InfoSWMM Version 12 Revs Up Modeling Performance With HEC-22 and 64-Bit Support

InfoSWMM Version 12 Revs Up Modeling Performance With HEC-22 and 64-Bit Support Latest Software Release Supports Faster Time to Design and Lower Analysis Costs
Broomfield, Colorado USA, July 25, 2012 — In its ongoing quest to equip the wastewater industry with the world’s most comprehensive and innovative smart network modeling and management solutions, Innovyze, a leading global innovator of business analytics software and technologies for wet infrastructure, today announced the worldwide availability of the V12 Generation of its industry-leading InfoSWMM for ArcGIS (Esri, Redlands, CA). InfoSWMM V12 enables engineers to work more efficiently and reliably with very large and complex network models, thanks to improvements in such areas as HEC-22 inlet support, built-in 64-bit simulation, enhanced water quality modeling, and batch run scenario management that will positively impact modeling teams each and every day. The only urban drainage modeling solution certified by the National Association of GIS-centric Software, the full-featured InfoSWMM analysis and design program delivers the highest rate of return in the industry. All operations of a typical sewer system — from analysis and design to management functions such as water quality assessment, pollution prediction, sediment transport and deposition, urban flooding, real-time control, and record keeping — are addressed in a single, fully integrated geoengineering environment. The program’s powerful hydraulic and water quality computational engine is based on the current SWMM 5 version, which is endorsed by the USEPA and certified by FEMA. These features and more result in an enhanced modeling experience and greater realism of displayed results — advantages that translate to increased productivity, reduced costs, higher accuracy, better efficiency, and improved designs. InfoSWMM also serves as a robust base platform for advanced modeling, operational, capital planning, and analytics-driven asset management extensions. Some of these critical applications include InfoSWMM 2D (two-dimensional surface flood modeling), CapPlan (risk-based capital planning and asset performance modeling),InfoMaster (GIS-centric asset management), and RDII Analyst (rainfall-dependent inflow and infiltration planning and analysis). The release of InfoSWMM V12 extends previous generations’ capabilities with significant modeling enhancements and groundbreaking innovations in geoengineering productivity and efficiency. These improvements greatly simplify, accelerate, and integrate urban drainage network engineering, helping wastewater engineers develop better designs and operational improvements faster. Key new built-in modeling and computational tools include: ability to explicitly model five HEC-22 inlet types connecting overland and underground systems (continuous grate inlet, continuous curb-opening inlet, sag grate inlet, sag curb-opening inlet and sag combination inlet), complete 64-bit functionality resulting in faster simulation runs, enhanced hydrogen sulfide and corrosion modeling, flexibility in run time scheduling,  direct control of the number of dynamic solution threads or cores for parallel processing, and ability to run multiple scenarios in batch mode at one time or to schedule the model runs at future times. “Our priorities have always been to advance the frontiers of smart network modeling technology and support our customers’ successes by helping them be more productive and competitive,” said Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D., BCEEM, Hon.D.WRE, Dist.D.NE, F.ASCE, President and Chief Operating Officer of Innovyze. “This major InfoSWMMrelease delivers on our promise to equip our customers with the ultimate ArcGIS-centric decision support tool for sewer collection and urban drainage systems. Like its predecessors, InfoSWMM V12 sets a new standard for quality and high-performance network modeling and management with unrivaled power, cutting-edge capabilities, rich functionality, and ease of use. From top to bottom, this release is designed for record modeling performance that enables users to increase their productivity and quality while achieving their engineering and business goals.”

How to Use the H2OMAP SWMM Calibrator for RTK Calibration

Subject:  How to Use the H2OMAP SWMM Calibrator for RTK Calibration

Step 1.   Initial Guess of the RTK data as the start of the Messy Genetic Algorithm process

Step 2. Use Min and Max Bounds of 50 and 150 Respectively and Apply the Solution at each iteration

Step 3. Check the Comparison Graph and Correlation Coefficient at Each Step

Step 4.  It should take just a few iterations if you have a good estimate of the initial RTK parameters

Step 5. Final Values with a Rsquare of 0.96 between Observed and Simulated

 

How Does a TYPE3 Variable Speed Pump Work in SWMM 5?

Subject:   How Does a TYPE3 Variable Speed Pump Work in SWMM 5?

