Water Simulation Packages (WSP)

By Wallingford Software, UK

Water distribution authorities around the world have formal obligations to supply water to fight fires, and to check regularly that they meet these obligations. Underprovision of this vital community resource is not acceptable. However, overprovision also could have its problems. Because fire flow is often the dominant factor in sizing a network, particularly in smaller systems, overprovision for fire flow means oversizing the network, leading to costly capital investment. The difficulties of finding the right balance between these two conflicting factors underlines the importance of accurate fire flow analysis.

This paper describes how modeling can now help with such analysis, automating the process and making major savings on what is at present a time-consuming and costly task.

Read the full article.

From Derceto’s web site:

The only “customized off-the-shelf” (COTS) software tool which works online and in real-time to reduce the costs of treated water distribution, Derceto optimizes pump schedules to minimize distribution costs guided primarily by electricity tariffs. Direct connection to the SCADA system provides live data, which is then used by Derceto to choose the lowest cost sources of water as well as distribution and booster pump schedules. Derceto calculates the minimum cost solution from the multitude of possible pump schedule combinations to meet the day’s evolving demand while maintaining defined constraints such as water turnover and storage requirements.

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Derceto Pump Scheduling Software

In Terry Love’s WWWBoard I found the following post:

Hi:
We are being tormented by a water hammer that started suddenly. Everything was fine, and then one day the toilet got clogged. I freed the clog with a plunger, no problem. But now every time that toilet is flushed, we get the “water hammer” effect. We can stop it by opening another valve in the same line (turn on the bathroom faucet), but I’d sure like to know how to fix it for real. Any suggestions?

Here is the answer:

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Water Hammer caused by toilets

The following information was received from ATMOS International:

ATMOS LSIM is a modern pipeline simulation software that calculates liquid flow, pressure, density, temperature and other variables under steady state, transient and shut-in conditions. Using a fully graphical configuration tool, LSIM models pipes, valves, tanks, filters, heat exchangers, leaks, supply and delivery points.

Complex control mechanisms can be implemented for pumps and valves based on PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) and logic controllers.

LSIM is fully OPC (OLE for Process Control) compliant, making it possible to synchronise an off-line simulator with a real-time system. The simulation boundary condition could be a fixed value, a user-defined profile or an OPC tag from a SCADA system. All model calculated values can be saved in a database, trended graphically and output to a SCADA or other computer
systems using OPC.

LSIM simulates dynamic flow of single liquid, batched fluids, mixed fluids and vapour pockets. For the simulation of batched fluids, batch interface volume can be calculated together with the interface position and length.

With a configurable grid length from 0.5 meter to tens of kilometers, LSIM is accurate enough for detailed surge analysis and fast enough for operational scenario analysis and planning.

More information can be found at ATMOS International web site.

Simulation & optimization of water supply networks. From the University of Karlsruhe web site:

KANET Simulation
KANET Simulation performs the time extended hydraulic network balance of a reticulate system whose graph, diameters, pipe material or friction factors, flow input and demand, characteristics of pumps, boosters, valves, location of tanks, pumping stations, valves are known. The model also allows for tracing the propagation of an input concentration.

KANET Optimization
KANET Optimization delivers cost optimal diameters and pumping heads of a reticulate water supply network based upon a specified design demand and subject to constraints such as max velocities, min supply pressure, location of pumps, tanks and reservoirs. Already existing pipes are taken into account, optimal tradeoffs between investment and operating cost are observed using the present value. Simultaneous optimization of the layout is included.

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KANET

I have been working for some time now on a new network model for a large city with population of about 280,000. The network layout was received from the municipality in AutoCad format. The main problem with this file is that it was not built with a water distribution model perspective. The file is built from many polylines that intersects with no junctions (nodes) to connect them. In some cases lines that should connect do not. In other cases lines that should not be connected are connected.

I’m using the free ArcView extension for EPANet called GISRed to import the AutoCad file and convert it to an INP EPANet format. GISRed was developed by Hugo Bartolín and directed by Professor Fernando Martinez both from the Research Group of Hydraulic Networks and Pressurized Systems (REDHISP) at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV). See GISRed home page.

One of my main problems was that after I imported the layout to the INP file I realized that since the poor shape of the AutoCad file my network was disconnected in many places. Going over the entire network, link by link and node by node, is a tedious job. The solution was found once again within GISRed. A tool called ‘Connectivity’. It does a simple thing. It colors each subset of the network in different color and allows the user to see exactly which parts are disconnected.

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Network connectivity using GISRed

From DHI web site:

MIKE URBAN combines DHI’s 20-year tradition for leadership in simulation engines with ESRI’s world leading GIS technology. The result is a tool set that defines a new industry standard in usability, productivity and pure pleasure.

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MIKE URBAN

If you are interested in the metering industry you should visit Metering International Home.

Metering International’s electronic newsletter is sent out to over 8,000 subscribers, who have subscribed on the website. It is published 11 times a year, and features short press releases on new products, projects, conferences and exhibitions, industry news and new appointments - all with the focus on metering, billing and CIS/CRM in the electricity, water and gas sectors.

From “Applied Flow Technology” web site:

AFT Impulse provides a practical tool for the piping systems engineer to address the complex subject of liquid piping systems waterhammer and surge transient events. AFT Impulse incorporates an integral steady-state solver to calculate the initial conditions and seamlessly transfer these to the transient solver. Based on the same, proven solver in AFT Fathom, steady-state solutions are determined using a modified Newton-Raphson matrix interation. AFT Impulse’s transient flow solution engine is based on the Method of Characteristics, which utilizes time steps and pipe section lengths that are an integral fraction of the wave speed. This permits a direct solution of each time step, making AFT Impulse highly efficient.

AFT Impulse lets you specify transients both on a time and event basis. For example, initiate a pump startup based on the pressure at a selected location in the system or a valve closure upon the flow direction at selected location. This powerful capability greatly expands the type of transients that may be modeled including a variety of control logic functions.

Pump modeling can be as simple as a fixed flow or as sophisticated as pump curves and four quadrant effects modeling the various possible combinations of forward and reverse flow and rotation. Startup includes the ability to determine pump acceleration from specified pump/driver inertia and driver torque vs speed. Pump models may include integral check valves and reverse rotation brakes.

More detailes at AFT web site.