ARIavCAD Step-By-Step Tutorial

Stand alone version

1. Start ARIavCAD, and the Project Settings screen opens. When opening the
first time, the default data and units appear. After that, every time ARIavCAD
is started, the last project saved opens.
2. Click on “Project”, and a dropdown menu will be released.

This menu offers five choices: “New project”, “Open

project” (both self explanatory) “Save project” (that saves
the project under its previous name and in the previous
location, as it was last saved), and “Save project as” that
allows changing the project name and location.
This menu is also accessible in the Profile data screen.

3. Click “New project”, and the Project settings screen opens with the default
values. Default units and data are the ones used in the last saved project.

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4. Enter Data.

a.

b.

The Applications dropdown menu shows only applications that appear

in the library. In this particular example, the library includes only a
municipal application, so this is what we choose. Other applications
that are not included in this library can be Agriculture, Industry,
Mining, and others.

c.

The Distance units dropdown menu offers a wide range of units to

choose from. We choose Meters for our project.
d.

The Elevation units dropdown menu is similar to that of the distance

units. Here, too, we choose Meters for our project.
e.

From the Diameter units dropdown we choose Millimeters.

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f.

For Flow rate units we choose m3/h.

g.

For Pressure units we choose bar.

h.

Enter user’s name, initials, etc.

i.

j.

Enter 1m/s for minimum required pipe filling velocity. It is not

recommended for pipe filling velocity to be higher than 1 m/s (lower is
better), to prevent surges at pipe filling.
k.

Sometimes we prefer to have a single valve, or as few valves as

possible, at an installation, rather than large manifolds. After
completing the analysis and determining the required airflow and other
valve requirements and preferences at a particular location,
ARIavCAD chooses between compatible valves and valve
combinations according to price. When the cost of a manifold structure
is not included in the total cost, the cost of large manifolds, consisting
many air valves, may calculate to be less than the cost of one valve or
fewer valves. The manifold surcharge may be real, indicating the

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 actual cost increase due to the manifold structure (as percentage of the
cost of the valves themselves), or it could be a “fine” for using a
manifold, which would give preference of a chosen magnitude to
avoiding manifolds.
In this case, we enter a 5% surcharge, which is fairly low.

l.

By using the drop-down menu, the ARIavCAD user can determine the
maximum number of air valves to be allowed in a single manifold. The
possibilities offered are from 2 to 10. This is an actual boundary, and
not just a preference. ARIavCAD will not place any more air valves in
the manifold, than entered here. If the required flowrates ,as calculated
by ARIavCAD, are higher than the largest allowable manifold, of the
largest applicable (right type, right pressure rating) air valve, can
deliver, ARIavCAD will announce that no applicable air valve was
found. When this happens, a larger number should be chosen from the
drop-down menu, for the largest allowable manifold size.
It must be kept in mind that the larger the allowable manifold, the
longer it takes for ARIavCAD to complete the analysis, since more
iterations are required. It is wise to start with a smaller manifold and
enlarge it according to the needs of the particular project.
In this case, lets enter 2.

m.

One of the analyses that can be performed by ARIavCAD is Burst

Analysis. This analysis assumes a full diameter pipe burst at any point
along the pipeline, resulting in free flow drainage. The analysis utilizes
the Hazen Williams Equation to determine required air intake
capacities for vacuum protection. Most air valve manufacturers use the
pipe slope in their equations to determine air intake requirements.
ARIavCAD, being faithful to the true basis of the Hazen Williams
Equation, uses the slope of the hydraulic gradeline. In both cases,
when the pipe slope is very steep, and the pipe diameter is significant,
the calculated air intake requirements can be extremely high and
unrealistic. For this reason, software available from other air valve
manufacturers allow users to choose air valves that supply only a
percentage of the calculated air intake demand.
Users of ARIavCAD who are used to this type of air valve sizing
practice, and prefer this practice, can determine this percentage by
entering the value here.
In this case, lets enter 100%.
n.