In a SWMM 5 Type3 pump the flow is a function of the head difference between the downstream node head and the upstream node head (Figure 2) but the pump rules can be overwritten by a RTC Rule as in the attached example.   The RTC Controls in the example change the pump setting as a function of the depth in the Wet Well.  There is one pump between the Wet Well and Force Main but the Pump Setting varies from the RTC rules based on the depth in the Wet Well (Figure 1). As you can see in the composite Figure 2, the setting varies from 0, 1, 2 and 3 during the course of the simulation.

Figure 1.  How a Pump Flow is Calculated in SWMM 5.

Figure 2   RTC Rules and Schematic of a TYPE3 Pump in SWMM 5 with Force Mains Added along with three depth settings for a Variable Speed Pump or VSP.

How Does a TYPE3 Pump Work in SWMM 5?

Subject:   How Does a TYPE3 Pump Work in SWMM 5?

A SWMM 5 Type3 pump flow is a function of the head difference between the downstream node head and the upstream node head (Figure 1) but the pump rules can be overwritten by a RTC Rule as in the attached example in which the pump is only turned on then the flow in the upstream link 8040 is greater than 25 cfs.   Important components of the TYPE3 pump are: Surcharged Nodes to connect the Force Mains to the Pump (Figure 1), Force Mains (Figure 2), Wet Wells (Figure 3) and the TYPE three Pump Curve and the On and Off DEPTHs of the Pump (Figure 4).

Figure 1.  Connect a Pump to a Force Main by Using a Surcharge Node Depth.

Figure 2.  Define a Force Main Link if you want to use either Hazen-Williams or Darcy-Weisbach for the Friction Loss in the Link.

Figure 3.  A Wet Well at the Upstream End of the Pump can have either a Functional Area or a Tabular Area versus Depth Curve.

Figure 4   RTC Rules and Schematic of a TYPE3 Pump in SWMM 5 with Force Mains Added.

How Does a TYPE2 Pump Work in SWMM 5?

How Does a TYPE2 Pump Work in SWMM 5?

Subject:   How Does a TYPE2 Pump Work in SWMM 5?

A SWMM 5 Type2 pump flow is a function of the depth at the upstream node (Figure 1) but the pump rules can be overwritten by a RTC Rule as in the attached example in which the pump is only turned on then the flow in the upstream link 8040 is greater than 25 cfs.

Figure 1.   RTC Rules and Schematic of a TYPE2 Pump in SWMM 5.

How Does a TYPE1 Pump Work in SWMM 5?

Subject:   How Does a TYPE1 Pump Work in SWMM 5?

How Does a TYPE1 Pump Work in SWMM 5? by dickinsonre Subject:   How Does a TYPE1 Pump Work in SWMM 5?  A SWMM 5 Type1 pump is called an offline pump but the name comes from SWMM 4 and the Pump is controlled by volume instead of depth or head as in the SWMM 5 TYPE2, TYPE3 and TYPE4 Pumps.  The attached example SWMM 5 model has an offline storage node that pumps flow INTO the Offline Storage unit during high flow and FROM the Offline Storage Unit during low flow.  The SWMM 5 Real Time Control (RTC) rules determine which of the two pumps operate based on the flow in an upstream link (Figure 1).  Figure 1.   RTC Rules and Schematic of an OffLine Pump in SWMM 5. via Blogger http://www.swmm5.net/2013/08/how-does-type1-pump-work-in-swmm-5.html

What are the Types of Force Mains (FM) in SWMM 5?

Subject:   What are the Types of Force Mains (FM) in SWMM 5?

What are the Types of Force Mains (FM) in SWMM 5? by dickinsonre Subject:   What are the Types of Force Mains (FM) in SWMM 5? There are five ways to model a force main in SWMM 5 for the combination of full and partial flow in the force main (Figure 1): 1.       Full Flow using Darcy-Weisbach for the friction loss 2.      Full Flow using Hazen-Williams for the friction loss 3.      Full Flow using Manning's n for the friction loss 4.      Partial Flow uses Manning's n for the friction loss for Force Main Equation options If you use Darcy-Weisbach or Hazen-Williams then an equivalent Manning's n for a force main that results in the same normal flow value for a force main flowing full under fully turbulent conditions is calculated internally in SWMM 5 in forcemain.c ·         Equivalent n for H-W is 1.067 / Hazen-Williams Coefficient  * (Full Depth / Bed Slope) ^ 0.04  ·         Equivalent n for D-W is (Darcy-Weisbach friction factor/185) * (Full Depth) ^ 1/6   Figure 1.  Types of Full and Partially Full Force Mains in SWMM 5 via Blogger http://www.swmm5.net/2013/08/what-are-types-of-force-mains-fm-in.html

