Craig Christensen

Hi Ruan, In Ventsim DESIGN version 6.0 we have the error types grouped into a tree view. Would splitting the Entry Exit into single and both ends there be enough? For the flashing currently we just show the opposite colour to whatever the current colour is for each airway that needs to flash, so making some flash to a different colour would be a more complicated feature to implement vs a new error grouping. At the moment airways that are not connected on both ends appear in both groups in the new error/warning box. Perhaps a group for "no entry and exit" could be useful?

Pumpsim DESIGN replaces Pumpsim 3.1 and is also the start of a new shared codebase that all of our simulation products will be based on. It already has many improvements over the old product and will continue to receive more new features as it is developed alongside our Ventsim products. Some of these new features that are coming soon are mentioned below as well. If you wish to upgrade to Pumpsim DESIGN from your current Pumpsim 3.1 license or receive a trial license, please get in touch with us either here on the forum or send an email to ventsim@howden.com. Pumpsim DESIGN can open "*.psm" files made in version 3.1 so updating should be a smooth process but if you have any issues let us know and we will help. Here is a list of what is new in Pumpsim DESIGN vs Pumpsim 3.1. Simulation Improvements Speed of Simulation, particularly Dynamic Simulations Dynamic Simulation with 3D Containers is 5-50x faster! Gas mixture and time spread simulation Heat simulation - coming to Pumpsim DESIGN Reference Layer Features Simplify References Allows you to reduce the memory/file footprint of reference layers by removing unnecessary details. Reference Layer Visibility These new buttons allow you to easily toggle the visibility of layers that contain solids, lines, text or 3D reference tanks. Easier Reference Element Selection When selecting reference elements, the individual triangles become outlined allowing for easy selection holding Ctrl + Click to select or Ctrl + Click again to unselect a specific element. This can be useful when splitting a layer into a 3D reference tank. Draw with Drape and Draw with Offset from Reference Graphic In this mode as you draw the pipes onto reference surfaces, they will automatically drape onto the surface below and will only create extra nodes where the angle changes. Topography Import - Coming soon to Pumpsim DESIGN This new feature will allow you to import a surface topography with matching satellite imagery already textured onto it from a GPS point. All of the topography layers in the screenshots below were generated with this new feature: New and Improved UI Features Advanced Message Boxes This powerful new reporting feature allows you to create dynamically populated message boxes that extract information from one or many locations within the model for viewing as a billboard on the screen or floating in place at a set location. You can either list all results individually, or you can sum, average, min or max the results together. You can also use the copy button on the bottom left corner to extract the data used to generate that message box onto your clipboard for pasting into Excel. New Presets Form With the new Presets form you can easily see where you have edited in the form, as it will highlight both the row and the cell changed. You can also do more advanced filtering and drag columns up to the header to group the rows by the values in that column: Pumps, Compressors and Turbines Forms Pumps organisation is now easier with a tree view. You can also set and remove custom icons and view the full list in a table view where you can see the number of each variant currently in use. Advanced Find and Select The new Advanced Find and Select tool replaces the old drop-down menus for Find and allows you to search for objects with exact matches or within a range of values. Visibility Options Replacing the drop-down menus that were on the left side of the view, this can be left open while you toggle settings on/off instead of having to click into the menus each time. Spreadsheet View The new Spreadsheet view allows you to filter and group results, choose custom column outputs and save those outputs as Saved Views to easily regenerate with updated results. You can also easily export the results to clipboard for use in Excel or other software. Stage Navigation Buttons Easily cycle through the stages in your model using the navigation buttons next to the stage name New Errors and Warnings Form Simulation errors and warnings are now grouped by type and displayed in a tree view structure to make it easier to manage errors and warnings. Clicking the colour button while colour the lines by the colour of the pipe/channel that the error/warning is linked to. You can also use the checkboxes to select / edit and clicking the lines still moves the view to show where the pipe is in the model. If you click on a group heading the view will cycle through the list as you click. Scenario Form The scenario events form has been redesigned and updated to automatically pull in the other side of an Above/Below action to make it easier to setup and manage your events. Selection Recall If you have just cleared your selection and want to re-select everything again, you can now do so using this drop-down menu or by using the Alt-A shortcut. Draw with Multiple Coordinates You can now paste in a series of node points or a series of starting and ending line points and Pumpsim DESIGN will generate pipes in those coordinates. Improved Inherit You can now individually select which elements from another Pumpsim DESIGN file you wish to inherit, and you also now have better control over what happens when conflicts occur with your existing model. Improved File Backup Backups now happen at start up and then at the set interval but only if changes have occurred since the last backup. You can also choose to have the backups save without reference elements reducing the size of the backup files Improved Graphics Engine Draw/Move pipes smoothly on larger models. Improved lighting and Pipe/Node/Tank Meshes New settings in the Graphics -> Rendering options allow you to choose mesh quality levels if you need to increase performance on a large model. Water Levels Visible on Channels You can now see how full a channel is without needing to check in the info form. Improved Text Visibility All text now has a border around it, so it’s much easier to read regardless of the colour behind it. Improved Icons All Icons are now twice the resolution that they were in Pumpsim 3.1, including any custom icons you add to a preset. Textured Pipes based on Pipe Material - coming to Pumpsim DESIGN Similar to the airway textures feature in Ventsim DESIGN 6.0, this new feature will allow you to assign textures to materials, making it easier to tell whether a pipe is made out of Poly or Galvanised Steel etc. If you have any questions or feedback about anything in this post, please feel free to comment below or contact us at ventsim.support@howden.com.

