SMS

Snapping Mesh Nodes to Arcs

By aquaveo on September 18, 2019

After generating a mesh, you might notice that not all of the nodes line up along key features. There are a few ways to resolve this, but SMS 13.0 introduces a new method: the Snap Mesh to Arcs command.

In order to use the Snap Mesh to Arcs command, you must have the following:

2D Mesh
Map coverage

Once you have the needed components, snap the nodes to an arc by doing the following:

On the map coverage, draw an arc or arcs where you want to move the mesh nodes.
Select the desired arcs.
Make certain the correct map coverage and mesh are active in the Project Explorer.
Right-click on the map coverage in the Project Explorer and select Snap Mesh to Arcs.
Specify a tolerance value in the Snap Mesh to Arcs dialog.

The command aligns the nodes in the mesh to the selected arcs in the map coverage. If no arcs are selected, this command will move nodes for all arcs in the coverage, so be certain to either select the correct arcs or make certain there are no extra arcs on the coverage.

When using the tool, it will only work with the active mesh and the active map coverage. Be certain that the correct mesh and map coverage are active in the Project Explorer.

It should be noted that not all nodes will be snapped to the selected arc. Any node that could cause instability, if moved, in the mesh will not be moved. Furthermore, nodes outside of the tolerance value will not be moved. When the nodes have been moved they cannot be moved back, therefore it might be a good idea to first use the tool on a duplicate of the target mesh then, if the results are good, rerun the tool on the target mesh.

The Snap Mesh to Arcs tool can be a useful addition to your mesh editing tools. Try it out in SMS today!

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SMS

Using Constant Paving Density

By aquaveo on August 28, 2019

Starting in SMS 13.0, there is a new paving option for 2D meshes.

Paving and other mesh types, such as patching, determine the shape and size of elements (cells) when generating 2D meshes. These options are set on polygons in the Map module using the 2D Mesh Polygon Properties dialog.

Using the correct mesh type can have a large impact on your project. A good mesh type will create the correct shape and size of the mesh elements that model the physical features accurately. Selecting the wrong mesh type can add needless complexity to your mesh and cause errors in the model run.

Previous mesh type methods included patch, paving, and scalar paving density.

The pave meshing method fills a mesh polygon with equilateral, triangular elements. The new constant paving density uses the same approach as paving, but with an added component of a size and bias specified for each polygon. Size controls the target element size, while bias controls how quickly the elements transition to that size.

The following image shows the effects of changing the size and bias for a 100 x 200 rectangular mesh, with arc spacing of 5.

It should be noted that the above are merely examples to demonstrate the effect of changes in the size and bias values. For smooth transition of element size, it is recommended that the bias value be less than 0.3. Having element sizes that change too quickly can significantly impact the model run results.

As always, it is a good idea to perform a mesh quality check on the final mesh before including the mesh in your model. If problems are found in the mesh, adjust your size and bias setting then regenerate the mesh.

With the options available for mesh types, these tools should give you what you need to make the perfect mesh for your projects. Try the constant paving density option in SMS today!

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SMS

Common Installation Issues with XMS

By aquaveo on August 14, 2019

Are you having trouble installing GMS, SMS, or WMS? Here are three common installation issues, and how to overcome them.

Virtual Machines

The main issues when using virtual machines is selecting the correct type of installation. Single-user locks are not compatible with virtual environments. If you are trying to install XMS with a single-user lock and a virtual machine is detected, XMS will not install. You will need a network lock to get around this issue. Network locks are designed to be used with virtual machines. Single-user locks are not capable of being used as a network lock.

Firewalls and User Permissions

Sometimes, a good password will fail to install XMS, This is because your computer actually needs to contact our servers to verify the authenticity of the password. When an internet error comes up, it's typically related to a firewall, user permissions, or antivirus software blocking the connection to our servers.

Try one of these solutions to resolve this issue:

Whitelist which ever XMS program you are trying to install and the registration wizard.
Temporarily disable the firewall/antivirus software.

Note that firewalls are typically something each company's IT department handles.

If you are running Windows 8 or 10, and you are not running in a virtual environment, then the issue could be caused by a Windows feature called Hyper-V. Disabling Hyper-V can resolve the problem. You can find instructions on how to disable Hyper-V by reading this article.

Hardware locks

When installing a hardware lock, be sure to have your drivers installed and running before attempting to register the lock. Additionally, please also ensure that the lock is plugged into the computer at the time you are attempting to register. (Note that as a security measure, the reburn cannot take place remotely.) For instructions on how to install your specific type of hardware lock please visit our page here.

Feel free to contact our technical support team at support@aquaveo.com for more individual help in troubleshooting any of these problems. Please recognize that Aquaveo technical support can only help troubleshoot individual machine issues to a certain point.

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GMS

SMS

WMS

How to Generate a Flood Depth Raster

By aquaveo on August 7, 2019

After running your model, such as SRH-2D, you will have a water surface elevation (WSE) dataset. Did you know that, starting in SMS 13.0, you can use the WSE dataset to create a raster showing the flood depths?

SMS can create a flood depth raster by using the WSE solution dataset at a specific time step and comparing it to the initial elevation data. Using both of these datasets, it can then generate a raster that shows the flooded areas for a specific time step.

In order to create a flood depth raster your project will need a WSE solution dataset and an elevation raster. Once you have a raster:

Select the desired time step for your WSE solution dataset.
Right-click on the raster and select Convert To | Flood Depths.
In the Select Geometry and Dataset dialog, select a geometry containing your WSE solution dataset. The selected geometry can be either a 2D mesh or a 2D scatter set.
Next select the WSE solution dataset.
Click OK to close the Select Geometry and Dataset dialog, which will launch the Save As dialog.
Creating a name for your raster and click Save. (Note that the file should be saved as a "GeoTIFF Files (*.tif)".
Hide the mesh and elevation raster to be able to view your new flood depth raster.

It should be noted that it may take a few minutes for the flood depth raster to be generated depending on the available processing power of your machine. Since a raster file is saved during the process, the file is available for use in other applications if desired. Coordinate data is saved with the file.

Now that you know to create flood depth rasters, try using them in your SRH-2D projects in SMS.

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SMS