AFT Blog
Previously, I wrote an article that discussed how to account for density differences between a pump manufacturer's test fluid and a system fluid for pumps as well as the importance, https://www.aft.com/blog/entry/2014/12/02/reference-densities-for-pump-operation. Both AFT Fathom and AFT Impulse can take into account these density differences very easily, thus, reducing the efforts for the user. But what about viscosity corrections? Is it important to take this into account as well? How is this accomplished? Does it really make a difference? If the system fluid you are modeling has a HIGHER VISCOSITY (more resistant to flow) than the fluid the pump was tested with,...
You have just received a pump curve from a manufacturer to use in modeling your piping system. However, the pump manufacturer only tested their pump with water while your system fluid has a density that is different than water. These differences need to be accounted for with your flow model as well. This may sound like a bit of a daunting task up front. But there is good news! In AFT Fathom 8 and AFT Impulse 5, there are two very helpful features that will allow you to easily account for these differences with no trouble at all! The pressure rise...
AFT Arrow 4.0 and AFT Fathom 7.0 offer the ability to view text output across multiple scenarios simultaneously, greatly facilitating seeing the differences in results between scenarios. To view multiple scenario output, open Output Control either from the Analysis menu or, when the Output window is active, by clicking the toolbar button, and then selecting the Multi-Scenario tab. Under Display Type select Selected Scenarios and click the Select Scenarios button to open the Select Scenarios window. Select the scenarios you want to see output for and click OK to return to Output Control where the selected scenarios will now appear in...
Groups of pipes and junction can be named for later recall. This is done using the Group Tools on the Edit menu. Groups may have subgroups, and pipes and junctions may be members of multiple groups. To create a group select the pipes and junctions you want in the group, then select Edit/Groups...Create. Specify a name for the group, click OK and the Group Manager will be displayed showing the pipes and junctions in the group. Group Manager can also be used to add or remove pipes and junctions from an existing group, rename a group or delete a group. After...
With the release of AFT Fathom 8 and AFT Impulse 5, there is an incredibly useful new feature available on the Workspace called the "Quick Access Panel". This feature allows you to quickly and easily work with several useful features of the software in one area such as the Scenario Manager, Pipe and Junction Inspection, Workspace Overview Map, the Checklist, and ability to activate the add-on modules. Scenario Manager Access to the full Scenario Manager capabilities exists in the Quick Access Panel. Add new scenarios, clone scenarios, promote scenarios, re-order scenarios, add notes for scenarios, etc. Properties The Properties tab in...
An excellent new feature of AFT Impulse 5 is that it is possible to estimate the pump inertia, specific speed, and four quadrant data sets directly within AFT Impulse 5! No more need to perform external spreadsheet calculations for these estimates. In addition to that, AFT Impulse 5 can use the entered pump and power/efficiency curve to perform these estimates which makes things much easier and efficient!! First step is to enter pump curve data and generate the curve fits as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Pump Performance Curve from Entered Data Next, click on the "Transient" tab of...
AFT Impulse 5 now includes a second cavitation model option: The Discrete Gas cavity Model (DGCM). So, what is it and how is it different from the existing cavitation model? This article will provide a very high level overview. The method of characteristics (the finite difference basis for 1D transient flow modeling) assumes a constant wave speed for each pipe, from time step to time step. There are, however, many things that would cause a change in wave speed; cavitation being one the most significant. A change in wave speed will have a dramatic effect on the pressure spike that occurs...