Tanks are defined by their dimensions, shapes and the level of water and sediment. The pressure loss due to the connection with a tank can be adjusted in the Pipe Edit Box.
There are three methods for a pipe to connect to a tank:
- Below the water level – The water can flow in and out of the tank. Pressure head will be added to the pipe, except for a dam.
- Above the water level – The water can only flow into the tank.
- At the water level – The pipe will act like a drain and the flow will be the sum of the flow entering minus the flow leaving the tank by another pipe. If more water leaves the tank than enter the tank or if no water enter the tank, then the flow in the drain will be 0. The flow in the drain cannot be higher than the capacity of the pipe.
Channels can only flow into a tank and be connected above the water level (otherwise a warning will say that the channel is overflowing). Water cannot flow from a tank straight into a channel; at least one pipe is needed between the channel and the tank.
- Dam – If the dam option is checked, there will be no pressure head. It will be assumed that the entry of each pipe will be just at the surface (top) of the tank.
- Dimensions
- Shape – Shape of the tank.
- Tank Height – Total height of the tank.
- Area – Tank area. Linked to the radius, changing the area will change the dimensions of the tank according to the shape.
- Radius / width / width2 – Tank dimension. Linked to the area, changing the dimensions will change the area of the tank according to the shape.
- Content
- Water Level – Height of the water level in the tank. The pressure head will be calculated using this value and the height of the pipe connection with the tank.
- Hold Water Level – The water level of this tank will remain the same during a dynamic simulation.
- Sediment Height – Height of sediment at the bottom of the tank.
- Height – Distance between the pipe connection and the tank bottom. Only appear if there is only one pipe connected to the tank. If changed, the tank position will adjust.