Setting simulation options

00:03

Before diving into a project.

00:05

It is helpful to set some simulation options to adjust facets

00:08

of a model prior to running a trial or a simulation.

00:13

For example,

00:14

simulation options can be set for hydraulics and convergence

00:17

criteria and are usually associated with specific scenarios.

00:22

You can access the simulation options dialog box from the model explorer.

00:27

If it is not already opened on the info water pro ribbon

00:31

view panel, click model explorer

00:34

from the operations tab expand simulation options,

00:38

right, click the option you want

00:40

and then click edit.

00:43

If you have not added any new simulation options,

00:46

then base base simulation options is the only available choice.

00:51

You can read more about all the settings and options in the simulation options.

00:55

Dialog box in the info water pro help documentation online

00:59

at help dot in avis

01:01

dot com slash display slash info, water pro slash simulation plus

01:06

options.

01:08

There are however a few convergence settings to get you started.

01:13

The convergence options set the conditions

01:15

under which the hydraulic solver is terminated

01:18

in the general tab convergence criteria group.

01:22

Use maximum trials to set the maximum

01:24

number of iterations of the global gradient algorithm

01:28

used to solve the nonlinear hydraulic equations

01:31

for each time step of the simulation.

01:34

The suggested value is 40

01:36

a more complex system may require more trials but no more than 200 is suggested

01:43

if sensible convergence criteria cannot be met in 100 or 200 iterations,

01:48

the model may not be solvable in its current state.

01:52

When that occurs.

01:53

It is likely that there are data input

01:56

or connectivity issues that need to be resolved.

01:59

Once any issues are resolved, you can run additional trials.

02:04

A setting related to maximum trials is relative flow error which can determine

02:09

whether the hydraulic solver has found a satisfactory solution to the equations.

02:14

The relative flow error is the ratio between

02:17

the change in the estimates of flow between

02:19

the last two iterations of the algorithm and

02:22

the total aggregated flow in the network.

02:25

If this error is smaller than or equal to the selected value,

02:29

the simulation ends for that time step.

02:32

The suggested value is 0.10 point 1%.

02:39

A smaller value provides a more accurate

02:41

solution but usually requires more trials.

02:44

Thus increasing runtime,

02:47

a larger value results in less

02:48

accurate solutions and likely requires fewer iterations

02:53

on the advanced tab.

02:55

There are some extra settings to tweak if

02:57

there are any issues while running a simulation.

02:60

If everything runs fine, then you typically do not need to change these values.

03:05

The relaxation factor is a setting for determining the

03:08

new solution or flow rate at each iteration.

03:12

If you have convergence issues running a simulation,

03:15

consider changing the relaxation factor to 0.6.

03:19

This makes the engine a little slower to solve but still maintains accuracy.

03:25

The final setting to highlight is the damping limit.

03:28

The default is zero which indicates that no damping should be used.

03:32

And that status checks on control valves are made at every iteration.

03:37

Damping might be needed on networks that have trouble converging.

03:40

In which case, a limit of 0.1 is suggested

03:45

that's 1/10 of the relative flow error value that you set in the general tab

03:50

as a reminder,

03:51

check out the info water pro help documentation for

03:54

more information on these and the other simulation options.

Video transcript

00:03

Before diving into a project.

00:05

It is helpful to set some simulation options to adjust facets

00:08

of a model prior to running a trial or a simulation.

00:13

For example,

00:14

simulation options can be set for hydraulics and convergence

00:17

criteria and are usually associated with specific scenarios.

00:22

You can access the simulation options dialog box from the model explorer.

00:27

If it is not already opened on the info water pro ribbon

00:31

view panel, click model explorer

00:34

from the operations tab expand simulation options,

00:38

right, click the option you want

00:40

and then click edit.

00:43

If you have not added any new simulation options,

00:46

then base base simulation options is the only available choice.

00:51

You can read more about all the settings and options in the simulation options.

00:55

Dialog box in the info water pro help documentation online

00:59

at help dot in avis

01:01

dot com slash display slash info, water pro slash simulation plus

01:06

options.

