AFT Blog
The zoom select tool is a quick way to zoom into an area of interest. If you click the zoom select tool and draw your selection box the selected area will expand to fit the selection box. The drawn selection box will expand to fit your Workspace so that the magnification will will vary according to the size of the selection box and the area of the model selected. Alternatively you can always have zoom select zoom to 100% by clicking the zoom select tool then holding the shift key down while you draw the selection box and release the mouse...
You probably already know that you can quickly view a summary of the input data for any object in your model with the Inspection Window. Simply place the cursor over a pipe or junction and 'right click' your mouse ('left click' for you lefties). Think how handy it would be if you could also see a summary of output information on the Workspace. You can and it's as easily done as viewing the Inspection Window by holding the 'ctl' key down as you right click. P.S. - In case you didn't already know, holding the 'shift' key down while right clicking...
We're not talking about literally adjusting atmospheric pressure here, rather, the ambient reference pressure used in AFT software. The default value is 1 standard atmosphere, but can be changed as desired. Open System Properties either from the Analysis menu or by double clicking the System Properties check box in the status bar, and select the System Data tab. Enter the desired value in the 'Atmospheric Pressure' field and select the appropriate pressure unit in the adjacent unit drop down box. Gauge pressures, NPSHA and cavitation calculations will reflect this specified atmospheric pressure. Note that this does not change the value of...
AFT flow modeling software allows you to easily change system line-up by closing junctions and pipes. How you take a portion of a system out of service affects what calculated results are available in output. Let's take the case where we have a valve, pipe, heat exchanger, pipe and valve in sequence. To close one of the valves we can either open its specifications window, select the Optional tab and check 'Special Condition / Closed' or simply click the valve junction to select it then click the Special Condition button on the toolbar. A red "X" will appear next to the...
AFT software supports ISO and English units and provides a variety of ways to select the units to be used. For example, in the Output window you can change units 'on the fly' for a specific parameter by double clicking an output column header and selecting the desired unit from the Change Units window. To globally change the unit system, go to the Options menu and select Parameter and Units Preferences. Select the Unit Preferences tab, choose the Default Unit System then click the Apply Default Units button. This will both apply the default units for the selected unit system and...
To choose only English or SI units, go to the Options menu, select Parameter & Unit Preferences, then the Unit Preferences tab. Choose the Default Unit System then click the Apply Default Units button. This will set the units to be used both on input and output windows.
A variety of resistance modeling methods are available within AFT software, including constant or variable K values for a wide variety of components, K or Cv for valves. Also, for most components, you may directly model a resistance curve. This is especially handy when you pressure drop (or head loss) vs. flow data from the component manufacturer or test data. Whether you're modeling a valve, spray discharge, orifice or general component junction, you'll find this option on the Loss Model tab of the junction specification window listed as "Resistance Curve". Clicking the button will highlight an 'Enter Curve Data' button, which...