I'm fairly new to StormCAD and I'm looking to get some feedback on the best way to model the situation illustrated below:
My specific questions/issues are as follows:
1. What element should I use for the headwall upstream of the grass channel? I don't think an outlet will allow me the connectivity I need. A manhole seems to work hydraulically, but designating a headwall as a "manhole" doesn't seem right.
2. I had originally tried modeling the bioretention area as a pond without a control structure. According to what I've read, this should force it to function as a manhole. Unfortunately, this caused all kinds of problems with my auto-design. Has anyone had success using auto-design with a pond element included in their model?
Also, any other general advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Matt
Hi Matt,
We will have a dedicated headwall element in the next release. In the meantime I would probable use a 'cross section' element where you have the headwall on your diagram.
When you say you had problems with the automatic design, what do you mean? StormCAD will only try and design the pipes (not the channel) by design. Were there other issues that you noticed?
Regards,
Mal
Mal, thanks for the feedback - I'll use the cross section element.
Whenever I included a pond in the model and try to run design, one of two things happen. Either I get an error saying "Scenario failed to compute. Review your data and try again." or it appears to run correctly, but sets the invert of the structure immediately downstream of the pond to something extremely low (like -7 for example). Is there a way that I can send you the files that this is happening in?
Also, is it possible to create catchment areas from MicroStation shapes?
Hello Matt,
Yes, you can zip up the .stsw and .stsw.mdb files and provide them for review. There are two options for sharing your model files on BE Communities. If you would like the files to be visible to other members, you can upload them as an attachment using the ‘Advanced Reply editor’ before posting. If your data is confidential, you can follow the instructions in the link below to send it to us via Bentley Sharefile. Files uploaded to Sharefile can only be viewed by Bentley.
http://communities.bentley.com/content/bentleysecurefilesupload.aspx
An alternative would be to end the system just upstream of the pond, if you are only using Rational Method automated design for the upstream conduits:
Jesse DringoliTechnical Support Manager, OpenFlowsBentley Communities Site AdministratorBentley Systems, Inc.
Re: "Also, is it possible to create catchment areas from MicroStation shapes?"
Yes, if they are drawn as polygons on a certain level, you can use the Modelbuilder tool in StormCAD to import them as catchments. You'll need to save a copy of the design file in DXF form first. You can read a bit more about Modelbuilder in the Help and in the below Technote.
communities.bentley.com/.../3070.aspx