Engineering the best possible flood prevention control of surface water drainage systems is now quicker and easier for the majority of UK designers, with the launch of important new software tools for the Hydro-Brake Optimum vortex flow control.
With the inclusion of Hydro-Brake Optimum within the industry-standard Micro Drainage design tool from February 2014, engineers now have the flexibility to tailor the size and hydraulic performance of flow controls to meet their design objectives. Available from XP-Solutions, Micro Drainage (formerly known as WinDes) is used by more than 90% of drainage engineers in the UK, according to the company.
Hydro International has also announced the launch of a complementary Hydro-Brake Optimum Design Tool, providing integrated online support for engineers to validate and output detailed design drawings from the Hydro International website. The Tool also mirrors the capabilities within Micro Drainage, providing engineers with a flow-control sizing engine, allowing the ability to explore and visualise design options via www.hydro-int.com.
Since its launch in 2012, Hydro-Brake Optimum has set new standards in design versatility with its ability to achieve up to 15% additional storm water storage savings compared to conventional vortex flow controls.
Independently certified by the BBA and WRc, Hydro-Brake Optimum is the only vortex flow control whose physical geometry can be precision engineered to fine-tune the all-important hydraulic design curve.
“All other flow controls are constrained by fixed geometric ratios which limit the shape of the design curve and therefore hydraulic efficiency,” said Alex Stephenson, operations director of Hydro’s UK Stormwater Division.
“The Hydro-Brake Optimum is the only flow control in which the head/discharge relationship can be altered to optimise the hydraulic response. Whether engineers have upgraded to Micro Drainage 2014 or use the Hydro-Brake Optimum online tool, the software will make it quicker and simpler for engineers to try out any number of flow control design iterations without the need to contact our design office each time.”
With both tools, a simple process offers options to customise the design to meet a range of hydraulic objectives, whether minimising upstream storage requirements, maximising the clearances through the unit to prevent blockages, or ‘future-proofing’ the performance to allow for future adjustment in flow rates.
To support the launch of Micro Drainage 2014, Hydro developed a self-contained Hydro-Brake Optimum Design Engine, which carries out sizing and flow rate calculations for the Hydro-Brake Optimum within the software. Seamlessly integrated into Micro Drainage 2014 by XP Solutions’ programmers, it enables the hydraulic modelling of drainage networks containing Hydro-Brake Optimum units.
“Hydro has always been committed to supporting engineers with design services and customer support. The market has responded very positively to the Hydro-Brake Optimum and we expect the availability of new design tools to be widely welcomed by engineers because of the more complex design options that are possible, and the opportunities to reduce surface water storage volumes.”
For more information about the new Hydro-Brake Optimum, call the Hydro-Brake Hotline on 01275 337937, email enquiries@hydro-int.com or visit http://www.hydro-int.com/uk/products/hydro-brake-optimum.
