Welcome to the Applied Flow Technology Blog where you will find the latest news and training on how to use AFT Fathom, AFT Arrow, AFT Impulse, AFT xStream and other AFT software products.
AFT software products have had powerful graphing capabilities for a very long time. Many types of graphs can be created with AFT products such as pump vs. system curves, profile plots along a flow path, gradelines and elevation profiles, transient plots (with AFT Impulse or the AFT Fathom XTS module), slurry system curves (with AFT Fathom SSL or A
Each AFT software product employs five Primary Window tabs in which you would build, define, and analyze the model of your system. Of these, the Visual Report window is incredibly useful in that you are able to overlay your model input or output parameters directly on top of the graphical layout of the system itself. This is an excellent feature
Often times when building larger network models, you may not be sure what the direction of the flow will be and running the model is the only way to determine the flow direction. In the below AFT Arrow model it might be hard to determine what way the flow convention is in some of the loops. After running this model there are cautions stating that f
As we started to test the new graphing features we were concerned that users would struggle to access these features. So we came up with an idea that turned into the Graph Guide. What is the Graph Guide, you ask? Well, in simple terms the Graph Guide is an interactive, hierarchical guide built into the Graph Results window which assists the user
The first and most obvious way that AFT software makes the world safer is that our software products help engineers test their designs and operations on their computers where the impact of failure is eliminated. While this is invaluable, it is a bit abstract. So let's get more specific and highlight some applications where safety is impacted. RELI
The primary way to view results when using Impulse is through graphical data. With the release of AFT Impulse 6, the power of the graphing features has been greatly increased. With this enhanced capability comes additional complexity. It is a kin to the power and complexity of in-dash radio consoles in modern cars compared to the old stereo in my o
Using graphs that are stacked on top of each other is a great way to see the variation of several parameters at once and how one interacts with the others. There are several ways to create stacked graphs using the new graphing features in AFT applications, which I will cover here. I am going to start with the AFT Impulse model, ‘Pump Startup With E
Previously, we talked about the Graph Guide and how to create Stacked Graphs. Another way to see the interactions between parameters is to show them on one graph with dual Y-axes and a common X-axis scale. I am going to again start with the AFT Impulse model, ‘Pump Startup With Event Transient.imp’, which is installed in the Examples folder, and us
Previously, we talked about the Graph Guide and how to create Stacked Graphs and Dual-Y graphs. With AFT Impulse and with AFT Fathom’s XTS module, a great way to see how parameters change over time is through animated graphs. For the purpose of continuity, I am going to again start with the AFT Impulse model, ‘Pump Startup With Event Transient.imp’
Users and potential users of AFT software frequently ask how they can expedite the model input process so that they can get the results they need as rapidly as they need. I’m pleased to report that AFT software has an abundance of features that make the model input process tremendously efficient: global pipe and junction editing, copying input data
Previously, we talked about the Graph Guide, creating Stacked graphs and Dual-Y graphs, and visualizing the results using Animated graphs. This final installment will focus on the various ways to format graphs so they are exactly how you want them to look. In general, there are several ways to set the formatting for the various parts and regions of
If an engineer isn’t careful, the simplicity with which a computer model can be created can cause the engineer to become a bit complacent. Just as in the days of long, painstaking hand calculations, due diligence is required to ensure information being entered into the model is good and valid data. It’s also important that the results presented by
Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th American President two days ago on Friday, January 20th. I spent Friday and the rest of this weekend pondering this and what it might mean for those who work in technology. What actually happens under President Trump is anyone's guess at this point. Leaving aside (to the political commentators) all of the wac
The success of rotating hydraulic systems could revolve around the methods employed, make sure to use only the best when modeling such a system. As the surge of space travel innovation continues, safety always comes to mind. All too often the hazards of traveling through the colloquial final frontier prove the necessity of double checking cal
As tech support engineers, we sometimes receive questions from users confused about what control valve characteristic curve (inherent or installed) they are inputting into AFT Fathom, AFT Arrow, or AFT Impulse. The inherent control valve characteristic curve plots the valve open percent versus the percent of maximum Cv. This curve is true regardles
There are many (six!) ways to define a pump transient event in AFT Impulse. This gives you great flexibility in creating a model that behaves the way you want it to. One thing true for all pumps is that they must be started at least once. Pump startups often cause significant transient effects on the system so you may wish to model this with AFT Im
