Modifying and using Engineering Library Data

Product(s): WaterGEMS, WaterCAD, HAMMER, SewerGEMS, CivilStorm, StormCAD, SewerCAD, PondPack
Version(s): CONNECT Edition, V8i
Area: Layout and Data Input

Problem

How are Engineering Libraries used to add, modify and utilize standard hydraulic model information? For example adding and using a standard HDPE material, establishing standard conduit sizes, etc.

Solution

Engineering Libraries are used to store commonly used information such as inlet sizes, material, conduit sizes, etc. You can then import your standards from these libraries for use in future projects. You can also utilize Seed files as a starting point for new projects, where all the desired standards are already included.

Adding new library data

This example uses the Material library in WaterCAD/WaterGEMS, but the concept is the same for other library types.

1) Go to Components > Catalog > Catalog > Engineering Libraries (or Components > Engineering Libraries for V8i) and click the plus sign next to "Material Libraries."
2) Right click MaterialLibrary.xml and choose "add item" - a new material entry will appear at the bottom of the list. *If you only see the option to "Save as" or "Remove" you should try the following to resolve the issue using the steps found HERE. If you do not have admin permissions to the default material library location, you can make a copy of the XML file, paste into a location on your local drive that you do have permissions to, then add that XML file to the Engineering Library.
3) Right click this new material entry, choose rename and enter the name (such as 'HDPE').
4) On the right side, enter the friction coefficients, Young's Modulus and Poisson's ratio for your new material, then click close. (Note: The Young's Modulus and Poisson's ratio are only necessary if you need to use the automatic wave speed calculator tool in HAMMER, under Tools > Wave Speed Calculator.)

There may be a case where you want to create a new engineering library file (.XML) instead of using an existing. You may also need to create an XML file because one does not exist, such as for the pump definition library. To create a new library file, you can select the New button and choose "New Library". Give the file a name and click Save to create the file. You can then use the steps above to add data to the new library file. 

Note: If you add a new dimensionless storm to the Engineering Library, you will have the option to use Time or Dimensionless Time. If you use Dimensionless Time, make sure that the interval will divide into 1.0. You may need to adjust the precision for the cell to include enough values after the decimal place to accommodate this. 

Editing existing library data

Again, this example uses the material library, but the concept is the same for other libraries.

1) Go to Components > Catalog > Catalog > Engineering Libraries (or Components > Engineering Libraries for V8i) and click the plus sign next to "Material Libraries."
2) Click the plus sign next to the .xml file associated with your engineering library (such as MaterialLibrary.xml). 
3) Click the item you would like to edit, change the value(s) on the right side, then click the Close button.

For the Conduit Catalogs in Select Series 4 and up the procedure is a little bit different. The first two step remain the same, but the last should be done as shown below.

3) Click on the item you would like to edit (it will be highlighted in blue) and this should bring up the properties for it on the right side of the window. 

4) Locate where it says "Catalog Conduit Class Sizes" and click in the cell to the right of that where it says <Collection>. When you do this an ellipsis button will show up. Click that button to access different sizes in that library. Now you can make your changes. 

Using standard information from your library

Once you have established your standards in the engineering libraries, this information is stored in the respective XML file and can be imported from in all projects on that computer.

Engineering library information can be accessed from a few different places. Below are examples of the main two ways:

Material and Liquid 

Newly added entries to the Material library in WaterGEMS, WaterCAD and HAMMER can be used directly in the pipe properties. Click the "..." button next to the Material field and you will be able to select from the Material library. To use one of your materials as the default for newly laid out pipes, select it in the pipe Prototype. For custom liquids, they can be selected directly from the Calculation Options properties.

Conduits, Inlets, Gutters, Storm Events, Minor Loss Coefficients, Pump Definitions, Unit Demands, etc

Some Engineering Library information must first be imported into the respective catalog in a model before it can be used. For example you may have a wide range of pipe sizes in your conduit catalog engineering library, but you might want to only import certain sizes into a particular model's Conduit Catalog - the ones you intend to use in that model.

1) Open the respective catalog (for example Conduit Catalog, Pump definition manager, etc)

2) Click the purple book icon at the top and choose "Import from Library"

3) Navigate to the desired library entry, click the check box (if applicable) and choose "select"

Sharing Engineering Library Data

Since standard model component data is stored in Engineering Libraries, it can be desirable to share this information with multiple users / computers.  

See more here: Sharing Engineering Library data with multiple users

Establishing Engineering Standards

Starting with the CONNECT Edition, you can also establish standard values and ranges for certain data input in your models. If a model element uses something outside of the defined range, it will trigger an alert. See: Using Engineering Standards

See Also

Engineering libraries show up with a lock next to them

Transferring custom Engineering Library files from one computer to another

How are patterns imported and exported through the engineering libraries?

Reusing storm events across multiple projects and computers

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