Modelbuilder, Loadbuilder and Trex (Metric) : Solver Used

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and
TRex (metric)
Solver Used:
GVF-Convex (SewerCAD)
Applies to:
Bentley SewerCAD
Bentley SewerGEMS
Note: The images in this workshop were taken from SewerCAD. The steps will
be the same in SewerGEMS although the user interface may look
slightly different.
Module Overview
In this workshop you will be given data in the form of shapefiles to construct a
model. You will use ModelBuilder, TRex and LoadBuilder to create and run the
model for normal flow and peak flow conditions. This is a three part workshop
where you can do any individual part or go all the way through as one. You will
use the GVF-Convex Solver for this exercise although all model building tools
apply to all solvers.
Module Prerequisites
• Modeling Basics
Jul-18 1 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex
Copyright © 2017 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Module Objectives
Module Objectives
After completing this module, you will be able to:
• Build a sewer model from shapefiles using ModelBuilder
• Import node elevations using TRex
• Import loading data using LoadBuilder
• Import a shapefile as a background image
Getting Started
• BillingMeter.shp
• Contours.shp
• GravityPipe.shp
• ManholeNodes.shp
• PictureOfNetwork.jpg
You may not have any software to view these files on your workshop computer. If
you do, open these files and view them. If you do not, open the
PictureOfNetwork.jpg to view the image.
ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 2 Jul-18

ModelBuilder
ModelBuilder
In this section you will use the ModelBuilder tool to build your network.
ModelBuilder lets you use your existing GIS data to construct a new model or
update an existing model. ModelBuilder supports a wide variety of data formats,
from simple databases (such as Access and DBase), spreadsheets (such as Excel or
Lotus), GIS data (such as shape files), to high end data stores (such as Oracle, and
SQL Server), and more. Using ModelBuilder, you map the tables and fields
contained within your data source to element types and attributes in your
hydraulic model. The result is that a hydraulic model is created. ModelBuilder is
the first tool you will use when constructing a model from GIS data. The steps that
you take at the outset will impact how the rest of the process goes.
 Exercise: Importing Network with ModelBuilder

1 Start SewerCAD or SewerGEMS and open a blank model using File > New
or by clicking on Create New Hydraulic Model on the Welcome screen.
2 If a message dialog comes up about associating your hydraulic model with
a CONNECTED Project, click OK. If asked whether you want to track
changes in the model, answer No.
3 Go to Analysis > Options
4 Double click on Base Calculation Options and Select GVF - Convex
(SewerCAD) as the Active Numerical Solver
5 Select Tools > Options and then select the Units tab.
6 Click Reset Defaults > System International and click OK.
7 Start ModelBuilder by selecting Tools > ModelBuilder. An empty
ModelBuilder dialog will open.
8 Click the New button.
Note: You must now specify the data source you will be using for your network.

ModelBuilder
9 For Select a Data Source type, select ESRI Shapefiles from the drop-down
menu.
10 For Select your Data Source, click the Browse button and navigate to;
C:\Bentley Workshop\SewerModelingSI\Starter\GISData and while
holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard click on ManholeNodesSI.shp
and GravityPipeSI.shp files to select both files at once.
11 Click Open and ManholeNodes and GravityPipe will appear in the
ModelBuilder Wizard.
12 If you check the box for Show Preview, the screen will look like this:
13 Scroll through the files to see what is in them.
Note: The manhole file contains invert elevations and labels, while the pipes file
contains pipe description, diameter and Manning’s n.
14 Click the Next button and you will be on the Specify Spatial and
Connectivity Options step.
15 The Coordinate Unit should be set to m.

