Hi
In the case that one is modeling a water-distribution system for say an island but is restricted by the amount of pipes that the license allows one to model. How does one then prioritize in order to decide which pipes to model and which not to model.
Unless you're working with a tiny island where all your proposed improvements are only wroth say $10K, you are probably looking at spending a few million dollars for improvements. So eth upgrade cost should be small compared with project costs. Plus, it will save labor costs for your modeler to skeletonize the model. The cost of upgrading may pay for itself.
But there are situations where you can skeletonize a model and still have a good model. This is often the case where you have runs of say about 5 pipe in series with no branches. Here you can use our "series pipe merging" in skelebrator to combine those pipes into one. Even with your small pipe version, you can use skelebrator to trim down you model and see if if performs satisfactorily.
The key is that you don't want to remove anything from the model that could be important for your study.
Form more details, see our wiki
communities.bentley.com/.../how-can-i-reduce-the-number-of-pipes-in-my-model
Answer Verified By: Christen Crique
Thank you Tom. I have another question. Say my WaterCAD licence allows me to model up to 2000 pipes and the system i want to model consist of lets say 8000 pipes. Could I create a layout of all 8000 pipes and use the skelebrator to get it down to 2000 or less or would WaterCAD not even allow me to create the layout with 8000 pipes since that's more then 2000?
Hello Jesse I have another question lets say I have a WaterCAD licence that allows me to model up to 2000 pipes. Could I create multiple models of different sections of the water distribution system and simulate the sections separately or am I limited to only one model with a limit of 2000 pipes?
I would assume that it's possible since n you stated that the license check is only done on compute.
Yes, the check on the number of pipes is only done when you compute the model and is tracked at the currently open model. So, you can certainly have multiple models each of which has less than 2000 pipes. However, you may not be able to separate the models without impacting the hydraulics, as a hydraulic change in one part of the model can potentially impact the hydraulics on the other side. Are these separate sections disconnected, or does water flow between them? (in which case you would need to approximate the hydraulics at the connection points such as with the method described here).
I would consider Tom's point about the cost of upgrading to a higher pipe limit versus the much higher cost of a typical project. If you're interested in upgrading, you can contact sales here, or let us know and we can put you in touch with your Bentley sales representative.
I believe the academic license for WaterCAD is 2000 pipes - you are not using an academic license, right?
Regards,
Jesse DringoliTechnical Support Manager, OpenFlowsBentley Communities Site AdministratorBentley Systems, Inc.
I found out that i can not use skelebrator since i only have WaterCAD to work with and not Watergems. I would therefore like to know if there are good tutorials and or literature out there that explain how to simplify the model without the use of skelebrator. And which ones (tutorials / literature) do you guys recommend.
Hello Chisten,
Jesse Dringoli said:Note however that Skelebrator is included with a WaterGEMS license, so if you have WaterCAD and do not also have access to WaterGEMS, you would need to upgrade to WaterGEMS in order to have access to use Skelebrator, as mentioned in this article: How can I reduce the number of pipes in my model?
If you do not have access to WaterGEMS, then you can still apply the principles of series pipe and parallel pipe merging manually. If pipes are in series of different diameters, you would have to consider equivalent diameter and if they are in parallel then headloss will come into picture.
You can refer the Advanced Water Distribution and Management publication to look into the theory of series and parallel pipe merging. Visit the Bentley Education website here for details.
Yashodhan Joshi