01:08

There are however a few convergence settings to get you started.

01:13

The convergence options set the conditions

01:15

under which the hydraulic solver is terminated

01:18

in the general tab convergence criteria group.

01:22

Use maximum trials to set the maximum

01:24

number of iterations of the global gradient algorithm

01:28

used to solve the nonlinear hydraulic equations

01:31

for each time step of the simulation.

01:34

The suggested value is 40

01:36

a more complex system may require more trials but no more than 200 is suggested

01:43

if sensible convergence criteria cannot be met in 100 or 200 iterations,

01:48

the model may not be solvable in its current state.

01:52

When that occurs.

01:53

It is likely that there are data input

01:56

or connectivity issues that need to be resolved.

01:59

Once any issues are resolved, you can run additional trials.

02:04

A setting related to maximum trials is relative flow error which can determine

02:09

whether the hydraulic solver has found a satisfactory solution to the equations.

02:14

The relative flow error is the ratio between

02:17

the change in the estimates of flow between

02:19

the last two iterations of the algorithm and

02:22

the total aggregated flow in the network.

02:25

If this error is smaller than or equal to the selected value,

02:29

the simulation ends for that time step.

02:32

The suggested value is 0.10 point 1%.

02:39

A smaller value provides a more accurate

02:41

solution but usually requires more trials.

02:44

Thus increasing runtime,

02:47

a larger value results in less

02:48

accurate solutions and likely requires fewer iterations

02:53

on the advanced tab.

02:55

There are some extra settings to tweak if

02:57

there are any issues while running a simulation.

02:60

If everything runs fine, then you typically do not need to change these values.

03:05

The relaxation factor is a setting for determining the

03:08

new solution or flow rate at each iteration.

03:12

If you have convergence issues running a simulation,

03:15

consider changing the relaxation factor to 0.6.

03:19

This makes the engine a little slower to solve but still maintains accuracy.

03:25

The final setting to highlight is the damping limit.

03:28

The default is zero which indicates that no damping should be used.

03:32

And that status checks on control valves are made at every iteration.

03:37

Damping might be needed on networks that have trouble converging.

03:40

In which case, a limit of 0.1 is suggested

03:45

that's 1/10 of the relative flow error value that you set in the general tab

03:50

as a reminder,

03:51

check out the info water pro help documentation for

03:54

more information on these and the other simulation options.

Video quiz

Required for course completion

Which of the following options set the conditions under which the hydraulic solver is terminated?

(Select one)
Select an answer

1/1 questions left unanswered

Step-by-step:

Before working on a project, set the simulation options for hydraulics and convergence criteria.

  1. With model data already imported and linked from InfoWater Pro to ArcGIS Pro, from the InfoWater Pro tab, Model Explorer window, open the Operation tab.
    The InfoWater Pro tab, Model Explorer window, with the Operation tab called out
  2. Expand Simulation Options, right-click the simulation you want, and then click Edit.The Simulation Options shortcut menu accessed from the Model Explorer
  3. From the Simulation Options dialog box, in the General tab, Convergence Criteria group, use Maximum Trials to set the maximum number of iterations of the global gradient algorithm used to solve the nonlinear hydraulic equations for each time step of the simulation.
  4. Set the Relative Flow Error to 0.001.

The Relative Flow Error determines whether the hydraulic solver has found a satisfactory solution to the equations and is the ratio between the change in the estimates of flow between the last two iterations of the algorithm, and the total aggregated flow in the network. If this error is smaller than or equal to the selected value, the simulation ends for that time step. The suggested value is 0.001 (0.1%).The Simulation Options dialog box, General tab options

  1. Open the Advanced tab.
  2. Set the Relaxation Factor to determine the new solution (or flow rate) at each iteration. Keep the default for this exercise.
  3. Set the Damping Limit. Keep the default for this exercise.

The default Damping Limit is 0, which indicates that no damping should be used, and that status checks on control valves are made at every iteration. On networks that have trouble converging, a limit of 0.01 is suggested.

The Simulation Options dialog box, Advanced tab options, which may be changed to increase performance

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