ModelBuilder
16 Check the box for Create nodes if none found at pipe endpoint, although
with this data set it will not matter.
17 Check the box for Establish connectivity using spatial data because the
pipes in the shapefile in this example do not contain information about
their end points.
18 Set the Tolerance to 0.30 m.
19 Click Next 3 times until you get to the Specify Field Mappings for each
table step (the defaults on the 2 steps we skip are fine for this exercise).
Note: This field mapping step enables you to associate specific fields in the shapefile
with properties in the model.
20 Highlight the ManholeNodes table on the left side of the screen and set
the following:
Table Type: Manhole
Key Fields: LABEL (not <label>)
X and Y Field: Leave as is

ModelBuilder
21 Under Field, select ELEV__INV_SI as the shapefile field and in the Property
drop-down menu, select Elevation (Invert). Select meters (m) for the
Unit.On the left side of the ModelBuilder Wizard, highlight the GravityPipe
table.
22 Set the Table Type to Conduit.
23 Select LABEL for Key Fields and leave Start and Stop as <none>.
24 Set the following:
DIAMETER: Diameter (mm)
N: Manning’s n

ModelBuilder
MATERIAL: Material
25 Click Next.
26 This step applies to CONNECT Edition Update 1 or later only (skip this
step if using the CONNECT Edition base release). You will see a screen with
a checkbox to indicate whether you want to use snapshots to track
changes that may have occurred in your datasource between
synchronizations (i.e., during future model updates). Make sure this box is
unchecked, and then click Next.

ModelBuilder
27 Select the Yes radio button for the question, Would you like to build a
model now? and then click Finish.
Note: If you are prompted with the following screen, click Yes to accept.

ModelBuilder
Note: The ModelBuilder Wizard will create a model and display the ModelBuilder
Summary dialog, indicating that 155 conduits and manholes were created, plus
an additional node corresponding to the outfall.
28 Close this dialog to return to the main ModelBuilder dialog.
29 Close this dialog.

ModelBuilder
30 Click Yes to the question on synchronizing the model and drawing.
31 If the model does not appear on the screen, select View > Zoom Extents
to bring up the drawing.
The model should look like this:
32 Save this file as GeospatialProgress by selecting File > Save As.

ModelBuilder
33 To review the data, open the conduit Flextable (View > FlexTables, and
double click on Conduit Table) and browse through it to see that values
are reasonable.
34 Close the FlexTable so you are back at the drawing.

35 Zoom into the network and double click on any one of the manhole
elements to bring up its Properties manager.

ModelBuilder
Note: Notice that the Elevation (Ground) is 0. You will need to import ground
elevations from a contour shapefile.

Terrain Extractor (TRex)

In this section you will import the ground elevations using the TRex Wizard. The
TRex Wizard steps you through the process of automatically assigning elevations
to specified nodes based on data from a Digital Elevation Model or a Digital
Terrain Model.
 Exercise: Importing Ground Elevation Data

1 Continue with the ModelBuilder file or if you did not complete the
ModelBuilder section, please use the file TRex.stsw, located in the Starter
folder, for this portion of the workshop.
2 Select Tools > TRex and the TRex Wizard will open to the File Selection
dialog.
3 Set the Data Source Type to ESRI Shapefile.
4 Click the ellipsis button for File and browse to C:\Bentley
Workshop\SewerModelingSI\Starter\GISData and open ContoursSI.shp.
Click Open.
5 Select CONTOUR1 for Select Elevation Field.
6 Set the X-Y Units and Z Units to m.
7 It is advisable to check the box for Clip Dataset to Model which essentially
trims the shapefile to fit the model.
Note: This is more important when large files are used as a data source.
8 For this dataset it does not matter if you check the box for Also update
inactive elements.

9 Check the radio button for All under Nodes to Update.
10 Click Next and TRex will run.

The dialog shown will appear when it is done:
Note: The message means that two nodes fell outside of the contour shapefile and
have no value for ground elevation.

11 Click OK and the Completing the TRex Wizard dialog appears.
12 Since you want to save the elevations to Base-Physical alternative, click

Finish to return to the drawing pane.

