Innovative Hydraulics is constantly upgrading Visual Hydraulics to meet the needs of its clients as well as incorporate different features that have been identified by users of the software as either improvements or advancements.  If Innovative Hydraulics sees merit in any suggestion and considers it to be an improvement in the software, that feature may be added to the program.  Visual Hydraulics is always a work in progress and constantly being upgraded to meet the needs of our customers.  If you have a suggestion for an improvement or have a feature you would like to see added, please do not hesitate to contact us.

What’s New with this Version?

Manhole and Tee Losses

Manhole Losses

Many individuals that have been using Visual Hydraulics have requested that a manhole loss option be added to the software since manholes are commonly encountered in water and wastewater applications.  Because of this, a manhole option has been added with the newest version.  The user specifies the manhole configuration, size of the inlet and outlet pipes, and flow through the manhole, and Visual Hydraulics determines the head loss through the manhole.  A screenshot of this option is shown below:

Tee Losses

Tee losses are common when two pipes combine at one point to form a single separate pipe.  Visual Hydraulics currently allows users to specify tees on pipe sections, but the request has come numerous times for a more detailed analysis of tee connections.  Because of this, a tee option has been added with the newest version.  A screenshot of this option is shown below:

Pump

Almost every treatment plant has at least one or more sets of pumps for raising the hydraulic head of the flow in the plant and allowing the flow to proceed through the plant by gravity.  Pumps are often encountered somewhere along a hydraulic profile, and provisions have been made with the new version of  Visual Hydraulics to allow the designer to enter a flow vs. head curve for a pump.  The program then takes this data and incorporates a pump curve into the hydraulic profile that adjusts the water level from the upstream side to the downstream side of the pump based on the pump curve provided.  A screenshot of the pump option is shown below:

Channel Drop Starting Condition

The previous version of Visual Hydraulics has an option that allows the user to determine a starting water elevation from a weir, which is a common starting point for the analysis of hydraulic profiles.  We have received numerous requests to have a channel drop as a starting point for a hydraulic profile, since this is also a very common condition encountered in treatment plants.  Channel drops are points at which water flows freely over a non-elevated ledge to a point of lower elevation.  Channel drops are very common at plant outfalls or free drops from pipes.  The program calculates the critical depth of flow over the drop, adds this critical depth to the channel or drop invert, and that will be the starting elevation for that location.  Similar to the starting elevation for a weir, the channel drop option is available when setting the downstream starting elevation for a hydraulic profile:

When the channel drop option is chosen, the user is provided with a form for specifying the characteristics of the drop to be analyzed:

When the appropriate values have been provided on the form, the program will provide the elevation of the flow over the drop as the starting water surface elevation for the hydraulic profile: