  • possibility to forward the program output onto any peripheral working under WINDOWS,
  • suitability for various purposes, including not just design and engineering but also training, presentations or publicity.