How to Subdivide Subcatchments in SWMM 5

Subject:   How to Subdivide Subcatchments in SWMM 5

How to Subdivide Subcatchments in SWMM 5 by dickinsonre Subject:   How to Subdivide Subcatchments in SWMM 5 If you want to subdivide a larger Subcatchment in SWMM 5 and get around the same peak flow then a good suggestion would be to make sure that (Figure 1): 1.   The sum of the new areas equals the original Subcatchment Area and 2.   The sum of the total Width values equals the original Subcatchment Width on the one Subcatchment 3.   The infiltration, percent imperviousness, roughness and depression storage should be the same.  Figure 1.  Subdividing a Subcatchment via Blogger http://www.swmm5.net/2013/08/how-to-subdivide-subcatchments-in-swmm-5.html

NPR - How Good Were Climate Models 30 Years Ago?

How Good Were Climate Models 30 Years Ago?

July 17, 2012 

by ADAM FRANK  http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/

Geet Jan van Oldenborg

Models vs Reality: Gray lines are predictions from 1981 models of global temperature increase. Red line is real world data.

Pretty good it appears.
In a piece back in April at RealClimate, guest bloggers Geert Jan van Oldenborgh and Rein Haarsma of the Dutch Meterological Institute (KNMI) look at back at a 1981 paper by the now famous James Hansen and others. At the time, of course, neither Hansen or global warming were household names. Still the paper got noticed. As the Oldenborgh and Haarsma explain:
"They got 10 pages in Science, which is a lot, but in it they cover radiation balance, 1D and 3D modelling, climate sensitivity, the main feedbacks (water vapour, lapse rate, clouds, ice- and vegetation albedo); solar and volcanic forcing; the uncertainties of aerosol forcings; and ocean heat uptake."
The Hansen et al paper includes (among other things) a plot of predicted global temperatures as a function of time. Oldenborgh and Haarsem take this figure and overplot the actual real world data gathered since the paper appeared. The fit between the Hansen et al predictions and the behavior of the Earth's climate is remarkably good. This is even more remarkable when you realize your iPhone now might have comparable computing power to the machines they were running their simulations on.
The lesson to draw from all of this is obvious. The basic principles of climate science has been mature for a while. While there remain significant issues to understand such as the local response to global (human-driven) CO₂ increases, the links between greenhouse gas emissions and greenhouse driven climate change is decades old news.
Perhaps, during this crazy summer, that news is finally getting past the denier screen and reaching the general public.

How to Easily Make a Smaller Model in InfoSWMM Using Trace Upstream Network

Subject:   How to Easily Make a Smaller Model in InfoSWMM Using Trace Upstream and Downstream Network

How to Easily Make a Smaller Model in InfoSWMM Using Trace Upstream Network by dickinsonre Subject:   How to Easily Make a Smaller Model in InfoSWMM Using Trace Upstream Network Step 1.  Use the Trace Upstream Network command to find all of the network above the node of interest (Figure 1).  Step 2.  Use the Trace Downstream Network Command to find all of the network below the node of interest and place it in the Doman (Figure 2). Step 3.  Use Facility Manager to make the Lower Network in the Domain Inactive (Figure 3). Step 4.  Change the Node of Interest from a Manhole to an Outfall Figure 1.  Trace Upstream Network Figure 2.  Put the lower Section of the Network in a Domain Figure 3.  Use Facility Manager to make the Lower Network in the Domain Inactive via Blogger http://www.swmm5.net/2013/08/how-to-easily-make-smaller-model-in.html

How to See How Many Nodes and Links you have in an InfoSWMM Network

How to See How Many Nodes and Links you have in an InfoSWMM Network

Figure 1. Initialize and Use the About Command in InfoSWMM

Back-to-back La Niñas cooled globe and influenced extreme weather in 2011

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120710111111.htm

July 15, 2012

ScienceDaily (July 10, 2012) — Worldwide, 2011 was the coolest year on record since 2008, yet temperatures remained above the 30 year average, according to the 2011 State of the Climate report released online today (July 10, 2012) by NOAA. The peer-reviewed report, issued in coordination with the American Meteorological Society (AMS), was compiled by 378 scientists from 48 countries around the world. It provides a detailed update on global climate indicators, notable weather events and other data collected by environmental monitoring stations and instruments on land, sea, ice and sky.

