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Software for the design of water, sewage, and drainage networks. Softplan combines standard engineering approach with modern design requirements. It is possible to work with elements both in plan and in profiles, use digital terrain models, display elements in 3D, import the existing networks from GIS file formats and databases and export the model to widely-used BIM formats and to GIS databases. The project is saved as a standard DWG file, enabling easy backups & project sharing.

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• Advanced tools for fast and accurate plan & profile design

• Robust hydraulic calculation with included EPANET and EPA SWMM engines

• Easy adjustment to local design practice with templates, configurations and catalogs

• Wide range of analysis tools (serch, filter, sort, compare, color coding)

• Import from .shp and databases, export to .ifc

 

Description

Digital Terrain Model

Softplan has its own module for creating terrain surface (digital terrain model). The surface can be created by using various options:

- direct import from .shp, database, text files

- creation from texts and blocks, 3D polylines, points and lines with elevations Two more supported surface types: 3D Face surface and BricsCAD surface.

 

Plan design It is extremely easy to draw the network in plan.

When drawing a route, it is possible to automatically:

- set pipes and manholes,

- assign terrain heights from the selected DTM surface,

- set pipe invert on a constant depth below the terrain,

- label nodes and sections with selected labels Also, CAD elements such as lines, and 2D or 3D polylines can be         converted to Softplan network.

 

Long section design

Longitudinal sections can be drawn and edited quickly and flexibly because they are also based on configurations. They can be drawn one by one, multiple longitudinal sections at once, or using any selection of topological elements (from node to node, branch, array…).

The same topological elements can be simultaneously displayed in several longitudinal sections (e.g. drawn with a different configuration – different language, standard, scale, data, etc.). It is also possible to replace the current configuration with another one.

Editing the configuration of the longitudinal section is user-friendly and extremely simple. Each component (tabular or graphic) can be interactively selected in the longitudinal section, and details such as size, line type, texts, colors, data table contents, etc. can be set for it.

 

Pipe invert design

The software contains many functions necessary for interactive drawing, editing and setting pipe invert, directly in longitudinal sections.

Pipe invert can be drawn interactively or it can be numerically set by specifying the start or end invert depths/elevations and slopes. It is possible to move or delete an existing one.

Invert editing functions allow:

- moving the invert on a certain part for a defined offset,

- alignment of pipes on places where diameters change,

- straightening of the invert on defined span by line or by a slope.

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Trenches, cross sections and excavation calculation

Supported are several standard types of trenches: rectangular, trapezoidal, with or without widening, with or without formwork.  A catalog of top layers is also available – top layer group can contain any number of layers of different thicknesses. Trenches and top layers can be added to pipes using various selection options for example from node to node or from station to station. It is possible to prepare cross-section configurations for standard trenches. Configurations contain all graphical components such as colors, data, hatches, and dimensions. Cross sections can be drawn on all parts of the network by interactively selecting the station in plan or in longitudinal sections and automatically on a constant distance or at characteristic points of the network.

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Drains and house connections

Drains and house connections can be drawn with specially adapted functions. The characteristic of drains and house connections is that they can be connected directly to a node (manhole) or a section (pipe) without breaking the section into two parts. Drains and house connections can consist of one or more sections. They can be drawn by converting CAD elements (lines and polylines) or interactively.

 

Catchment and influential areas

Influential and catchment areas can be created in several ways – by conversion of closed polygons (line, polyline) or by interactive drawing. Influental areas are used for the calculation of industrial and domestic sanitary flows, and catchment areas for the calculation of storm flows. For catchment areas, parameters such as soil type, runoff coefficient, etc. can be set, and for influentials areas, population density.

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Scenario analysis and calculation of sanitary and storm flows

Calculation of sanitary and storm flows can be done using various methods. For the calculation of sanitary flows it is possible to use the influence areas method or percentage calculation. A rational method with variable or fixed intensity (IDF curves) is used for the calculation of storm flows. Flows can also be specified interactively (pointwise) through a data table. The defined flows can be grouped into scenarios, and these scenarios can be used to run parallel calculation of hydraulic values and compare them afterwards.

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Hydraulic calculation (sewage)

Softplan Sewplan can size the network and calculate all hydraulic values (filling percentage, filling heights, flow times, velocities…) based on previously defined pipe invert slopes and flows. It is also possible to calculate according to the existing diameters. Colebrook-White and Darcy-Weisbach equations are used for hydraulic calculations. It is possible to analyze all the results graphically through thematic maps and longitudinal sections or tabularly through the data previews.

 

Hydraulic calculation – Pressure pipelines (sewage)

A special function enables the sizing of pressure pipelines based on a previously defined set target velocity and flow rates. Calculations can also be made based on existing diameters. Manometric head is the result of calculation, as well as Reynolds number, Eta, Lambda, Linear and Local hydraulic loss, etc.

Setting water distribution network elements

With Wetplan, you can quickly and easily set all the necessary elements of the water distribution network (reservoir, pump, water tank, different types of valves, etc.) and adjust their parameters and settings.

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Assigning water demands and scenario analysis

You can set water demands using the available methods: interactively (pointwise) through a data table, or automatically depending on the population distribution. You can define different types of consumers (population, tourists, point consumers (e.g. industry), firefighting demands, pipeline own demands, water losses, etc.). You can also define consumption parameters and a time pattern for each. All consumers can be grouped into scenarios that can then be used for parallel hydraulic calculation and comparison of results by different scenarios.

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Pipe diameter optimization

Thanks to the optimization, the automatic calculation of optimal pipe diameters is enabled, based on pre-defined water needs and target velocities in the pipes. For different parts of the network, it is possible to set different ranges of pipe diameters and target velocities in order to obtain the best possible results. The same results can be adopted or modified using post-processing tools. The calculation is based on the method of genetic algorithms.

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Hydraulic calculation (water)

For hydraulic calculations, Softplan Wetplan uses EPANET, the code of which is built into Softplan and therefore it is not necessary to have EPANET installed on the computer. Softplan Wetplan can perform a complete weather simulation over a certain period of time, or an immediate hydraulic calculation for a single weather period. For this purpose, previously defined network elements and pipe diameters, set parameters, and water demands are used. The operation of network elements over time is controlled using rules. All results – velocities, flows, head losses, head elevations and pressures – can be analyzed tabularly (through data reviews) or graphically (through graphs, longitudinal sections and thematic maps).

 

Import and export from standard GIS formats

Softplan offers various options for two-way communication with databases and standard GIS formats. It is possible to import and export data from Excel, plain text file, various SQL databases or from an ESRI SHP file. When importing, you can also use location queries to import the network only in the area of interest. Elements (nodes and sections) imported from external files can be automatically or interactively connected to Softplan manhole and pipe catalogs.

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Import and export from standard BIM formats

Softplan supports standard BIM formats: LandXML, IFC and NWC files. LandXML format supports two-way communication (import and export) of pipe systems, terrain surfaces and along with all data. For IFC and Navisworks NWC formats, one-way communication (export) of pipe systems and terrain surfaces along with all data is supported.

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Intersection analysis of pipe systems

In Softplan, intersections between different pipe systems can be analyzed automatically. The program analyzes all crossings and illegal clashes (collisions) between manholes and pipes, pipes and pipes, manholes and manholes. Intersection analysis is completely dynamic and will automatically read all changes in horizontal or vertical route and show changes in profiles and special tables.

Documentation