A second, much more flexible analysis offered by ARIavCAD is

Drainage Analysis. In this analysis drainage through a drainage valve

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 of a given size is assumed, and required air intake capacities for
vacuum protection are determined by calculating the flow through this
drainage valve. In Virtual Drainage Analysis, the ARIavCAD user can
allow virtual drainage valves to represent pipe ruptures the size of
these drainage valves. The location and size of these virtual drain
valves can be determined and entered manually by the user, or can be
located by the software and sized in accordance with a predetermined
percentage of the pipe diameter at each location. This percentage
(ratio) is determined by the user and entered here.
Lets enter 50%.
o.

In order to prevent air pocket accumulation and to ensure efficient

flow in the system during low flows (such as at night, for instance), in
order to provide ample vacuum protection at drainage and water
column separation, and sufficient and efficient air discharge at pipe
filling, spacing between air valves at long pipe stretches without slope
changes, should be limited to a maximum distance (usually 500 –
800m). This maximum value is entered here.
Enter 500.
p.

We will not enter air valve preferences at this time.

There are a number of ways to enter data in the Profile Data table.

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Manual data entry

1. Right click on the mouse

while pointing anywhere in the table area.

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 2. Click “Insert Station”.

The data can be entered manually in two ways:

a. One row at a time, as above, or
b. Click one of the cells,

…and press the Enter key until the table reaches the length you desire.
The table can be extended at any time in the same manner.

Data source:

Station ID Accumulated Length Elevation Diameter Flow Control Component Drainage Valve Diameter
0 0 75 300 5
1 100 90 300 0
2 150 80.8 300 0
3 150 95 300 0 Flow control components:
4 246 60 300 0 1 Drainage valve
5 351 95 300 0 2 Isolating valve
3 Drainage valve + Isolating valve
4 Reservoir
7 5 Pump station
 6 500 55 300 0
7 550 103 300 0
8 680 92 300 0
9 791 97 300 0
10 800 100 300 0
11 824 65 300 0
12 855 90 300 0
13 914 77 300 0
14 950 85 300 0
15 1020 55 300 0
16 1080 75 300 0
17 1098 74.8 300 0
18 1120 76 300 0
19 1151 65 300 0
20 1180 44 300 3 250
21 1250 97 300 0
22 1287 106 300 0
23 1310 125 300 0
24 1384 180 300 0
25 1977 201 300 0
26 2251 158 300 0
27 2514 134 300 0
28 3125 122 300 0
29 3481 208 300 0
30 3597 158 300 0
31 3915 215 300 0
32 4200 143 300 0
33 4580 97 300 1 250
34 4891 110 300 0
35 5580 99 300 0
36 6810 55 300 0
37 7820 43 300 0
38 8036 20 300 1 250
39 9520 95 300 0
40 10020 110 300 0
41 10535 150 300 0
42 10865 145 300 0
43 12630 165 300 0
44 12965 97 300 0
45 13510 120 300 2
Station ID Accumulated Length Elevation Diameter Flow Control Component Drainage Valve Diameter
46 13925 155 300 0
47 14587 198 300 0
48 15832 92 300 0
49 16587 55 300 0
50 18979 175 300 0
51 20350 42 300 0
52 24235 42.2 300 0
53 24310 35 300 1 250
54 24825 57 300 0

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 55 25135 77 300 0
56 25698 125 300 0
57 26587 158 300 0
58 26854 195 300 0
59 28521 220 300 0
60 29025 76 300 0
61 29325 224 300 0
62 29821 95 300 0
63 29964 238 300 0
64 30155 157 300 2
65 30541 125 300 0
66 30947 103 300 0
67 31125 98 300 0
68 31598 130 300 0
69 31687 165 300 0
70 31987 199 300 0
71 32015 220 300 0
72 32165 210 300 0
73 32687 212 300 0
74 32897 221 300 0
75 32987 245 300 0
76 33261 204 300 0
77 33935 165 300 0
78 33997 169 300 0
79 34215 124 300 0
80 34567 95 300 1 250
81 34987 156 300 0
82 35104 148 300 0
83 35256 190 300 0
84 35897 224 300 0
85 35998 220 300 0
86 36158 201 300 0
87 36792 135 300 0
88 36952 124 300 0
89 37124 155 300 0
90 37358 120 300 0
91 37861 148 300 0
92 37998 168 300 0
93 38015 200 300 0
94 38298 157 300 0
Station ID Accumulated Length Elevation Diameter Flow Control Component Drainage Valve Diameter
95 38586 135 300 0
96 38768 172 300 0
97 39102 165 300 0
98 39354 185 300 0
99 39587 220 300 0
100 39867 216 300 0
101 40012 230 250 0
102 40215 225 250 0
103 40687 255 250 0

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104 41562 155 250 0
105 42010 210 250 0
106 42802 230 250 0
107 42902 245 250 0
108 43085 240 250 0
109 43263 250 250 0
110 43687 256 250 0
111 43897 260 250 4

3. Enter data from the data source above

If a number is entered in the first Id cell, the Id number will progress

automatically in each new row when Enter is pressed.