"2011 will be remembered as a year of extreme events, both in the United States and around the world," said Deputy NOAA Administrator Kathryn D. Sullivan, Ph.D. "Every weather event that happens now takes place in the context of a changing global environment. This annual report provides scientists and citizens alike with an analysis of what has happened so we can all prepare for what is to come."

The lead character of the 2011 climate story was a double dip La Niña, which chilled the Pacific at the start and end of the year. Many of the 2011 seasonal climate patterns around the world were consistent with common side effects of La Niña. (Credit: NOAA Climate Portal)

Video: Why All Faucet Drips Have the Same Shape

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/07/video-why-all-faucet-drips-have-.html?rss=1

July 15, 2012

To some, the "drip, drip" of a leaky faucet is a minor irritation; to physicists, it's a great example of the predictive powers of science. In 1996, theoretical work suggested that, as a water drop hangs from a faucet, its cone-shaped neck should always have the same internal angle at break-off: 36.2°. That was an ambitious prediction given the hugely complex dynamics of dripping water, but it was also very difficult to test with any accuracy. Now, thanks to modern technology, researchers have finally plugged all doubts. A team of engineers and physicists set up a camera that took images at up to 220,000 frames per second in front of a dripping nozzle and measured the angle of the water's neck at the moment of break-off (see close-up video of a drop breaking from its neck). The angle was 36.0°, the team reports this month in Physical Review E, within 1% of the predicted value. That confirmation is good news for inkjet manufactures, many of which would like to know how reliable computer simulations of liquid dripping are so that, for example, they can figure out the optimum height to position ink heads without resorting to costly trial and error.

See more videos.

Types of Stormwater Inlets from HEC12 and HEC22

Note:  Types of Stormwater Inlets from HEC12 and HEC22

Types of Stormwater Inlets from HEC12 and HEC22 by dickinsonre Note:  Types of Stormwater Inlets from HEC12 and HEC22 Stormwater Inlets consist of four main types (http://onlinemanuals.txdot.gov/txdotmanuals/hyd/storm_drain_inlets.htm) with most common shown in Figure 1. 1.   Curb opening inlets either at a sag or continuous on the street, 2.   Grate Inlets either at a sag or in combination with a Curb opening 3.   Slotted Drains in parking lots which can be simulated as curb opening inlets and 4.   Combination inlets either at a sag or continuous on the street which combine a curb opening inlet and a grate inlet for the stormwater runoff A sag inlet is the end of the line for the runoff because the flow and its debris load have no other place to go as described in the HEC-22 and HEC-12 manuals and a continuous grade inlet is designed to capture the entire runoff flow but if the flow is too large or the inlet is clogged the bypassed flow can travel past the inlet and flow on down the street to a new inlet.   The interception of a sag inlet is ultimately 100 percent but the amount of interception by a continous inlet is variable and is governed by the width of the opening, the grade of the street, the splash over velocity and the amount of side and flontal flow in a grated or combination inlet which is governed by the width and the length of the grate.  Any flow in a continous opening inlet that is not captured ends up as bypass flow and travels down the downstream link or conduit (Figure's 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6). Figure 1.  Common Types of Stormwater Inlets on Streets Figure 2.  Continuous Grate Inlet(1) and Sag Curb Opening Inlet(4)   Figure 3.  Curb Opening Inlets(2) Figure 4.  Continuous Curb Opening Inlet(2) Figure 5: Grate Inlets and Combination Inlets (1, 3 and 5) via Blogger http://www.swmm5.net/2013/08/types-of-stormwater-inlets-from-hec12.html

The Biggest Storm Ever on a Small, Small World

From the Great, great and great physics blog Starts With a Bang a story about a monster storm on Titan

“For most of the history of our species we were helpless to understand how nature works. We took every storm, drought, illness and comet personally. We created myths and spirits in an attempt to explain the patterns of nature.” -Ann Druyan

Here on Earth, we are well aware of how devastating storms can be. From hurricanes to flash floods, an unpredictable change in weather can turn a serene setting into a catastrophe in no time at all. The clouds that fill the skies can often portend what type of weather is coming, and to me, the most impressive and fearsome of all is the rare and remarkable supercell.

