Project Overview
Using Bentley WaterCAD v8i software, Coleman Engineering performed hydraulic modeling of both the potable (Area 20 Water Distribution System) and industrial water system networks at the Aerojet facility in eastern Sacramento County, south of Folsom.
For the Area 20 Water Distribution System, Coleman created from scratch a hydraulic model that was subsequently calibrated successfully using data from field tests at eight fire hydrants. The model was able to confirm existing system hydraulic conditions and that two new 30 HP Goulds pumps proposed by Aerojet are sufficient to provide minimum fire flow requirements above residual pressure limits at all system hydrants. Aerojet is also planning to divide its industrial water system into two independent water systems, so that it can retain half for its own use and separate out the remainder for use by AMPAC Fine Chemicals. Coleman updated Aerojet’s industrial water model and verified using the model that the portion of the network retained by Aerojet will still provide adequate flow and pressure during fire and non-fire flow scenarios.
Key Challenges & Solutions
As with all hydraulic modeling assignments, the quality of the input data has a major influence on the ability of the finalized model to accurately depict reality. We adopted an iterative approach with the client on both systems: this allowed us to focus on requesting additional specific information from specific locations once a version of the model had been created and initially run, and its output analyzed.
February 14, 2022