In addition to Visual Hydraulic's advanced modeling capabilities, many special features are offered that allow the designer to analyze a variety of unique hydraulic scenarios. 

Special loss feature

Many hydraulic features don't have standard equations or methodologies to effectively predict their hydraulic behavior.  Specialized equipment (grit units, unique fittings and valves, advanced treatment technologies, etc) are common in treatment plant applications.  Hydraulic data is usually available for specialized equipment from their vendors.  This data can be imported into Visual Hydraulics and hydraulic equations can be generated for these unique features:

Flow split analysis tool

One of the more complex problems in flow analysis is analyzing how flow is distributed between two or more dissimilar pipes or weirs.  This is a very common problem in treatment plant applications, especially older plants or plants that have been retrofitted with additional units.  A common mistake that is made during a hydraulic analysis is considering the flow to be split equally between multiple units, even if the distribution weirs or pipes are not equal.  Consider the following scenarios:

In the pipe flow split above, more flow will go to Tank II because the head loss in the distribution pipe will be less than the head loss in the pipes conveying flow to tanks I and III.  In the weir flow split above, more flow will go over weir III since the head over the weirs must be the same.  Visual Hydraulic's flow split analysis tool provides the designer with the ability to determine how the flow will be distributed through unequal flow split systems:

Manifold/Diffuser Tool

Manifolds and diffusers are often found in treatment plants where the flow is to be distributed over a wide area.  Common examples are ocean outfalls (diffusers) and trickling filter distributors.  The hydraulic analysis of multiple discharge distributors is one of the more unique modeling problems facing designers.  The entire system must be designed so that the flow is distributed among the discharge points as evenly as possible, all while maintaining a reasonable head loss for the entire system.  Visual Hydraulic's manifold/diffuser tool can perform these calculations for complex discharge systems in a matter of seconds.  Simply specify the characteristics of the diffuser, discharge points, and flow - and check the results.