If a name followed by a number is entered in the first Id cell, in each new row,
the name and its Id number will progress automatically.

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Back to the data source:

The first Id cannot be 0!

Make sure you enter the distance in the correct column – sectional distance in
the “Distance (Actual)” column and accumulated distance in the “Acc.
Distance” column. Entering a value in one of the two columns will cause the
other column to be filled automatically.
Movement from cell to cell down a column can be achieved by pressing the
Enter key. Movement from one cell to the next, in order, can be achieved by
pressing the Tab key.
Every cell can be entered using the mouse.

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Importing Data From Excel

1. Click “Import” in the Profile data screen

and choose “Excel”

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2. Click Browse
and find the Excel file you wish to import. Make sure that the first row in the
Excel sheet consists of the column headings, and that the data is directly
below that (without empty rows).

3. Click the dropdown of “Select sheet”

and choose the correct sheet in the Excel file (in this case “PROFILE”).

4. Click the dropdown for “Station Id map to”

and choose the column heading in the Excel table that coincides with the
Station Id of ARIavCAD (in this case “Station ID”).

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5. Click the dropdown for distance
And choose the type of distance data provided by data source (Sec. Distance =
sectional distance; Acc. Distance = accumulated distance). In this case Acc.
Distance.

6. Click the dropdown for “Acc. Distance map to”

and choose the column heading in the Excel table that coincides with the Acc.
Distance of ARIavCAD (in this case “Accumulated Length”).

7 Click the dropdown for “Elevation map to”

and choose the column heading in the Excel table that coincides with the
Elevation of ARIavCAD (in this case “Elevation”).

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 7. Click OK
And watch the counting of the number of stations recorded (Records
imported).

The profile data is imported from the Excel file to the ARIavCAD Profile Data table.
From this point on, all procedures are the same, no matter how data was entered up
to this point.

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 Since Id cannot be 0, change the first Id from 0 to A.

Piping and Accessories

The information included in the basic profile table, up to now, includes only the basic
data of distances and elevations. It does not include any information on the pipes used in
the project, on pumps and/or reservoirs, on accessories along the pipeline, on flow rates
and pressure, etc.

Since pipe characteristics and properties can change along the project alignment, data
entry is done in sections.

This project was originally analyzed using the A.R.I. Plan software, and this is its basic
data:

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1. Right click the mouse while pointing in the row where the Section begins

…and click “Define Section”

2. Click Section 1

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a. The name of the section can be changed by entering a new name.

We will leave “Section 1”

b. Enter pipe diameter – 300

c. Choose pipe material in the dropdown menu – Steel

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d. Leave “New” for Pipe age.

e. Click the arrow on the right of the Extended Properties bar

And more properties appear with their default values.

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 f. The pipeline in this section can be buried or above ground: checked =
buried, unchecked = above ground. We will leave it checked for buried.

g. The maximum negative pressure is the maximum sub-atmospheric

pressure allowed in the system and is the negative pressure at which the
air valve should supply the required air intake flow rate for vacuum
protection. We will keep the default value of 0.4 bar.

h. The celerity of a pipeline is the velocity at which pressure waves

propagate through it while full of water. Since we have no information on
this particular pipe, we will leave the default value of 1100 m/s.

i. The Hazen Williams Coefficient indicates the resistance to flow due to

pipe surface roughness, and is a factor in the Hazen Williams Equation.
Here too, since we do not have more specific data on the pipeline, we will
leave the default value for steel pipes.

3. Click OK

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 In Station 101, pipe diameter changes from 300 mm to 250 mm, so we have to
enter a new section.

4. Right click while pointing at station 101, in the Section column

and repeat 2-3 above, changing only the diameter to 250 mm.

