Written by: Kalervo Aho
Are you looking for user-friendly hydraulic modeling software to help you build a hydrodynamic model for your stormwater system? Look no further than Fluidit Storm. In this blog post, Michal Oktawiec, Engineer and Hydrodynamic Modeler at RetencjaPL, shares his experience with Fluidit Storm, its capabilities, and how it has enhanced his workflow and increased productivity.
Michal is responsible for hydrodynamic modeling, urban hydrology, and hydrology at RetencjaPL, a company specializing in hydraulic modeling and stormwater management. Michal states Fluidit Storm is easy to use and has a friendly interface. It took him only a month to get to full speed with the software, even with complex models, and he successfully built a hydrodynamic model for the city of Gliwice in Poland. The network consists of about 19000 junctions and 505 km of pipes, covering an area of about 4150 ha. With the model, they can now identify possible floods in the city. While building the model with Fluidit Storm, he could also calibrate several catchments, which we all know is complex.
One of the software’s capabilities that Michal found useful is the function that allows for the automated connection of a catchment to a junction, making the process much quicker than his previous software. Another advantage is displaying the results through graphs, which offers many ways to show data and accelerates the work. Michal also appreciated the function that fills in the missing elevation, compared to a competitor software he previously used.
Fluidit Storm also offers a range of built-in tools to facilitate model construction and validation. The program allows for seamless data loading and simulations for different scenarios. The workflow is taken to the next level by the scenario comparison toolkit and many functions for visualizing the network data, the background layer, and the simulation results. The 2D flood results are generated quickly and are easy to compare between various scenarios.
Michal sees many advantages in the software, for example, easy data transfer from other systems, powerful Digital Elevation Model (DEM) tools, and the in-built GIS that eliminates the need to switch between systems. Also, the fast 2D flood simulations and nuances like the automatic collection of buildings from Open Street Map (OSM) into the DEM save time in daily use. However, he notes future improvements, such as exporting only one column from a table with elements or exporting longitudinal profiles to DXF.
Michal and his team were surprised at how user-friendly and fast Fluidit Storm is, making data processing easy, even with large digital terrain model files. In general, the software’s output files are light. Even the videos/visual files take only a few MB, making them easy to share and present. “Well done, Fluidit!” -Michal cheers.
Michal is yet to receive advanced training, but he notes that his support experience has been excellent. He says that the Fuildit team is flexible and tries to make life easy for the client without restrictions typical for large international software producers. He believes that now, with some experience with the software, it is an ideal time to receive proper advanced training from Fluidit.
Fluidit Storm offers great value for money in terms of cost and performance. Michal compares the 1D simulation with other software, noting that the simulation times are on par with competitors; however, he highlights that Fluidit Storm offers more functions and is more user-friendly.
Michal recommends Fluidit Storm, especially as a 1D + 2D software, as the 2D modeling is rapid and easy to implement. There are great functions, like comparing simulations, allowing easy assessment without external GIS software. Fluidit Storm is a fast and user-friendly hydraulic modeling software that can help you build complex hydrodynamic models quickly and efficiently. Michal would like to see Fluidit more broadly present in Poland so that more people would get familiar with the Fluidit software and the opportunities it opens.
Read more about Fluidit Storm here.