Completely free and anonymous downloads :-
You need to download AAINFO.EXE first by clicking on the button below and saving it on your computer. When run, you can choose 3RD and my other FREE software packages as required. For more information, see Program 1 of 10 on my HOME page.
3D version of 3RD - September 2009
I am pleased to offer a completely free program for the hydraulic calculation of Residential and Domestic sprinkler systems in accordance with BS9251. It is specifically optimised for the current NETBOOKS with their limited screen resolution so everything is in a nice big font size. You can now produce a 3D drawing of the pipes and up to 4 heads and can rotate the viewing position as shown in the little video below. 3RD fully complies with the schemes shown in the 'CLG Draft Guidance for the design and implementation of a Low Cost Domestic Sprinkler System (LCDS system) version 8 dated 28.04.09.
In addition to some job and nozzle data, you simply specify each pipe by its node numbers, size, length, direction and optional slope and the fitting at the start node (mainly because there are different elbow types so the program would only choose the wrong one). If there is a sprinkler head / nozzle at the end of the pipe, you just put a H after the node number.
You type this data into the program, line by line, in much the same way as an e-mail and save it to a named file on the computer. When complete, just click on "Calculate" to do the 'sums' to see the results presentation, again in 16 point text for ease of visibility, and if not satisfactory, you can quickly amend the data and try again.
The calculations will be carried out :-
- If no water supply information is given, the source flow and pressure will be determined by the minimum pressure at the most remotest head and the pipe sizes you specify
- You can quote a maximum pressure, minimum pressure at a matching flow rate at the entry to the property and the program will balance the head flow rates / pressures to suit
- You can quote a storage tank height and the design parameters of a booster pump (as recommended by the Water Authorites so as not to rely on their fluctuating pressures) to then adjust the pipe sizes to provide enough water out of the operating sprinkler heads
- In all cases, hydraulic gradient IS included, as the current simple spreadsheets or programmable calculators just say that 42 + 42 L/min equals 84 L/min which never happens of course because the two heads are at different points in the network, hence have varying pressures. This means my program gives the correct answer, as the pressure drop in a pipe goes up with the 1.85th power of the flow rate so if the water quantity is say 10% more, then the drop goes up by nearly 20%