Entering flow system components and accessories

In ARIavCAD all flow components and accessories are objects that include icons,
pictures, and data. In order to enter a component or accessory in the profile data table, it
must first be dragged from the library, and then, some additional data must be entered for
it.

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1. Drag a pump to the Accessories column of the first station.

2. Click the pump icon in the accessories column

At the beginning of the pipeline, the flow rate and the pressure of the pump
are the initial flow rates and pressure of the system, from which the starting
point of the hydraulic gradeline is determined.

3. Input data

a. According to the data source, the initial operating flow rate is 350 m3/h.
Enter 350 for Flow Rate.
b. We assume an initial pressure of 12 bar. Enter 12 for Pressure.
c. In this case, there is only one pump in the pump station, so it is “Inline”. If
there are more than one pump in the station, they could be installed in

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 series (one after the other) or in parallel. A pump installed in series is
inline, and a pump installed in parallel is not inline.
Leave the check mark on Yes for inline.
4. Click OK

In most cases, it is a common and good practice to install a check valve after a pump.

5. Drag a check valve to the Accessories column of the first station

6. Click the check valve icon in the accessories column

and…

7. Click the check valve icon in the Flow control accessories dialog box

8. Enter Data

a. The diameter of a check valve is usually the same as the pipeline on which
it is installed. Since the pipeline diameter is 300 mm, enter 300 for
Diameter.
b. Since we do not know the head loss coefficient for this particular check
valve, we will use the default check valve head loss coefficient of 0.2.
Enter 0.2 for Head loss coefficient.

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At Station 20, there are isolating valves and a drainage valve, in order to allow the
draining of either or both sides of the drainage valve.

9. Drag two Isolating valves and a drainage valve to the Accessories cell of
station 20

10. Click the Accessories cell of Station 20

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The order in which accessories are installed is very important. Here, one isolating valve
should be upstream from the drainage valve, and one downstream from it. This is so the
upstream and downstream sections could be drained separately. The order in which the
Accessories appear in the Flow control accessories dialog box is the order they are in the
field. In the case above the order is wrong, but it can be changed.

10. Mark the drainage valve in the Flow control accessories dialog box

11. Click “Move up”

12. Mark the first Isolating valve and enter data

a. The diameter of the isolating valve is the same as the pipe, 300 mm. Enter
300.

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 b. We do not know the exact Head loss coefficient of the isolating valve, so
we will leave the 0.7 default value.

13. Mark the drainage valve and enter data

a. According to the source data, the diameter of this drainage valve is

250 mm. Enter 250.
b. Again, we do not know the actual head loss coefficient, so we will leave
the default value, 0.6.

14. Mark and enter data for the second isolating valve the same as step 12
above

15. Click OK

16. Drag a drainage valve to the Accessories cell of Station 33 and follow
steps 10, 13, and 15 for this station.

17. Repeat all of step 16 for Stations 38, 53, and 80

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18. Drag an isolating valve to the Accessories cell of Station 45 and follow
steps 10, 12, and 15

19. Repeat all of step 19 in Station 64

20. Drag a reservoir to the Accessories cell of Station 111

21. Click the reservoir icon in the Accessories cell

22. Enter data

a. For components that are not at the start of the pipeline being analyzed,
“Flow Rate” actually means the change in flow rate between the upstream
side of the component and the downstream side. Here, there is no
downstream to the reservoir, since this is the last station in the project, so
we leave 0 for flow rate.

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 b. We assume free flow into the reservoir, so the water level is taken to be
the same as the pipe elevation. Enter 260.

23. Click OK

This was not in the original project, but for this exercise, lets assume there is a pipe
connection at Station 101, where water flows out of the main at a flow rate of 20 m3/h. A
connection at which water enters or leaves the pipeline being analyzed is considered by
ARIavCAD to be a “Side orifice”.