Hi Fred, the latest release (Ventsim DESIGN 6.0.1.8) will handle the empty values for these columns without you needing to remove them. Regards, Craig

Hi Fred, I have found the bug and fixed it for the next release. There is also a work around for current versions though: Go to the end of the script file and delete the headers columns that are empty in all of the rows underneath, like the ones marked below: With the current versions, you can also delete any columns from the script that contains values that do not change between the scripts, the only ones you must keep are at the beginning columns that store the airway ID values. So for example if you were just adjusting the size in an airway across the scripts you can remove all the other columns and keep the ID ones and just the size related columns and that will work. Regards, Craig

Hi Fred, You are the second person recently that has experienced this error with the static script. I think a bug has found its way into the static scripting tool sometime late in the 5.4 versions, so I don't think there is an issue with your script in particular. I'm going to look at this tomorrow and then send you some further feedback on a fix. If you would like us to test with your script and file combination you can email it to us at ventsim.support@howden.com. However, I think for now I'll see if I can get a fix in soon for this for the next release. Regards, Craig

Hi Miguel, I think there is a bug with replay on the explosive sim. I have been testing it out and confirm that it doesn't seem to be working. While we take a look at fixing this, one thing I would recommend is to place a dynamic monitor in the key locations. Then run the simulation through. You will then be able to click on the monitors that were in place and view the simulated results over time. For point 2 and 3, there isn't a "clear" status in Ventsim that you need to adjust a setting for. You can use the colour legend if you want to have it visually clear by adjusting the scale to suit. So you also don't have to worry about ignoring certain areas as there is no clear status that they would be holding up. The recommended method is to place monitors in the important locations and then review when they become clear below your acceptable levels. After running the explosive sim you can use the display mode (magnifying glass) to click on the monitors and it will open the data for that location for the period of the simulation You can also click the button on the top right to copy the data to a table format

Hi Fred, Is Ventlog opening up to an offline file and showing in offline mode? Or can you not get past an initial dialog message? If it is showing as being in offline mode. You can have a look and see if you can take a copy that offline file from where it is likely to be stored: C:\ProgramData\Chasm Consulting\Ventlog\ Copy that offline file and paste it where it is trying to find the original file and see if that works. There should also be a prompt when you try to switch back to online mode to ask if the original file location has changed, and so you could use that method to reconnect to the copy of the offline file that you had pasted. If you need to reset everything. You will need to delete all the Ventlog settings that persist across installations. This means deleting everything in this folder: C:\ProgramData\Chasm Consulting\Ventlog Then go to this folder C:\ProgramData\Chasm Consulting\Ventsim but only delete the file named "VLogInfo.dat" Then you will need to clear out the Application settings that persist across installations. In the file explorer, navigate to these 3 locations: (should work by just copy and pasting the value directly into the file path of the file explorer, as these work as shortcut folder links) %appdata% %localappdata% %appdata%/.../locallow In each of these folders, look for any folders in those locations with the names like the following: Howden Howden Group Howden_Group Chasm Consulting Chasm_Consulting (There isn’t likely all of these folder names, just depends on the version installed) Then check inside those folders for folders that have Ventlog in the name and delete those folders. They will look something like this: Just delete any of those folders found. This will make it like you have a completely fresh installation. Let me know if you still need any further assistance with Ventlog. Regards, Craig