Image credit: Sean Heavey / Barcroft Media, from Glasgow, Montana.

The least common and most severe type of thunderstorm, supercells form when a warm, moist layer of air (typically found above a cold layer, since heat rises) slides below an even higher-elevation cold layer. The wind shear from this motion causes vorticity, or a spinning motion, of the air in the warm layer. As the warm air tries to rise through the cold layer, the rotating vortex becomes vertical, and creates a mesocyclone, which can lead to tornadoes in the most catastrophic of cases.

Image credits: Vanessa Ezekowitz, retrieved from the wikipedia page for supercell.

Even in cases where tornadoes do not form, the supercell storm provides a spectacular deluge and incredible wind speeds.

Image credit: Martin Kucera of http://www.floridalightning.com/.

Under the most extreme circumstances, many tornadoes erupt and the storm — although usually brief — can literally destroy an entire town, as was the case a year ago in Joplin, MO. As seen from space, only the flat top of the supercell was visible, blinding us to the destruction that was occurring underneath.

Image credit: NASA / GOES-13 satellite, of the 2011 Joplin, MO supercell.

It will come as no surprise that raging storms like this are not unique to Earth. In fact, they are common and can last for extremely long durations on gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn.

Source: http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2012/07/13/the-biggest-storm-ever-on-a-small-small-world/

Product Sector Leader for InfoSWMM , InfoSewer and InfoSWMM 2D Innovyze Inc.

Note: My Current Job Title and Email Address and of course Robert.dickinson@gmail.com will also work to contact me if you have a modeling question. 

 

Robert Dickinson

Visit the Innovyze Blog for in-depth discussions of product features, insightful videos, and links to industry news (at blog.innovyze.com)

Product Sector Leader for InfoSWMM , InfoSewer and InfoSWMM 2D Innovyze Inc.

9340 Pontiac Drive                Tel:     813-712-0664 Tampa, Florida USA 33626       

robert.dickinson@innovyze.com www.innovyze.com

How is RDII Storage Simulated in SWMM 5?

Subject:  How is RDII Storage Simulated in SWMM 5?

How is RDII Storage Simulated in SWMM 5? by dickinsonre Subject:  How is RDII Storage Simulated in SWMM 5? If you are using the SWMM 5 Rainfall Dependent Infiltration and Inflow(RDII)  feature you can also use the RDII storage parameters to change the RDII runoff by simulating the storage in the Sewershed.   The code in RDII.C as implemented by Lew Rossman of the EPA keeps track of used and unused initial abstraction or IA (Figure 1) When there is rainfall the following actions are taken: ·         The raindepth available to be convoluted by the RDII unit hydrograph method is reduced by unused IA ·         The amount of IA used up is then updated   When there is no rainfall ·         A portion of the IA already used is recovered using the recovery rate parameter and the variable IAUsed  Figure 1.  The long term effect of the RDII storage on the generated RDII Unit Hydrographs.  IA1, IA2 and IA3 are the Storage values for the short, medium and long term UH's. via Blogger http://www.swmm5.net/2013/08/how-is-rdii-storage-simulated-in-swmm-5.html

Four factors in Rainfall Dependent Infiltration and Inflow or RDII in SWMM 5

There are Four factors in Rainfall Dependent Infiltration and Inflow or RDII in SWMM 5:

There are Four factors in Rainfall Dependent Infiltration and Inflow or RDII in SWMM 5 by dickinsonre There are Four factors in Rainfall Dependent Infiltration and Inflow or RDII in SWMM 5: 1.   The fractional response to Rainfall or R from 0 to 1 2.   The Time Base of the Unit Hydrograph or T in hours * Dimensionless K Shape Factor 3.   The Sewershed Contributing Area in acres or hectares and 4.   The Maximum, Initial Abstraction and Recovery Rate for R on a Monthly Basis in units of inches, mm or mm/day, 5.   The fifth and probably the most important factor is the Rainfall via Blogger http://www.swmm5.net/2013/08/there-are-four-factors-in-rainfall.html