FlowDesigner Features
FlowDesigner provides a comprehensive suite of features engineered to optimize your fluid system design process, delivering powerful modeling capabilities through an intuitive, user-friendly interface.
Core Modeling Capabilities
Advanced Computational Engine
Built on four decades of industry expertise, FlowDesigner's sophisticated calculation engine leverages state-of-the-art analytical capabilities and implements widely recognized, industry-standard engineering principles to deliver precise solutions for flow systems.
User Interface and Workflow
User-Friendly Modeling
Create models efficiently with intuitive software operations:
Click-and-drag operations: Build models quickly with simple drag-and-drop functionality
Organized input panel: Clear visual guidance shows what data needs to be defined
Automatic pipe handling: The system automatically handles pipe splits and places bends and tees at connections
Real-time validation: Immediate feedback ensures connections are correctly made
Batch editing: Update multiple similar components simultaneously
Dual Modeling Perspectives
Switch seamlessly between 2D (orthographic) and 3D (isometric) views to visualize complex system layouts from different perspectives. Build your models in the layout that best suits your workflow and switch views as needed.
DataBank and Data Management
Comprehensive and Expandable DataBank
Save time and reduce input errors with FlowDesigner's extensive built-in database:
Fluid Properties:
Comprehensive fluid property libraries from DIPPR, IAPWS, KDB, CHEDL
Common industry fluids with validated thermodynamic data
Equipment Data:
Standard pipe dimensions and specifications
Manufacturer pump performance data
Resistance characteristics for control valves and inline equipment
Custom Data:
Easily add your own custom data entries (currently available for fluids, pumps, and control valves)
Extend the database to match your specific requirements
The DataBank minimizes manual data entry and reduces the risk of input errors.
Results Visualization
Extensive Results Views
Review calculation results in the way that best supports your analysis:
Flowsheet tables and charts: View results directly on the flowsheet and place them near relevant components
Customizable displays: Configure how and where tables and charts are displayed for easier analysis
Flowsheet indicators: Review results across the entire network at a glance
Comprehensive tables: Examine detailed results in an organized tabular format
Choose the visualization method that helps you understand your system most effectively.
Advanced Features
FlowDesigner includes powerful, specialized tools for complex analysis and equipment selection tasks.
SmartSelect
Equipment match-maker in seconds
SmartSelect quickly identifies and applies suitable pipe or equipment specifications to your model based on your design criteria.
What SmartSelect Does
Selects standard pipe sizes that meet your flow and pressure drop requirements
Identifies suitable pump performance specifications from manufacturer data
Recommends control valve sizes and types based on flow conditions
For components other than pipes, the selection process runs on nodes with case modes set to "Design." The software calculates specifications and matches them against available manufacturer data.
After solving the hydraulic model, SmartSelect applies your criteria to narrow down available options in the database.
Pipe
Economic Velocity Velocity Hydraulic Gradient
Generaux (Economic Velocity) Peters (Economic Velocity)
Centrifugal Pump
Efficiency
Selection Basis Pump Type Selection Tolerance
Control Valves
Min – Max Opening Range
Valve Style Valve to Pipe Size Ratio
SmartSelect eliminates manual equipment selection calculations and ensures you're working with standard, commercially available products.
Scenario Management
Answer what-ifs seamlessly
Manage multiple "what-if" cases within a single file to compare operating conditions and identify controlling design cases.
What Scenario Management Does
Creates multiple hydraulic models as scenarios in one project
Compares scenarios to identify system-size controlling conditions
Detects potential operational or mechanical issues
Eliminates the need to manage multiple separate files
Understanding Scenarios
In FlowDesigner, a scenario is a hydraulic model representing an event or operating condition in your fluid system. Scenarios use a parent-child relationship structure:
Base model: The original hydraulic model at the top of the scenario list (cannot be renamed)
Parent scenario: A scenario from which other scenarios are derived
Child scenario: Inherits input definitions from its parent; any changes in the parent automatically update the child
Sibling scenarios: Multiple children derived from the same parent (denoted by the same highlight color)
Key behavior:
Changes in a parent or base model automatically update all child scenarios
Changes in a child scenario do NOT affect the parent, base, or sibling models
When you modify a specific input in a child, that input will no longer inherit future changes from the parent
A sync icon appears when changes have been made to a parent, indicating child scenarios need recalculation
Scenario Management lets you test multiple design cases in one project, eliminating excessive files while keeping design changes consistent.
Variation Analysis
Understand trends to identify next steps
Use variation analysis to study how changes in input data affect system performance through automated sensitivity studies.
What Variation Analysis Does
Runs multiple calculations at once by varying a single input parameter
Performs sensitivity analyses without creating new models or scenarios
Generates trends to guide practical design and operational decisions
Changes one numerical input definition over a specified range with defined calculation steps
Variation analysis lets you quickly explore design alternatives and optimize system performance without the need for manual trial-and-error calculations.
Transient Analysis (COMING SOON)
Ensure the safety and protection of fluid transport assets
FlowDesigner's transient solver (Coming Soon) is designed to:
Study dynamic events such as water hammer that can cause damaging conditions
Help identify protective solutions for your system
Run calculation-intensive transient models efficiently using cloud computing, without requiring advanced local hardware
FlowDesigner combines powerful hydraulic modeling capabilities with an intuitive interface and advanced analysis tools, enabling you to design efficient, safe fluid systems with confidence.
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