13 Click on a manhole and check that Elevation (Ground) and Elevation

(Invert) now have values.
 Exercise: Morphing a manhole into the outfall node

1 Click on the manhole at the far northwest (top left) extreme of the
drawing. It should have a label of MH-1.
Note: This manhole is actually the outfall of the system and must be morphed into an
outfall element.
2 To morph the element, select the Outfall element type, from the layout
tab and drop it on top of the manhole.
You will be prompted with the following:

3 Click Yes and the element will become an outfall.

4 Click the Select tool and double click on the new outfall element to open
the Properties manager for that element.
5 Select Free Outfall for Boundary Condition Type.
6 Notice that it does not have an invert elevation; enter 77.72 as the
Elevation (Invert) (m).
7 Be sure to save your file frequently.
 Exercise: Creating a profile to check elevations

As a check that the elevations are reasonable, draw a profile from one of
the farthest nodes to the outfall (try MH-41).
1 To create the profile, in the Property Editor type MH-41 in the search field
and click the Find button to zoom to that element.
2 Right click MH-41 and select Create Profile.

The profile will automatically open up and looks like the one shown:
Note: You can see that the pipes slope downhill but you can also see areas where the
engineer could have selected better invert elevations to achieve a more
consistent slope.
3 Close the profile and save the file.

LoadBuilder
LoadBuilder
Next you will use LoadBuilder to import individual water meter billing data to load
the model. LoadBuilder is a tool used to assign flows to elements. If you already
know what flows to assign to an element, then you should use the other methods
such as inflow, sanitary loads, or stormwater loading. The power of LoadBuilder is
that it can take loading information from a variety of sources such as customer
meter data, system flow meter or polygons with known population or land use
and assign those flows to elements. LoadBuilder is oriented to the types of data
available to describe dry weather flows.
 Exercise: Importing loading data

1 Continue with the TRex file or if you did not complete the TRex section,
please use the file LoadBuilder.stsw, located in the Starter folder, for this
portion of the workshop.
1 Start LoadBuilder by selecting Tools > LoadBuilder.
2 Click on the New button to open the LoadBuilder Wizard.
3 Select Point Load Data as the type of data source and click on Nearest
Node as the method.

LoadBuilder
4 Click Next.
5 Select the ellipsis button next to Node Layer: and highlight Manhole\All
Elements as the nodes to be loaded.
6 Click Select.
7 For Billing Meter Layer, click the ellipsis button and browse to the starter
file folder to select the BillingMeter_SI.shp file and click Open.
8 Click OK for this next message:
9 The Load Type Field should be set to TYPE, the Usage Field is USE_SI and
the units are L/day.

LoadBuilder
10 Uncheck the Use Previous Run box since we have not computed the
model.
11 Click Next.
The Calculation Summary will appear.
12 This system has fairly low flows, so make sure the units of flow are L/s. If
they are not, right click on the Load column header and selecting Units
and Formatting.
13 Select L/s for the Unit so the raw data will be converted to L/s.
14 Click OK to get back to the Calculation Summary.

LoadBuilder
15 Leave the multipliers as they are because you are interested in average
flow for now.
16 Click Next.

LoadBuilder
17 The Results Preview will appear. Browse through the values of manhole
loads.
18 Click Next to get to the Completing the LoadBuild Process dialog.

19 Enter Billing Data for the Label under which to save these settings.

LoadBuilder
20 Select Override an Existing Alternative and choose Base Sanitary Loading

from the drop-down menu.
21 Click Finish and when compete, the following message should appear
indicating the number of records imported.
22 Close this message once you are done reviewing it.

23 Close out of LoadBuilder and save your file.

Viewing Background Contours
Viewing Background Contours

Now you would like to see what your model looks like on top of the contour
background layer.
 Exercise: Adding the contour background layer

1 Select View > Backgrounds. The Background Layers Manager may already
be docked in the lower left corner of your screen, its default position.
2 Click the New button and select New File.
3 Browse to the starter files folder and select ContoursSI.shp and click
Open.
You will see this dialog:
4 Change the Line Color to Green.

Run the Model
5 Click OK.
Note: Notice the two nodes at the far south that fall outside of the contour shape file.
Also notice where the streets (and pipes) are it is fairly flat.
6 You can turn off this background by un-selecting it in the Background
Layers manager.
Run the Model

You now have everything you need to make a model run. In this section you will
compute the new network and review the results.
 Exercise: Computing the model

1 Check for problems by selecting Analysis > Validate.

Run the Model
Note: You will see that there are issues caused by two manholes with a ground
elevation lower than the manhole invert.
2 Check your manhole elevations.

