CALCULATIONS OF IDEAL PRESSURE IN WATER SUPPLY NETWORK IN EPANET

EPANET is free and widely used software from the US Environmental Protection
Agency that models the hydraulic and water quality behavior of water distribution
piping systems. This program is able to determine the flow in pipes, the pressure
at junctions, the flows and heads at each pump and the water depth in each
storage tank.
With this short manual, you will be guided to calculate pressures in the simple
water supply network.
EPANET can use either US or metric units of measurement; depending on the
choice of flow units (see Setting Analysis Options or Setting Project Defaults): SI
Metric units apply when flow units are expressed in liters or cubic meters. US
Customary units apply when flow units are expressed in gallons, cubic feet, or
acre-feet. In this short manual all units will be given in SI Metric system.
Before you start, be sure to collect all necessary data for calculation such as
diameter, length, roughness, minor loss coefficient for each pipe, characteristic
operating curve for pumps, changes in water demands, etc.
Make the necessary settings of parameters for hydraulic calculation of water
supply network by selecting Project/Defaults:
- in option Hydraulics set the unit of measurement, for example (l/s),
- choose a headloss formula to compute headloss as a function of flow rate in the
pipe (Hazen-Williams, Darcy-Weisbach or Chezy-Manning)
- in option Properties set a pipe roughness depending on the selected materials
and formulas for the calculation
- keep the option Auto-length of
You might want to decide what will be visible on the screen from symbols, nodes
etc.
- select View/Option
These are yours default settings.
Now, lets perform insertion of parameters in following order:
Add a reservoir by pressing Add Reservoir on the toolbar. Reservoirs are nodes
that represent an infinite external source or sink of water to the network. They are
used to model such things as lakes, rivers, groundwater aquifers and some other
existing water system. Input properties for a reservoir are its hydraulic head (this
value is entered in meters).
Add junctions by pressing Add Junction on the toolbar. Junctions are points in the
network where pipes join together and where water enters or leaves the
network.Iinput data required for junctions are: elevation (this value is entered in
meters) and water demand (enter this value in l/s since this was the option
entered in default settings). The output results computed for junctions are:
hydraulic head and pressure. Junctions can also have multiple categories of
demands assigned to them.

Add tanks by pressing Add Tank on the toolbar. Tanks are nodes with storage
capacity, where the volume of stored water can vary with time during a
simulation. Input properties for tanks are: bottom elevation (enter this value in
meters), diameter (or shape if non-cylindrical), initial, minimum and maximum
water levels (also, enter all these values in meters). The output result for the
tanks is total head (water surface elevation). Tanks are required to operate within
their minimum and maximum levels. EPANET stops outflow if a tank is at its
minimum level and stops inflow if it is at its maximum level.
Connect your nodes (reservoir, junctions and/or tanks) with pipes. Add pipes by
pressing Add pipe on the toolbar. Pipes convey water from one point in the
network to another. EPANET assumes that all pipes are full at all times. Flow
direction is from the end at higher hydraulic head (internal energy per weight of
water) to that at lower head. The principal hydraulic input parameters for pipes
are: diameter (enter this value in millimeters and remember to enter pipes inside
diameter), length (enter this value in meters), roughness coefficient (it is unitless
for Hazen-Williams or Chezy-Manning roughness and has units of mm for DarcyWeisbach roughness) and initial status (open or closed). For the default value
leave the initial status of the pipe open. If, for example you want to check what
will happen with your network system if some pipe bursts or it is temporary out of
order because of some reconstruction or maintenance, then set the initial status
of the pipe closed. Computed outputs for pipes include: flow rate, velocity,
headloss and friction factor. The hydraulic head lost by water flowing in a pipe due
to friction with the pipe walls can be computed using three diferent formulas:
Hazen-Williams Formula, Darcy-Weisbach Formula and Chezy-Manning Formula
which was mentioned at the beginning at this manual. Minor losses caused by
bends and fittings can also be added by assigning the pipe a minor loss
coefficient.
Now, we all know that water is not distributed evenly during the hour, or day. It
means that our water demand is changing over the time. Please, be careful with
these data. If you have them, enter them in program, but, if you are lacking with
these kinds of data, then it is better to leave it blank, then to assume wrong. In
this case, I recommend entering maximum water consumption or to consult water
company in charge for the area where you want to do your calculations.
Run the calculation by pressing the Run button on the toolbar.
You can look at your results by selecting Report/Graph or Table. So, check carefully
results for the pressures in your network systems. Are the pressures sufficient? If
yes, then congratulations! You completed your task. But, what if the pressures are
not sufficient? Then maybe you can increase some pipe diameter and run the
simulation again, but if even then the pressures are not sufficient then it is
necessary to add a pump.
Pumps are devices that impart energy to a fluid thereby raising its hydraulic head.
Input parameter for a pump is its pump curve (the combination of heads and flows

that the pump can produce). The principal output parameters are flow and head
gain. Add pump by pressing Add Pump on the toolbar and insert it between two
nodes. Note: The program does not have database with entered Q-H curve. You
can enter Q-H manually in window Browser, option Data/Curves. Now, run your
simulation again and check your pressures (and all other results) by selecting
Report/Graph or Table.
Also, this program allows the comparison of data obtained by calculation with the
data measured in the field in water supply network (velocity, pressure, flow, etc) if
you want to correct your model. In menu Project/Calibration data you can form the
input file as indicated in Help menu, and then in the menu Report/Calibration data
you can do a comparative analysis.
On the Help/Help topics/Contents/Frequently Asked Questions are additional
explanations regarding common problems with the modeling of certain
parameters and generally work with EPANET.
The EPANET software and its complete manual are in public domain and can be
downloaded from the Web site of the US Environmental Protection agency. The
link is:
http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/wswrd/dw/epanet.html
Also, for further reading and practice I recommend those two links:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/103058660/Epanet-and-Development-How-tocalculate-water-networks-by-computer
http://www.scribd.com/doc/103057138/Epanet-and-Development-A-progressive44-exercise-workbook
And for the end: HAPPY EPANETING!