24. Drag a side orifice to the Accessories cell of Station 101

25. Click side orifice icon in Accessories cell of station 101

26. Enter data

The direction of flow through a side orifice is very important. When the flow
direction is out of the pipeline analyzed, the flow rate is negative because the

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downstream flow is lower than the upstream flow. If the flow is into the pipeline
analyzed, the flow rate is positive because the downstream flow is higher than the

upstream flow. Again, the flow rate here refers to the change in flow rate in the
pipeline being analyzed.

a. Since the direction of the 20 m3/h flow at this side orifice is out of the
pipeline, enter –20.
b. The pressure (or head) in the pipeline, downstream from a pipe connection
(side orifice) depends on the pressure in the pipe connecting to the
pipeline.
If the pressure in the connecting pipe is higher than the pressure in the
main pipeline, its pressure determines the downstream pressure. If the
pressure in the connecting pipe is lower than the pressure in the main
pipeline, the main pipeline continues to determine the pressure
downstream.
If the pressure in the connecting pipe is lower than the pressure in the
main pipeline, which means that the flow is out of the main pipeline, than
this pressure has no effect on the ARIavCAD analysis, since it does not
directly effect the downstream pressure significantly.
If the pressure in the connecting pipe is higher than the pressure in the
main pipeline, which means that the flow is into the main pipeline, than
this pressure effects the ARIavCAD analysis, and it directly effects the
downstream pressure significantly (actually, determines it).

In our example the flow through the side orifice is from the main pipeline
out, so the pressure in the connection to the side orifice is not significant
to the ARIavCAD analysis. Therefore, since we do not know what the
actual pressure is, we will leave 0 for the side orifice pressure.

c. Since we do not know what is the actual head loss coefficient of the side
orifice, we will leave the default value of 0.1.

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 1. Click Analyze

Choosing analysis criteria

The Analysis dialog box offers a number of alternative criteria for analysis.
The ARIavCAD user can choose to perform only Fill rate analysis, or any combination
of analysis types and/or criteria offered.

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1. Fill rate analysis is the basic analysis that ARIavCAD always performs. In
this analysis ARIavCAD uses the fill rate velocity entered in the Project
Settings to determine the air discharge flow rate required to enable this
velocity. The air discharge flow rate required is equal to the pipe filling flow
rate.
2. Drainage analysis determines the air intake capacity required to prevent
damages caused by vacuum and down-surge, during pipe drainage through
drainage valves. It is possible to simulate pipe rupture by the use of virtual
drainage valves that represent ruptures of given sizes. A virtual drainage
analysis is actually a simulated pipe rupture analysis for ruptures of up to the
size of the virtual drainage valves. Virtual drainage valves, like real drainage
valves, can be entered manually by dragging from the components library to
the profile data table and entering its data, or:
3. By marking the Automatic virtual check box, ARIavCAD will automatically
place virtual drainage valves, sizing them according to the ratio entered in the
Project settings.
4. Burst analysis determines the air intake capacity required to prevent damages
caused by vacuum and down-surge, during free-flow pipe drainage through a
full diameter pipe burst. Since the results of this analysis can sometimes be
extreme, the user can determine a partial air intake capacity expressed as
percentage of the actual burst analysis calculated requirement (see Burst
Ratio, page 4).
5. When Water column separation is chosen, ARIavCAD locates sites of
probable water column separation occurrences due to sudden flow stoppages
(power failure, rapid valve closure, etc.), and places air valves, in these
locations. These air valves are sized to admit air into the pipeline at a rate
equal to the operational flow rate of the pipeline, in order to prevent damages
caused by vacuum and down-surge, as well as limiting the possible
consequent upsurge, resulting from column separation and, at times, column
return.
6. Choosing Remove excessive air valves will filter out some of the less critical
air valves otherwise assigned by ARIavCAD.
7. Though ARIavCAD provides basic protection against down-surge and even
for upsurge, the software does not perform actual surge analysis. Since most
surge analysis softwares do not design hydraulic systems, but only analyze
existing or planned systems, ARIavCAD is a great tool for pre-surge-analysis
design and can fit perfectly with existing surge software, such as KY Pipe’s
Surge2000 in finding efficient surge solutions.

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 For our first analysis we will run a combined analysis, which includes Fill rate
analysis, Automatic virtual plus actual Drainage analysis, and water column
separation. We will deactivate the filtering mechanism for the first run.

1. Mark Drainage analysis, Automatic virtual, and Water column separation

and un-mark Remove excessive air valves.

2. Click Start

The different stages of the analysis can be followed by watching the green progress bar.