3 Open a manhole FlexTable, right click on the ground elevation column
header and select Sort > Sort Ascending.
You will notice that two of the manholes did not have a ground elevation
because they were outside the bounds of the contour file.
4 Assign MH-142 a ground elevation of 96 m and MH-143 a ground

elevation of 99 m by typing those values into the FlexTable.
5 Close the table when you are done.
6 Click the Compute button or select Analysis > Compute.
7 Close the Detailed Calculation Summary and User Notification dialogs that
come up.
Now you will look for pipes with a high Depth/Rise value, by color coding.

Run the Model
 Exercise: Color coding for depth/rise

1 Select View > Element Symbology.
2 Right click on Conduit and select New > Color Coding.
3 In the Color Coding Properties dialog set the following:
Field Name: Depth /Rise
Selection Set: <All Elements>
Maximum: 100.0 %
Options: Color and Size
4 Click the Initialize button (third button in on the right window pane).
5 Click Apply and then OK.

Run the Model
A majority of the pipes should be color coded in green.
Note: This indicates that the flows are very low in this system, typical of upstream end
of collection systems.
6 Find the flow at the outfall by double clicking the outfall node.
 Exercise: Reviewing the results in FlexTables

1 Find the minimum and maximum depth to rise by opening the Hydraulic
Model Conduit FlexTable, (View > Flex Tables, right click on Conduit and
select Duplicate as Hydraulic Model Flex Table).
2 Open the new Copy of Conduit Table under the Tables – Hydraulic Model
section in the FlexTables dialog.

Run the Model
3 Right click at the top of the Depth/Rise column and select Statistics.
4 Close the Statistics dialog when you are done reviewing the data.
5 Back on the FlexTable: Conduit Table, look at some of the pipes that have
zero Flow values and you will see that they correspond to pipes with no
flow at the upper end of the system. If the Flow field is not in your Conduit
Table, add it by clicking the Edit button (fourth button in from the left) at
the top of the table
6 Add a column for Tractive Stress by clicking the Edit button at the top of
the table.
7 Highlight Tractive Stress (Calculated) in the Available Columns pane and
click the Add button.

Run for Peak Flow Conditions
This will move that property to the right pane.
8 Click OK.
Note: Note which pipe has the maximum value for Depth/Rise (try using Sort >
Descending).
9 Set the tractive stress units to Pascals by right clicking on that value in the
Property manager (or column header in FlexTable), select Units and
Formatting, and set Unit: to Pascals.
10 Find the velocity and tractive stress in that pipe.
11 Fill in the results at the end of the workshop.
12 Save your file.

Next, make a run with a peak load multiplier of 2.
 Exercise: Applying a peak load multiplier

1 Create a new scenario by selecting Analysis > Scenarios.

2 Right click Base and select New > Child Scenario and name the child
scenario Peak.
3 Double click on Peak to open the Properties manager.

4 Click in the Sanitary Loading field and open the drop-down menu.
5 Select <New…>.
6 Name the new alternative Peak Load.

7 Click OK.
8 Make the Peak scenario the current scenario by selecting it from the
scenarios drop-down menu or by clicking the Make Current button in the
Scenarios manager.
9 Open the Sanitary Load Control Center (Components > Loading > Sanitary
Load Control Center). If you receive a prompt about cancel and undo
being unavailable for the Sanitary Loads Control Center, click Yes to
continue.
Note: Note the Base Flow values.

10 Right click at the top of the Base Flow column and select Global Edit.
11 Set the following:
Operation: Multiply

Value: 2
12 Click OK.
Note: Notice that the values have increased by a factor of 2.

13 Close this dialog and save file.
14 Click the Compute button.
15 Review the Detailed Calculation Summary.

16 Open the Conduit FlexTable (View > Flex tables > Tables – Hydraulic
Model > Conduit Table) and complete the results at the end of this
workshop.

