You are currently reviewing an older revision of this page.
Flow regulating structures, also known as control structures, are very common in storm water drainage systems and in combined sewer systems. The most common control structures are weirs and orifices.
In SewerGEMS, CivilStorm, and SewerCAD, you can attach a control structure on a conduit as either a Start or Stop Control Structure, with the exception of the Explicit solver, which only supports a Start Control Structure. A control structure can also have a flap gate which allows flow to travel in only one direction. Hydraulically these controls are treated as internal boundaries where the empirical weir or orifice equations are used. These equations will replace the momentum equations in the Saint Venant equations (for the Implicit solver). The continuity equation is simply the flow is the same between the upstream face and the downstream face of the internal boundary (control structure).
Control structures are commonly weirs or orifices. Weirs are classified by their flow-diversion purpose as either a side weir or a transverse weir. Side weirs or overflow weirs are used to divert extra high flows to overflow waterways. Typically a side weir is a weir parallel to the main sewer pipe and with enough high crest elevation to prevent any discharge of dry-weather flow, but it is also low and long enough to discharge required excess of wet weather flow. Transverse weirs or inline weirs are typically placed directly cross the sewer pipe, perpendicular to the sewer flow and act like a small dam, to direct the low flow, usually dry weather flow, to diversion pipe such as dry weather flow interceptor sewer pipe. Weirs are also classified by their cross section shapes, such as rectangular, V-notch, trapezoidal, and irregular.
Orifices are usually circular or rectangular openings in the wall of a tank or in a plate normal to the axis of the conduit. Orifices can be oriented in a variety of ways, such as side outlet or bottom outlet. Orifices are treated the same as weirs to be internal boundaries except that the flow equation of an orifice is used to calculate the discharge.
Depth-Flow control structure allows you to enter a table to define what the flow will be at a given depth in the conduit. This can be useful if you want a greater level of control on the output of the control structure rather than relying on the weir or orifice equation.
The Functional control structure lets you select a structure type, which defines the equation that is used in the calculation of the flow. You will also define a set of coefficients and exponents to aid in the calculation.
The Implicit (Dynamic Wave) solver can model conduits with start and/or stop control structure.
The Explicit (SWMM) solver can model conduits with a start control structure.
The GVF-Convex solver can model conduits with a start and/or stop control structure.
The GVF-Rational solver can not model conduit control structures.
Using SWMM Control Sets in SewerGEMS and CivilStorm
Modeling gate valve opening and closing based on pressure transducer reading
Differences between solvers: GVF-Convex vs. GVF-Rational vs. Implicit vs. Explicit (SWMM)
Modeling a weir within a catch basin or manhole
User notification: "Conduit has a Stop control structure, but this is not supported next to the connected outfall element."