Feature Details
The EPANET 2.2 release includes a list of documented features, most of which have been incorporated into the WaterCAD and WaterGEMS for the associated Engine Compatibility modes. The extent to which the main features have been included is documented in the following table.
| EPANET 2.2 Feature | Included in WaterCAD and WaterGEMS? | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Additional Convergence Parameters | Yes | These are available in the calculation options for a hydraulic analysis when the appropriate Engine Compatibility mode is selected. They are Flow Change Limit and Headloss Error Limit respectively. |
| More Efficient Node Re-ordering | Yes | Users of WaterCAD and WaterGEMS have been beneficiaries of more efficient node re-ordering since 2009 when this was included in the Bentley products for all Engine Compatibility modes. |
| Improved Handling of Near-Zero Flows | Yes | The changes have been incorporated into the associated Engine Compatibility modes. |
| Pressure Dependent Demands | Yes* | Users of WaterCAD and WaterGEMS have been
able to simulate pressure dependent demands for the best part of 2 decades, and
the feature is still significantly more capable than EPANET’s PDD with
piecewise linear function support, the ability to apply PDD selectively to a
portion of the network and as a percentage of the total demand (i.e., a mix of
PDD and standard demand analysis).
*The one exception is that EPANET 2.2 supports a Minimum Pressure where the demand becomes zero. This cannot be accommodated directly within WaterCAD/GEMS, however, it is possible to incorporate through the use of piecewise linear pressure dependent demand curves. Note that when exporting a WaterCAD/GEMS model to EPANET 2.2, the PDD options are NOT exported, due to the inability of the EPANET 2.2 PDD support to embody the full range of WaterCAD/GEMS settings. |
| Tank Overflows | Yes | The ability for tanks to overflow has been added to WaterCAD/GEMS for all Engine Compatibility modes, except for EPANET 2.00.10 and EPANET 2.00.12 where those modes are intended to match the results from those versions of EPANET. |
| Improved Water Quality Mass Balance | No | At the current time the new EPANET 2.2 Water Quality algorithm has not been included in WaterCAD/GEMS. When running the EPANET 2.2.0 or WaterGEMS 2.2.0 Engine Compatibility modes, the Water Quality algorithm based on EPANET 2.00.12 will be used. |