FIGENER has developed sophisticated engineering software for calculating head loss in complex distribution networks. This is FNESS, a program for calculating the flow of fluids in pipe networks in a permanent regime, based on the Finite Element Method.
The software has an interface that allows the implementation and visualization of networks and their elements through an iconographic interface. The connection and numbering of the lines and nodes that make up a network is automatic, being generated internally by the software. There is no need to prepare the mesh of the problem to be analyzed beforehand. The implementation of the problem can thus be performed by the natural sequence of insertion of the nodes (junctions and junctions of the network) and of the interconnection lines. These can be built directly by the primary elements of constitution of the pipes (straight sections, curves, transitions, etc.).
The calculation of the head loss in the elements that make up the network can be carried out by both the Darcy and Hazen-Williams equations, whose selection is made directly by the software user. It also offers the option of calculating the temperature distribution in the system, calculating the heat loss across the walls.
The program has several algorithms that check the consistency of the modeled problem, before calculating the head loss, guiding eventual corrections in the model. Calculation results can be shown directly on the problem representation diagram, indicating the pressures and temperatures of the nodes, the flows in the interconnection elements and the flow direction. The software also generates a series of very detailed types of reports regarding the modeled system and the results of the calculations, which can be created and printed in the form of a flowchart such as that used by the user on the desktop or in the form of listings.
The assembly of the system of equations that represents the problem under study uses finite element algorithms, and in the construction of the matrix, advanced techniques are used to reduce the memory occupation, facilitating the approach of large problems. All of these features make FNESS a powerful and accessible tool for studying the flow and pressure distribution in distribution networks.