For several users of AFT software, it goes pretty predictably: first you place a pressure junction, then maybe a pump, then some sources of pressure drop including valves and heat exchangers, and then the model is finished off with another pressure junction. Of course, this is greatly oversimplifying the process and the vast array of systems that a
Especially in Irma’s case, there was considerable discussion of the computer modeling used to predict the path and strength of the hurricane. As I have worked in computer modeling for most of my 30+ year career, this piqued my interest and I decided to educate myself a little more on the topic as it relates to hurricanes. The first resource I purs
Superheated steam is often used in mechanical power applications, such as driving turbines. For heating or industrial processes, however, saturated steam is more efficient. Desuperheaters are used to lower the temperature of superheated steam, so that it can be more effectively used in industrial processes. A desuperheater lowers the temperature of
The original Star Trek was on television when I was in kindergarten. I was definitely a fan of the original series but I never had time to keep up with the following television series. I have seen all the Star Trek movies going back almost 40 years now. So which is better? Obviously this is a highly subjective question. Let’s put that aside for th
How did I end up getting assigned this project? Well, I had a few things going for me at that stage of my career. Firstly was that my company division was on a massive hiring spree. Since I had been hired three years earlier my division had doubled in size. Fortuitously for me, that meant I was now in the upper 50% of seniority. Secondly, I had ju
What is BEP & why is it important? Every pump has an ideal range of operation where the pump is most efficient. The peak of the efficiency curve is known as the best efficiency point (BEP). Determining how far your pump is operating from its BEP is critical to increasing pump reliability and efficiency as well as meeting API 610 recommendations
In that we used Idelchik at both of my first two jobs, when I started AFT in 1993 I assumed that everyone knew about and used Idelchik. I found out that was not the case. If you have not heard of Idelchik's handbook, it is voluminous at 861 pages. It has by far the best information available on how to calculate pressure losses in tees and wyes. An
There are three Pipe Drawing Modes available on the Arrange menu: 2D Freeform, 2D Orthogonal, and Isometric. Figure 1: Pipe Drawing Modes available on the Arrange menu Figure 1 shows the differences between the three Pipe Drawing Modes. The 2D Freeform mode will place a pipe on the Workspace as drawn. The 2D Orthogonal mode will segment the pipe o
AFT software graphic Tip: If you know how to use AFT Fathom, then you are over the learning curve by about 90%when it comes to knowing how to use AFT Arrow, and about 80% of how to use AFT Impulse. One of the best advantages to AFT software tools is they offer a full solution for any single-phase pipe flow analysis calculations.Whether you
Hello AFT readers! It has been quite a while since I have written a blog for you all. I had a recent discussion with a user and discovered a couple pain points that may be common. We did not have any blogs on the topics yet and I figured it was time to get back in the game and write another blog for our readers! The pain points were: 1. Modeling sy
We've previously discussed how to make input data changes in AFT Models using the Excel Change Data feature on other blogs, but since we are continuously asked about expedited ways to input and change data, we've updated our feature to make things even easier. AFT Software has an abundance of features that make the model input process tremendously
Seeing as this month is water month, we thought this would be a perfect time to highlight some of the great ways that AFT Fathom 10 can help with hydraulic analysis for water distribution, wastewater, and fire water systems. From building the model to exporting and presenting results, we offer several helpful features. We have heard our users
Here at Applied Flow Technology we like to make things easy for our end users. That is why AFT Products have been developed not only to give you accurate and reliable results but to save you time as well. Let's talk about the "Start Batch Run..." feature.What does this feature do?Let's imagine you have a model with many scenarios and you need to ru
Establishing and maintaining an electrical grid is a monumental task spanning many professions and disciplines. Fluid dynamics plays an important role in nearly any method of power generation. Between ensuring safety, reliable production of power, and minimizing operational costs, there are countless ways that modeling fluid flow can
When completing the analysis on a model, there is nothing more frustrating than having to do the same thing over and over again. Thankfully, using AFT's Piping Layout Wizard you will no longer need to rebuild your CAD, CAESAR II, and EPANET files to analyze the hydraulics using AFT Fathom, AFT Arrow, and AFT Impulse. In addition to GIS sh
¿Alguna vez te has hecho esta pregunta? Hace unos meses atrás estando a cargo del soporte de AFT recibí la llamada de un cliente que se encontraba en la búsqueda de una aplicación que automáticamente le ayudara a determinar la ubicación de su bomba o sistema de bombeo (principal e impulsoras) en su sistema de tuberías. Los productos AFT han sido de
We are frequently asked about AFT capabilities, and today I want to talk about how to model the heat transfer on heat exchangers. This is something we have discussed previously. But apparently, it is still a confusing topic while using AFT Products to model systems in which heat exchangers are present. First, I have to say that in fact it is p
