Use of simulation for development of process control system

The use of simulation at different stages of life cycle of process control system is described. The application of this approach to the development of distributed process control system of North-Muisk railway tunnel (Baikal-Amur Railroad, East Siberia, Russia) is considered. The development of distributed process control system was carried out with the help of a simulator. The simulator contains the following programs and models: an operator interface, control programs, a model of processing equipment, a model of railway traffic, a model of the outside world, and a model of microclimate inside the tunnel. The simulator was used for following purposes: debugging of control programs in test bed, optimization in test bed, training of operating personnel, and testing of control programs in real-world system. The models were executed within the framework of distributed simulation system Mera. Mera is the C++ based process-oriented discrete simulation system. There are various implementations of the simulation system Mera. The sequential implementations are realized for Windows and in Java. The distributed implementations are realized for Supercomputer MBC 1000/M (Russia). A new implementation of the simulation system Mera in Java - transportation simulation system also is described.