AFT Blog

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 .  AFT Fathom  models pump curves with efficiency data and will determine the margin between the simulated operation of the pump and the actual best efficiency point. Our friends at Empowering Pumps shared an article  titled, " Some Effects of...

The time was almost 30 years ago and it is fair to say I was not quite out of the "still wet behind the ears" stage for an engineer. I had been working in industry for about three years and I was just given a project that would change my career direction and, in fact, my life. The project? I was assigned to evaluate a new concept Pogo suppressor on a cryogenic rocket engine liquid oxygen (LOX) feedline. 

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 just had a performance review and I had casually told my immediate supervisor during the review that I would be interested in learning about waterhammer should the opportunity arise. Thirdly and finally, I had demonstrated a knack for solving tough analytical problems. What that meant is that I was in the enviable position of having my supervisors assign me to any problem that was out-of-the-ordinary and otherwise unusually difficult. The new Pogo suppressor was such a problem.

Since AFT’s beginning in 1993, we have been committed to our mission:   “To provide fluid dynamic expertise through world-class software, dedicated technical support and effective training that enables engineers to design and operate fluid transfer systems that are more efficient, cost effective and reliable.”   Part of this ongoing dedication is providing continuous support and maintenance through our SUM program.   In order to provide you with up-to-date solutions, we are working to ensure that the most current software versions are always utilized.    Effective January 15, 2018, customers with an SUM that has been expired for more than 2...

Last week I saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi. For the third time. If you have not seen it by now you probably do not care about it much, but nevertheless rest assured there are no spoilers here for The Last Jedi. I first saw it on opening day in December. Usually I would only see a Star Wars movie twice in theaters. But a circumstance came up with one of my sons and I ended up seeing it a third time. I am definitely a fan of Star Wars.

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?

What comes to mind when you hear the expression “planning for failure”? For some, it carries the negative connotation that failure is the direct result of a design – intentionally or otherwise. Benjamin Franklin said; “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” and I believe he would agree that any good plan addresses potential failures. In fact, not "planning for failure" as an element of a system is essentially failing to plan and therefore inviting unexpected and unmitigated failures. Life Cycle Cost One of the many reasons to avoid failure when possible is to reduce cost. When a...

AFT Fathom and AFT Arrow both have the powerful ability to model heat transfer in pipes and heat exchangers , allowing you to represent these critical features of temperature-sensitive systems in your hydraulic model. However, without being able to see the affect heat transfer has on an entire system these features would be of limited usefulness. One of the most powerful aspects of AFT’s implementation of heat transfer is that energy is balanced across the entire system. For example, you can observe changes in pump or control valve operation when adding heat transfer to a remote part of a system. Looking...

The AFT Platinum Pipe Award recognizes excellence in piping and ducting system modeling using AFT software . Contest details and entry form can be found at  http://www.aft.com/platinum-pipe-award . Congratulations to our winners for 2018! Correlation to Test/Field Data David Lozano and Roger Bosch from Suez in Spain - Two types of check valves were installed on a water pipeline in Barcelona, Spain to determine surge response. AFT Impulse and high frequency measured data matched very well during pump trip scenarios. Use of Features and Model Creativity Rory Heim from Swanson Rink Inc. in the United States - A data center condenser water distribution piping...