To all of the engineers reading this article, we made it! Whew! Reading a three-part series is like running a marathon. Way to go!If you are new to this series, we encourage you to read this article as well as the previous two: Part 1: Six Reasons to Use a Flow Analysis and Part 2: Flow Analysis Is Neglected. In this article are six reasons en
Way back 18 years ago, in February 2001, AFT introduced a groundbreaking new technology to the marketplace. We called the technology IntelliFlow® and it was implemented in a new product called AFT Mercury™. We liked to tell people that "AFT Mercury is AFT Fathom on steroids".AFT Mercury built on the foundation of AFT Fathom, and the IntelliFlow tec
Dr. Garret N. (Gary) Vanderplaats Gary Vanderplaats was one of my (exalted) professors in 1985 when I was a (lowly) Senior engineering student at UCSB. If not for Gary, there would be no GSC modules for AFT Fathom or AFT Arrow, and no new AFT Fathom ANS module either. Why?First, back in 1985 UCSB had a required course for ME students in Design Opt
It was not intentional. The Trifecta I mean. It just sort of happened organically. But now that I have completed it, I think it is kind of cool.There are three Space Shuttles that have flown into space and are now in American museums:Discovery - in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia (near Washington D.C. f
With the release of the Automated Network Sizing (ANS) module for AFT Fathom and AFT Arrow, network sizing has never been easier. The ANS module utilizes Intelliflow, a technology previously featured in AFT Mercury and Titan, to evaluate slight design deviations to automatically size pipes, valves, and pumps for a system as a whole. In
In any complex piping system, one of the most serious scenarios considered during a safety or HAZOP study is over-pressurization. If the pressure in the system reaches a high enough pressure, rupture can occur, leading to expensive repairs, significant system downtime, and even loss of life. In most cases, proper use of relief valves can mitigate o
When working on a new piping system, there are many factors that must be taken into account: meeting customer demands, following industry standards, and maintaining effective system operation to name just a few. As a busy engineer, it is important to address all of these concerns in the short time frame available to you. AFT's new Automated Networ
Almost every piping system has valves, and an accurate solution requires accurate valve losses. For incompressible systems, this is relatively straightforward. What happens when we introduce the complexities of compressible flow? Valve Sizing Equation in Incompressible Flow In liquid flow - like that calculated by AFT Fathom or AFT Im
Happy New Year and Happy New Decade to all of you around the globe! As engineers, our society depends on us to help solve problems and make everyone's lives better. To provide power, water and heat are the basics. To provide transportation and communication are now critical technologies. Plus lots more.The unfortunate truth is that in solving the p
Like most of you, I have no expert advice to give related to the current worldwide pandemic caused by COVID-19 – also known as the Coronavirus. Thus, I won't presume to offer advice or wisdom on that topic. But everyone is talking about, reacting to and being affected by the pandemic. It seems almost insensitive to not acknowledge that.As the Presi
With new versions of Fathom, Arrow, and Impulse being released, we've been taking time to highlight some of the new features that have been added in. Recently, we've looked at multi-scenario pump vs. system curves, along with more general overview of our new features. In this blog, we'll look at one of my favorites, the new Scenario Comparison tool
Many of you are aware that AFT released the ANS module for AFT Fathom and AFT Arrow last year to help engineers minimize the cost of their system and maximize reliability. You can check out this blog I wrote last year for a quick recap on the capabilities of ANS. Let's talk a bit more about what information you need to use the ANS module by introdu
At the time of writing, AFT Impulse 8 is right around the corner. We are proud to boast of new capabilities to give you an even better user experience with transient analysis.AFT Impulse 8 showcases new features never seen before, and ones only hinted at with the releases of AFT Fathom 11 and AFT Arrow 8. Here, we have laid out the top 5 new featur
In early 2020, AFT users gave us valuable feedback via our annual survey. We read and absorbed requests for additional capabilities our software doesn't yet have, as well as capabilities the software already has and users may not be aware of. Customers praised us for the prompt high-level of support our team provides, and they let us
For gas systems flow is driven either by a pressure difference, or by a turbomachine. AFT Arrow allows users to model turbomachines such as fans, blowers and compressors. For this blog we'll talk about what differentiates these three options, and how to model them using AFT Arrow. Definitions and TypesFans, blowers and compressors all
My High School Physics Teacher When I was in high school (four decades ago!) I had an awesome physics teacher in my junior year, Mr. Kindred. His class was a key influence in my decision to pursue a career in mechanical engineering.I recall Mr. Kindred discussing the future of fusion power and commenting, as was common at that time, that "fusion p
Trying to run a model and running into convergence errors? Here are a few common tips to help with model convergence for AFT Fathom, AFT Arrow, and the steady state modes for AFT Impulse and AFT xStream. Though these tips will not work for all models, they have helped with many of the steady state convergence cases that have come through the AFT s
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