Any design project for a water transport or distribution network requires hydraulic calculations to determine the need for hydraulic supply (Qh) at one or several consumption points and the water pressure needed to maintain the required flow.
In the context of fire safety, hydraulic calculations are used to determine the flow of liquids through a medium (usually a piping network) to ensure that fires can be adequately controlled.
Hydraulic calculations are often required to prove the flow of water (or water mixed with additives like firefighting foam concentrate) through piping networks for the purpose of suppressing or extinguishing a fire. The full hydraulic calculation procedure is defined in the applicable reference model codes such as that published by the NFPA.
Hydraulic calculations provide a verifiable analysis of the 3 primary components of a fire suppression system:
1) The water delivery requirements to suppress a possible fire
2) The available water supply
3) The network of piping that will deliver this water in the event of a fire.
Rotaflow uses AFT (Applied Flow Technology) Software to simulate and analyze such calculations.
AFT products can be used to hydraulically simulate a variety of industrial systems including but not limited to:
- Power generation systems
- Chemical and petrochemical systems
- Oil & gas production, transportation and refining units
- Fire suppression systems (Firewater & Foam Systems)
- Water and Wastewater Treatment Systems
- Mining processing and support systems
AFT products include:
AFT Fathom:
- Models Incompressible Network Pipe Systems
- Models System Heat and Material Balance
- Suitable for Steady-State System Hydraulic Analysis
- Cost calculations
Hydraulic simulation of the firewater systems using AFT Fathom enables our clients to:
- Assess System Compliance with NFPA Codes using NFPA Reporting tool
- Evaluate the effect of modifications (additions or deletion of pipe, fittings, nozzles etc.) on Firewater System overall Pressure/Flow demand
- Identify System Bottlenecks and find ways to improve system performance
