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Docs » 13. Frequently Asked Ques ons  Edit on GitHub

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduc on

2. Quick Start Tutorial

13. Frequently Asked Questions
3. The Network Model
13.1. FAQs
4. EPANET’s Workspace

5. Working with Projects How can I import a pipe network created with a CAD or GIS program?
6. Working with Objects
See Sec on 11.4.
7. Working with the Map

8. Analyzing a Network How do I model a groundwater pumping well?

9. Viewing Results

10. Prin ng and Copying Represent the well as a reservoir whose head equals the piezometric head of the groundwater
aquifer. Then connect your pump from the reservoir to the rest of the network. You can add
11. Impor ng and Expor ng
piping ahead of the pump to represent local losses around the pump.
12. Analysis Algorithms

 13. Frequently Asked Ques ons If you know the rate at which the well is pumping then an alternate approach is to replace the
13.1. FAQs well – pump combina on with a junc on assigned a nega ve demand equal to the pumping
rate. A me pa ern can also be assigned to the demand if the pumping rate varies over me.
14. References

APPENDIX How do I size a pump to meet a specific flow?

Units of Measurement
Set the status of the pump to CLOSED. At the suc on (inlet) node of the pump add a demand
Error Messages equal to the required pump flow and place a nega ve demand of the same magnitude at the latest
Command Line EPANET discharge node. A er analyzing the network, the difference in heads between the two nodes is
what the pump needs to deliver.

How do I size a pump to meet a specific head?

Replace the pump with a Pressure Breaker Valve oriented in the opposite direc on. Convert the
design head to an equivalent pressure and use this as the se ng for the valve. A er running the
analysis the flow through the valve becomes the pump’s design flow.

How can I enforce a specific schedule of source flows into the network from my reservoirs?

Replace the reservoirs with junc ons that have nega ve demands equal to the schedule of
source flows. (Make sure there is at least one tank or remaining reservoir in the network,
otherwise EPANET will issue an error message.)

How can I analyze fire flow condi ons for a par cular junc on node?

To determine the maximum pressure available at a node when the flow demanded must be
increased to suppress a fire, add the fire flow to the node’s normal demand, run the analysis, and
note the resul ng pressure at the node.

To determine the maximum flow available at a par cular pressure, set the emi er coefficient at
the node to a large value (e.g., 100 mes the maximum expected flow) and add the required
pressure head (2.3 mes the pressure in psi) to the node’s eleva on. A er running the analysis,
the available fire flow equals the actual demand reported for the node minus any consumer
demand that was assigned to it.

How do I model a reduced pressure backflow preven on valve?

Use a General Purpose Valve with a headloss curve that shows increasing head loss with
decreasing flow. Informa on from the valve manufacturer should provide help in construc ng
the curve. Place a check valve (i.e., a short length of pipe whose status is set to CV) in series
with the valve to restrict the direc on of flow.

How do I model a pressurized pneuma c tank?

If the pressure varia on in the tank is negligible, use a very short, very wide cylindrical tank
whose eleva on is set close to the pressure head ra ng of the tank. Select the tank dimensions
so that changes in volume produce only very small changes in water surface eleva on.

If the pressure head developed in the tank ranges between H 1 and H 2, with corresponding
volumes V 1 and V 2, then use a cylindrical tank whose cross-sec onal area equals
(V 2 − V 1)/(H 2 − H 1).

How do I model a tank inlet that discharges above the water surface?

Use the configura on shown below (Fig. 13.1):

Fig. 13.1 Example of Tank Inlet Discharging above Water Surface.

The tank’s inlet consists of a Pressure Sustaining Valve followed by a short length of large
diameter pipe. The pressure se ng of the PSV should be 0, and the eleva on of its end nodes
should equal the eleva on at which the true pipe connects to the tank. Use a Check Valve on
the tank’s outlet line to prevent reverse flow through it.

How do I determine ini al condi ons for a water quality analysis?

If simula ng exis ng condi ons monitored as part of a calibra on study, assign measured values
to the nodes where measurements were made and interpolate (by eye) to assign values to other
loca ons. It is highly recommended that storage tanks and source loca ons be included in the
set of loca ons where measurements are made.

To simulate future condi ons start with arbitrary ini al values (except at the tanks) and run the
analysis for a number of repea ng demand pa ern cycles so that the

water quality results begin to repeat in a periodic fashion as well. The number of such cycles can
be reduced if good ini al es mates are made for the water quality in the tanks. For example, if
modeling water age the ini al value could be set to the tank’s average residence me, which is
approximately equal to the frac on of its volume it exchanges each day.

How do I es mate values of the bulk and wall reac on coefficients?

Bulk reac on coefficients can be es mated by performing a bo le test in the laboratory (see
Bulk Reac ons in Sec on 3.4). Wall reac on rates cannot be measured directly. They must be
back-fi ed against calibra on data collected from field studies (e.g., using trial and error to
determine coefficient values that produce simula on results that best match field observa ons).
Plas c pipe and rela vely new lined iron pipe are not expected to exert any significant wall
demand for disinfectants such as chlorine and chloramines.

How can I model a chlorine booster sta on?

Place the booster sta on at a junc on node with zero or posi ve demand or at a tank. Select
the node into the Property Editor and click the ellipsis bu on in the Source Quality field to
launch the Source Quality Editor. In the editor, set Source Type to SETPOINT BOOSTER and set
Source Quality to the chlorine concentra on that water leaving the node will be boosted to.
Alterna vely, if the booster sta on will use flow-paced addi on of chlorine then set Source
Type to FLOW PACED BOOSTER and Source Quality to the concentra on that will be added to
the concentra on leaving the node. Specify a me pa ern ID in the Time Pa ern field if you
wish to vary the boos ng level with me.

How would I model trihalomethanes (THM) growth in a network?

THM growth can be modeled using first-order satura on kine cs. Select Op ons – Reac ons
from the Data Browser. Set the bulk reac on order to 1 and the limi ng concentra on to the
maximum THM level that the water can produce, given a long enough holding me. Set the bulk
reac on coefficient to a posi ve number reflec ve of the rate of THM produc on (e.g., 0.7
divided by the THM doubling me). Es mates of the reac on coefficient and the limi ng
concentra on can be obtained from laboratory tes ng. The reac on coefficient will increase
with increasing water temperature. Ini al concentra ons at all network nodes should at least
equal the THM concentra on entering the network from its source node.

Can I use a text editor to edit network proper es while running EPANET?

Save the network to file as ASCII text (select File >> Export >> Network). With EPANET s ll
running, start up your text editor program. Load the saved network file into the editor. When
you are done edi ng the file, save it to disk. Switch to EPANET and read in the file (select File
>> Open). You can keep switching back and forth between the editor program and EPANET, as
more changes are needed. Just remember to save the file a er modifying it in the editor, and re-
open it again a er switching to EPANET. If you use a word processor (such as Word) or a
spreadsheet as your editor, remember to save the file as plain ASCII text.

Can I run mul ple EPANET sessions at the same me?

Yes. This could prove useful in making side-by-side comparisons of two or more different design
or opera ng scenarios.

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