Hi All, If you are currently experiencing an issue with license activation or release and your maintenance is up to date, please install the latest version (5.4.9.1) from the website https://ventsim.com/files/vvsetupminorrelease54.exe The new versions will work via the backup licensing server automatically if needed. It should also fix the issue with not being able to release the license properly that some users have reported. The main web server will hopefully be restored soon but new versions should already work. We are also planning to re-issue versions 5.1 and 5.2 and some of the previous year 5.4 versions for those without current maintenance. The new version should also work better with Windows 11 users who had some issues with license activation/release. If version 5.4.9.1 does not work your firewall may need updating to allow Ventsim to contact https://www.ventsim.com/license.php If you are still stuck and your license activation isn't working, send an email to ventsim.support@howden.com Regards, Craig

Please install the latest version 5.4.9.1 from the website https://ventsim.com/files/vvsetupminorrelease54.exe The new version will work via the backup licensing server automatically. It should also fix the issue with not being able to release the license properly. It should also work better with Windows 11 users who had some issues with license activation/release. Regards, Craig

Hi Sohel, I am unsure if this is what you are wanting to achieve but if you are using a 3D container style of tank in the model and want to see the objects under the water level, there is a setting found by going to the Main Menu Bar -> Settings -> Rendering. Then change the Container3DTransparentWater setting from 255 (fully solid) to a smaller value like say 160 or 180. This is the Alpha value of the colour which represents how transparent the colour is from 0 being completely invisible to 255 being completely solid. You will also need to check that the setting labelled FittingBeforeDxf is set to true, as the other way around will obscure the fittings behind the reference layers. This will change a view like this with 255 as the setting: To look like this with 180 as the setting: If you would also like the water colour itself to change, that is not a feature in Pumpsim 3. We are considering adding an option to colour tanks fluid by the fluid type setting in the new Pumpsim DESIGN though. Please let us know if that is something you are interested in seeing. Regards, Craig

Hi Koray, To record a reversed flow in Ventlog you should input a negative value for the flow. The Ventlog station will have a horizontal bearing that is imported from the Ventsim airway when the Ventlog station is linked to it. This data can be used to create an DXF export from Ventlog. This will draw an arrow in the direction of this bearing for the most recent flow recorded. If the input is negative, it will flip the arrow around the other way in that export. For looking within Ventsim it's a little bit trickier to know, as airways will flip around to always show a positive value. That's why I think it might be useful to consider the DXF export and then import that exported DXF file into Ventsim and include an offset that will put the arrow outside your airway size, (e.g., average airway height as an offset value in the Z axis would tend to put the arrow above it). This would give you an extra visual aid on which way Ventlog recording is measured as flowing in when comparing the values.

Hi, Can you send us your script file (or just a sample of it) at ventsim.support@howden.com and we can take a look at it? If you can include some screenshots of issues you are encountering as well, that would be helpful. We do intend to improve both the static and dynamic scripting tools in the future but not in the short term, I have noted your suggestion of allowing dynamic script files to work with different formatted data. Regards, Craig

I have noted your feedback, though LiveView is unlikely to return as we cannot maintain both LiveView and Ventsim Control, and Control has much greater capabilities. Yes, Ventsim Control can run in a virtual machine and there are several options for connecting to sensors. The base edition that is limited to read-only functionality was made cheaper when it became the replacement of LiveView. You can also run Ventsim Control alongside any existing monitoring system you have in place. Please send us an email (ventsim@howden.com) if you would like more info about Ventsim Control (pricing, setup requirements etc.).