Results Tables
Results Tables
Results Table
Property Average Load Peak Load
Flow at Outfall (L/s)
Max Depth /Rise (%)
Pipe with Max Depth/Rise
Velocity in that pipe (m/s)
Tractive Stress in that pipe (Pa)
Workshop Review
Now that you have completed this workshop, let’s measure what you have
learned.
Questions
1 Were the velocities very high during average flow conditions?
2 Did velocity improve significantly during peak flow conditions?
3 If you could redesign the system, how would you have changed it?
4 What are some of the data formats that ModelBuilder supports?
5 LoadBuilder is oriented to the types of data available to describe

________________________________.

Workshop Review
Answers
Results Table
Property Average Load Peak Load
Flow at Outfall (L/s) 16.27 32.55
Max Depth/Rise (%) 51.7 100
Pipe(s) with Max Depth/Rise CO-65 CO-13 & CO-36
Velocity in that pipe (m/s) 0.43 CO-36 = 0.10

CO-13 = 0.26
Tractive Stress in that pipe (Pa) 0.83 CO-36 = 0.19

CO-13 = 0.79
1 Were the velocities very high during average flow conditions?

No. Generally less than 0.30 m/s.
2 Did velocity improve significantly during peak flow conditions?
Yes, but not as much as you would have liked.
3 If you could redesign the system, how would you have changed it?
Because I had limited ground slope to work with, I would try to go deeper
at the downstream end. If it ended up being too deep, I would have
reviewed a very flat section of the system and looked at the possibility of
installing a lift station.
4 What are some of the data formats that ModelBuilder supports?
ModelBuilder supports a wide variety of data formats, from simple
databases (such as Access and DBase), spreadsheets (such as Excel or
Lotus), GIS data (such as shape files), to high end data stores (such as
Oracle, and SQL Server), and more.
5 LoadBuilder is oriented to the types of data available to describe:
Dry Weather Flows.


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ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and

Jul-18 1 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

Copyright © 2017 Bentley Systems, Incorporated

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 2 Jul-18

 Exercise: Importing Network with ModelBuilder

8 Click the New button.

Jul-18 3 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

13 Scroll through the files to see what is in them.

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 4 Jul-18

Jul-18 5 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 6 Jul-18

Jul-18 7 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 8 Jul-18

28 Close this dialog to return to the main ModelBuilder dialog.

29 Close this dialog.

Jul-18 9 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

30 Click Yes to the question on synchronizing the model and drawing.

32 Save this file as GeospatialProgress by selecting File > Save As.

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 10 Jul-18

34 Close the FlexTable so you are back at the drawing.

Jul-18 11 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 12 Jul-18

Terrain Extractor (TRex)

 Exercise: Importing Ground Elevation Data

Jul-18 13 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

9 Check the radio button for All under Nodes to Update.

10 Click Next and TRex will run.

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 14 Jul-18

The dialog shown will appear when it is done:

Jul-18 15 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

11 Click OK and the Completing the TRex Wizard dialog appears.

12 Since you want to save the elevations to Base-Physical alternative, click

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 16 Jul-18

13 Click on a manhole and check that Elevation (Ground) and Elevation

 Exercise: Morphing a manhole into the outfall node

Jul-18 17 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

3 Click Yes and the element will become an outfall.

7 Be sure to save your file frequently.

 Exercise: Creating a profile to check elevations

2 Right click MH-41 and select Create Profile.

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 18 Jul-18

Jul-18 19 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

 Exercise: Importing loading data

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 20 Jul-18

Jul-18 21 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

14 Click OK to get back to the Calculation Summary.

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 22 Jul-18

Jul-18 23 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

18 Click Next to get to the Completing the LoadBuild Process dialog.

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 24 Jul-18

20 Select Override an Existing Alternative and choose Base Sanitary Loading

22 Close this message once you are done reviewing it.

Jul-18 25 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

Viewing Background Contours

 Exercise: Adding the contour background layer

4 Change the Line Color to Green.

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 26 Jul-18

Run the Model

 Exercise: Computing the model

Jul-18 27 ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex

2 Check your manhole elevations.

4 Assign MH-142 a ground elevation of 96 m and MH-143 a ground

ModelBuilder, LoadBuilder and TRex 28 Jul-18