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.
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
The pistons, or diaphragm of a reciprocating (positive displacement) pump causes a cyclical variation, typically in some sinusoidal form, of both flow in pressure in a piping system. The magnitude varies, depending on the type and design of the pump. What is acceleration head? Acceleration head is the energy required to change the velocity of the l
AFT Applications have long had several options for the export of output data. Data can be directly copied and pasted into other Window's applications, and entire sections of the output can be exported to preformatted, delimited, or Excel formats.However, these options can be inflexible or require significant overhead. AFT Fathom 10 is introducing t
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
Everyone loves to celebrate. Here at AFT, we are celebrating the release of AFT Fathom 10. One of the great things about AFT Fathom 10 is that the new and improved Pump Properties window makes specifying pumps faster and easier than ever. This blog will provide an overview of the features that have been added or changed within the Pump Propert
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
Twenty-five years ago I did something I thought I would never do. My job at the time had become pretty bumpy and I was not happy. With hard work and good luck, I turned that negative experience into a new direction for me personally and professionally. That new direction involved starting a whole new company. On September 14, 1993.So, I have been d
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
One of the many powerful features in AFT Impulse is the ability to calculate transient forces during a waterhammer/surge event (See "Evaluating Dynamic Loads in Piping Systems Caused by Waterhammer" white paper). The resulting transient forces can be exported into a pipe stress analysis software. Pipe stress analysis care about what the trans
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
If you have worked with Non-Newtonian fluids or low velocity systems in AFT Fathom or AFT Impulse before, then it is likely that you have worked with the Adjusted Turbulent K Factor (ATKF) method before. The ATKF method can be used to adjust K factor data developed for turbulent flow conditions to better predict loss in the laminar f
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
Many users enjoyed my previous blog, "Know Your Pump & System Curves – Part 1" and greatly anticipated the release of Part 2. I'm going to split Part 2 into two separate blogs:Part 2ABrief discussion on why system curves matterPump & System Curves for multi-branched piping systems§How you can have different system curves for the s
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
Sometimes you just get lucky. When I accepted my first engineering job, I only knew that I wanted to work on fluid and thermal engineering. And wow did I ever get to do that! I was fortunate to work on a wide variety of applications in fluid and thermal behavior in cryogenic rocket design. Super cool.But I got lucky in another even more important w
Pump vs. system curves provide an intuitive, graphic way to understand how a pump interacts with a piping system. These can be useful during pump sizing, but can also be informative when your pump must function in a variety of operating conditions. Understanding how changes to your pump or system affect your operating point can be invalua
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
Really? Another blog about features in AFT software?Yes, really. And there is a good reason for it. Because this new feature in AFT Impulse 8 will change your life. Well, it may not change your life, but it will forever change how you do your waterhammer analysis. I am talking about the new multi-scenario graphing and animation feature. This brand,
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
While thinking in terms of pressure is often intuitive for engineers, thinking in terms of head can be more challenging. You may be surprised by the number of cases and questions that come to the support team here at AFT about the basic definition of head, and how it relates to hydraulic modeling. Let's get back to the basics with how head is defi
Valves are often oversimplified during modeling. Understandably, defining a valve with its range of Cv at various open percentages requires much more information than an engineer may have during the initial design phase. However, just like handbook data, heuristics, and correlations, valves too can be reasonably approximated using their common char
As the original developer of AFT Arrow, I consider it as one of my babies. This month it is all grown up and now 25 years old. Back in March we came out with the latest new version AFT Arrow 8 – just as the COVID-19 crisis was emerging.Those who have taken an AFT Arrow seminar which I have taught (at least fifty classes and counting!) have likely h
In this blog, we dive further into pump and system curves for complex systems. The examples include demonstrating system curves changing over time and when multiple system curves exist for a single system with multiple pumps in different locations of the system. Let us re-visit the multi-branched system example from the previo
In the final "Know Your Pump & System Curves" blog series, I am going to discuss the complexities behind pump vs. system curves for systems with pumps in series and parallel configurations. Multiple pumps in series configurations are relatively straight-forward and will be discussed briefly. Operating pumps in parallel configuration involve a f
Non-Newtonian fluids are something almost every elementary school student is familiar with. Mixing cornstarch and water to create a liquid that acts as a solid is an experiment which has captured the attention of children (and adults) for generations. The Discovery Channel show Mythbusters even showed Adam Savage walking across a tub of cornstarch
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
Whew! That was a lot of hard work! As of Monday, April 12, 2021, AFT xStream™ is loaded up and ready to go. And to help you simulate things you have only guessed at before.When we engaged Fred Moody a few years ago to teach a short course at AFT that covered compressible gas and steam transients, we were not certain a commercial quality product cou
Eductors, also known as jet pumps, are a clever way to pump a liquid without any rotating equipment, motors, shafts, or electricity using only the momentum from a supply fluid. However, these interesting pumps can quickly become confusing especially when trying to define them in AFT Fathom. In this blog we will explore exactly how eductors work and
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
You're tasked to perform a transient analysis of a piping system and it would be really helpful if there was a good software tool out there to help you. Well, you've come to the right place because AFT has great solutions! But our first question is, "What kind of transient analysis are you trying to do?" You might s
Veteran AFT software users are familiar with heritage products like AFT SteamCalc and AFT Chempak Viewer. Some have wondered where these products went. Although licenses to these products are no longer sold, these viewers are now integrated into the main applications for each of AFT's main products: AFT Fathom, AFT Arrow, AFT Impulse, and AFT
You've built a model, verified all of the inputs, and now you have results, but how are you going to organize and present these results? Here is a quick guide to some of the customization available in AFT software for displaying output and exporting your data using the Output, Visual Report, and Graph Results windows. The screenshots and examples f
AFT has some good news for engineers who analyze gas transients. AFT is introducing the new AFT Arrow Extended Time Simulation (XTS) Add-on Module to help engineers better calculate compressed gas flow rate changes in piping systems. This time-based simulation software allows engineers who are designing or troubleshooting industrial
In the modern world there are many things we take for granted – especially in first-world countries. Among them are the reliable availability of water and electricity. To our homes. To our workplaces. Just about everywhere.Engineers also take things for granted. One of those is reliable data on the properties of steam and water. But it was not alwa
Pump manufacturers often supply performance curves at a specified speed. While this is useful when the pump only runs at that rated speed, performance changes when the pump has a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD). A VFD changes the shaft speed, which, in turn, changes the performance curves. If the manufacturer only supplied a curve at a sin
AFT uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience and analyze site traffic. By using our website, you consent to our use of cookies. For more information, view the AFT Privacy Policy.