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Pay attention to the comments appearing in Information section. In this particular project,
no critical or important information appears, but quite often, there are important
comments that should be reviewed.

Clicking on Close will open the Profile data screen, showing the profile table with the
components (air valves and virtual drain valves) entered by ARIavCAD.

Clicking on View report will open the Analysis report.

3. Click on View report

At the head of the report, below the legend, appears the full profile plot of the pipeline,
including the hydraulic gradeline and system flow components (accessories). At the
default x-y scale (1x10), it may be difficult to distinguish the smaller elevation changes
or other details. The scale can be changed separately for the x and/or the y axis.

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 4. Change the y-scale from 10 to 20

It can be very difficult to see details when viewing the full pipeline. It is possible to add
profile views, and in each view to emphasize a different part of the pipeline.

5. Click Add graph, and scroll down to the new profile view

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6. Click the arrow next to Zoom to open the drop-down zoom menu, and click
Zoom window

7. Mark (frame) the area you wish to enlarge

8. Click Pan or press mouse wheel, and drag the enlarged area to the
desired position within the graph (Pressing wheel or middle button on mouse and
dragging replaces clicking Pan)

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9 Click Zoom, choose Zoom real time, and drag and pan to the desired size and
position (drag left mouse for size, drag mouse wheel for position) (Zoom all
returns the full profile - double click on the mouse wheel or middle button =
Zoom all)

10. Add graphs, as needed, and enlarge critical sections of the pipeline, by
following steps 5 to 9

11. Clicking Select, and then clicking on an air valve icon, will display data
and picture of the particular air valve and station

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12. Scroll down in the report. Below the graphs, appears a station by station
table with data and accessory icons for each station

13. At the end of the table, appears a summery, listing the different types of
valves and their number in this project

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14. Clicking Expand will enlarge the accessory icons and will add more detail
in the Accessories column (Clicking Collapse will return the original style)

15. Removing the check mark from Long version will eliminate all stations in
the report that do not have any accessories This function is very important
in projects with many stations.

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16. Clicking Close will return us to the Profile data screen where all the
accessories designated by ARIavCAD now appear.

17. Right click in the table area, and a dialog box will appear

18 Click Clear virtual drains, and the drain valves disappear

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19. Click Project settings to enter the window, and then click View report to
return to the report WITHOUT RUNNING ANALYSIS AGAIN

Virtual drain valves were removed from the report, leaving only real drain valves.

Virtual drain valves were removed from the report table, as well.

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20. Return to the Profile and click in the Accessories column at Station 20
The Flow control accessories dialog box opens.

In the Flow control accessories dialog box we can edit some of the properties
and characteristics of the accessories, including their position in the station. In
this particular example, for instance, the drain valve should be between the
two isolating valves.
21. Light up Drainage valve, and click Move down twice

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 Since the pipeline rises from Station 20, 136 ft to the next air valve, there is a
very slim chance, if any, that there will be a significant water column
separation down-stream from the isolating valve. Therefore, the air valve
down-stream from (after) the isolating valve can be removed

22. Light up the last K-012 air valve, click Remove, and click OK
All changes were verified (by clicking OK) and, in the profile data table, the
drain valve of Station 20 was moved to between the two isolating valves and
the last air valve was removed.

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23. Return to Project settings and click View report to return to the report

24. Verify that changes appear in report

25. Click Print and choose Microsoft Office Document Image Writer (or
Adobe pdf) instead of a printer and save with other ARIavCAD reports

In this way the report can be saved for future reference

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 25. Click print, this time choosing a printer, and print a report.

Now, you have a saved digital copy and a printed paper-copy of this particular analysis
report of this project. You can go back and try a different analysis of the same project, for
comparison. You can also send a copy of the ARIavCAD project file to someone else
who has the ARIavCAD software by following the following steps:

1. Return to the Project settings window and click Send by E-mail

The person receiving the project file can save it to his hard disk or other dada disk, and
open it with his ARIavCAD. After opening ARIavCAD the person receiving the project
file can:

2. Click Project and, then Open

3. Find the file and open it

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4. Click View report to see the analysis performed by the sender (only the main graph
will be seen – without the zoomed-in graphs).

You can accept the report and analysis or you can make changes and analyze the
project any way you wish, by following instructions above.

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