AFT Blog

The demand for our AFT Impulse waterhammer modeling software and associated training seminars has been growing steeply in recent years. I frequently travel internationally to teach  seminars on waterhammer. When I do I make it a point to find out what the engineer's local language calls waterhammer.

Relief valves can be modeled in four different configurations with AFT products and they are shown in the figure below.  The required inputs for modeling a relief valve are the valve type, cracking pressure, valve loss model, and the exit pressure in the case of relieving to the atmosphere.    There are three types of relief models available:  Internal (Cases 1 & 1a), Relief Valve at Exit (Case 2), and Inline Exit (Case 3).  In cases 1 and 1a, the relief valve is relieving into vent piping downstream of the valve.  Note that there is initially no flow in the pipe downstream...

In 2010 the Walt Disney Company created a mind-boggling new night time show called World of Color at the Disney California Adventure theme park which is part of Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. For anyone who ever doubted that flow can be fun, you need to see this show!

AFT Fathom 8 began shipping last week. And we are excited. The release of AFT Fathom 8 coincided with the unveiling of our new logo, new website and newly branded material. It is not an understatement to say this represents a new era for AFT.

We at Applied Flow Technology are really excited about the new version of AFT Fathom 8 coming in September. Once our customers get their hands on it we are confident they will be equally excited. This version represents the most significant upgrade since AFT Fathom 4 was released in year 2000. It will further establish AFT Fathom as the world's leading pipe flow modeling tool.The prices are increasing soon so if you are planning to order new AFT Fathom licenses or SUM annual support do not delay. Read further for more details.The effort to move AFT Fathom from version 7 to 8 turned...

Many times when modeling heat transfer using heat exchangers in AFT Fathom, significant temperature differences across the heat exchanger can have a major impact on the accuracy of the heat transfer results.  This can especially become a problem with non-linear heat capacity relationships.  The heat transfer across the heat exchanger in the model below is calculated from the temperature difference across the heat exchanger and the arithmetic average heat capacity. One way to enhance the accuracy of the heat transfer results is to model the single heat exchanger junction, J2, as multiple heat exchangers as shown in the below model. The...

This article is the second in a two-part series on the future of engineering. Part 1 was discussed last month in The Future of Engineering - Part 1.

I was teaching a training class a few months ago at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and had the good fortune to get a guided tour of the space center by "Rob," one of the attendees in my class. I wrote about this tour in  My 50th Anniversary Visit to the Site of John Glenn’s First American Flight Into Space.