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AFT Impulse™ 10

Waterhammer & Surge Analysis Software

AFT Impulse is a powerful dynamic simulation and analysis software used to calculate pressure surge transients in liquid piping systems caused by waterhammer. 

  • Easily model a wide range of system components and surge devices
  • Understand the transient response of your system, knowing how valves, pumps and other components will dynamically interact with each other.
  • Evaluate the effect of pressure surges due to vapor cavity collapse by modeling vapor cavitation and liquid column separation.
  • Validate the design of safety features to produce safer, more economical pipe systems.

Design and Operate Your System with Greater Safety and Reliability

  • Avoid potentially catastrophic effects of waterhammer and other undesirable system transients
  • Prevent transient pressure issues by properly sizing and locating surge equipment, such as surge tanks, gas accumulators, and relief valves
  • Initiate transients based on time or events in the system
  • Reduce surge magnitudes by adjusting system component transients such as valve closure time or pump speed
  • Easily animate and visualize a waterhammer event to improve fundamental understanding
  • Calculate transient unbalanced forces and define forces sets as location pairs or single points
  • Specify design alerts that automatically highlight output values that are out of range for flow, peak pressure, velocity, and more
  • Compile libraries of your frequently used piping components and quickly select them from a drop down list

AFT Impulse is designed for systems containing the below fluids and more:

Water

Petroleum and refined products

Chemicals

Cryogens & Refrigerants

Typical Applications
  • Ensure pressure extremes are within design allowables
  • Size and locate surge suppression equipment
  • Determine imbalanced pipe forces and sizing structural supports
  • Troubleshoot existing systems to determine the cause of operational problems
  • Evaluate the effect of pressure surges due to vapor cavity collapse
Image

How does it work?

AFT Impulse incorporates a steady-state solver providing seamless transfer of initial conditions to the transient analysis. Steady-state solutions are determined using a modified Newton-Raphson matrix iteration. The traditional Method of Characteristics is used to solve the transient mass and momentum equations of pipe flow.

Primary Features of AFT Impulse

  • Advanced transient solver based on Method of Characteristics
  • Built-in steady-state solver to automatically initialize waterhammer transient
  • Detailed pump inertial modeling for trips and start-ups including state-of-the-art, four quadrant methods
  • Built-in library of fluids and fittings
  • Models liquid column separation caused by transient cavitation
  • Extensive cavitation modeling
  • Scenario Manager to track all design variants and operational possibilities in a single model file with data linkage
  • Comprehensive relief valve modeling
  • Integrated graphing and reporting
  • Animation features to dynamically graph transients
  • Create video files from animations to share your results
  • Generates force imbalance files that can be automatically read into CAESAR II ® and TRIFLEX ® pipe stress dynamic models
  • Built-in intelligence to guide you in building better models
Primary Features of AFT Impulse 7

Modeling Features

Pumps

  • Implements the Suter method for inertial modeling of both the motor and entrained fluid
  • Four-quadrant modeling allows for reversed-flow and reversed-speed operations
  • Set startup and trip/shut down for a specific time or based on a system event
  • Model centrifugal and positive displacement pumps
  • Model pumps with variable speed controllers

Valves

  • Model flow control and pressure control valves
  • Model relief valves that are in-line with the pipeline or that relieve to atmosphere
  • Change control valve set points over time

Surge Suppression

  • Identify and test surge suppression devices and where they are best placed in your system
  • Model gas accumulators and surge tanks to minimize pressure spikes
  • Model vacuum breaker valves as either 2-stage or 3-stage and include air release capability
  • Model relief valves to protect sensitive equipment

Scenario Manager

  • Evaluate “What-if” cases by comparing several scenarios
  • Make data changes in one scenario which can be passed down to dependent scenarios
  • Easily develop and switch between different operating conditions or configurations (for example: three pumps running vs. two pumps running with one pump tripped)
  • Evaluate new or expanding system configurations
Modeling Features

Reporting Features

Output Window

  • Display reporting sections all at once or individually
  • Select output format, units and displayed items through Output Control
  • Make changes to the format without re-running the analysis
  • Export results to a file or copy/paste into Excel for additional reporting options

Visual Results

  • Displays selected input or output parameters with your model schematic
  • Vary pipe color in the model according to parameters you define based on pressure, temperature, flow and many others to see results in the context of your system
  • Clearly illustrate individual lines in the context of your entire system using color mapping

Graph Results

  • Graph a wide variety of output data such as plot flows, pressures, velocities, and more vs. time
  • Supports both instantaneous flow and integrated flow plots
  • Customize graph formats
  • Animated graphs dynamically display results for one or multiple flow paths

Viewer

Share your models with anyone who may not need a full version of AFT Impulse. The Viewer is a free application that lets you:

  • Open a model and view any of the windows (Workspace, Model Data, Output, Visual Report, Graph Results)
  • Run the model and graph output data
  • Print and export data
  • You cannot edit an existing model or create new models with the Viewer.
Reporting Features
“(The AFT Impulse sub-model) enables us to closely simulate
real process control logic and shutdown conditions.”
Jianmin (James) Yang, Access Pipeline Inc.

“By using the 3D modeling views with the Visual Reports tools and capabilities the software has, it helps in presenting the results in a well-summarized approach.”

Denis Escobar, CB&I
“Manual calculations on a complex piping system would be very difficult. Using AFT Impulse relieves designers of this burden and allows any number of ‘what if’ scenarios to be analyzed.” 
William Allred, RS&H

“Being able to roll over the model [into AFT Impulse] from Fathom and edit as necessary is a great time saver. Then setting up all of the different scenarios and being able to take the results and produce graphs of the transient system, all within one program saves time and effort.” 

Dalton Sivils, Kiewit
“The ability to calculate transient response and the flexibility to enter different valve coefficient vs. time values were crucial in allowing URS to consider multiple solutions that would reduce risk [for both Colonial and BP].” 
Steve Schade, URS
AFT Impulse Add-On Modules
With these software extension tools, you can quickly and efficiently
complete projects. Modules can work individually or together within
AFT Impulse and with your existing AFT Impulse models.

Settling Slurry

The only commercial software solution that can model both non-settling and settling slurry waterhammer effects.

Pulsation Frequency Analysis

Helps identify pipe acoustical frequencies to avoid resonance from excitation, especially in systems with positive displacement pumps.

Free Viewer

Viewers allow you to share
your models with others

Product FAQ's

View a full list of AFT Impulse
questions and answers

System Requirements

Ensure your software works
properly with your system

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