Hi Andrzej, The LiveView feature was discontinued on 31st Dec 2021 and replaced with the Ventsim Control software instead. Ventsim Control can connect directly to sensor units and also can run trending, alerts and it can also maintain a real time dynamic simulation whether you are currently looking at it or not, as the server is always running the simulation in the background. Ventsim Control is a much more robust system with more features than was possible with LiveView. You can try using an older version of the software which has the LiveView feature present (versions from before 2022) if you urgently need to try it, but I strongly recommend investigating Ventsim Control for this purpose. Let us know if you would like some more information about using Ventsim Control. There is a feature that is still in the Ventsim Design software that is similar to LiveView which is called the Dynamic Script. This feature allows you to take a history of readings and replay them in a Ventsim Dynamic simulation with the sensor results being inserted into the simulation so that you can see the downstream predictions. You can access this feature from the Connect menu in Ventsim Design. From here if you click the Create Example Script it will generate an Excel file with all of the sensor type numbers and column names that would automatically map in as sensors in Ventsim. The script will look something like this: You will see a column named VSLocation, if you know the unique number in Ventsim put those values in that column and the sensor will be mapped to those airways. Also note you can map the data types using the SensorType column, see the Description column for what number to use for each type of data. You don't need to fill in the Description column in your input file from your data. When your file is ready to import, select it at the top as the input file and then click the Import Sensors button. This will bring in the sensors found in the script. If you already put the unique airway numbers in the script file then they will be mapped to airways directly. If not then you will need to link the sensor to the airways next. Close the Dynamic Script form and edit an airway where a sensor needs to be. Go to the Connect tab and click Link Sensors, this will bring up the list of Sensors imported into the model from that Dynamic Script. Once you have mapped your sensors, go back to the Dynamic Script form, enable the simulation options you want and then click Run. A Dynamic Simulation will start up and it will cover the time period found across the sensor data.

Hi Koray, We are currently making a feature along these lines. If you would like to try a beta version of this tool, please send us an email at ventsim.support@howden.com and we can have a look at it with you. There is a format the data needs to be arranged in but it's fairly straightforward to do and you can have other tabs in the sheet that feed into that format. Regards, Craig

Hi Roberto, Do you mean connecting to automatic sensors or just adding gas readings to a Ventlog station manually during a survey?

Hi Toma, Thanks for letting us know, it looks like it is purely a labelling issue in Ventsim when displaying that record type. We will update this in the next release of Ventsim DESIGN and let you know when it is available. Regards, Craig

Hi Roy, I don't encounter any issues like that when I try using the Request Licence Release, it works okay for me. Can you send us an email at ventsim.support@howden.com and include screenshots of what you are seeing along with the version number of Ventsim that you are using. Regards, Craig

Thanks Fred, We will check it out, from your info it sounds like the output is just ending one line too soon on the selected output, we will let you know when the fix is ready. Regards, Craig

Hi Fred, Thanks for the ideas around improving the scripting tool. We are also thinking of ways to make it easier to use since it is getting more use lately (it was originally a tool for research students to use so it has a very limited UI as it is today). At the moment it just uses the column order/name that is used in the file save/load, which is why fields don't necessarily line up with where they appear in the UI, (e.g. if we add a new field relating to heat today, it will might end up at the end of the columns in the file structure). This makes it easy to read in the script changes, as it lets the tool just borrow those existing functions from the save/load methods, but it is not so easy to understand. There are also some fields that are just a index number that relate to another property in the preset list and things like that which are difficult to work out without a bit of trial and error. One idea from another user at our conference was for us to possibly use the spreadsheet tool to help construct the script. I think this might be the easiest way, as what we could do is allow you to select the airways and columns you want to change, then in that spreadsheet tool, make the adjustments and save it as a script entry with a name etc. so you could build up your scripts using that tool and then run them and output the results also to the spreadsheet tool but perhaps we should also keep the excel options there for more advanced tools built around them to still be able to work as they do today. We will post here more when we start to work on it and that will be a great way to get some feedback as we develop the tool. Regards, Craig

Hi Phil. There is a tablet mode in Ventlog. To enable it click this button on the ribbon menu so that it switches to Tablet Mode When in Tablet mode it will look like this: Then when you click the Add button you will see the tablet entry form: You select a station with the search button, select any reason for reading, activity etc. that you would like to enter and then click the Add Records button to move to the next screen You can only add records that you have already setup as your Favourites, so you should have the favourites list setup (you don't need to enter a value for everything in the favourites list every time). You tap the record type from the list and then use the number pad to tap in the value and then move to the next data type. The one entry that is a bit different is Velocity, where you can via reading with an anemometer or smoke tube (anemometers can be setup in the Edit ribbon menu with their latest calibration figures as well). To generate a valid entry, you need to take 2 consecutive readings within a threshold (setup in the System Settings) and then click Enter Average to submit that average velocity from the last two readings. You can then go to the Comment tab and write in any comments you want to add, this should prompt the on screen keyboard to open to type with. Then you have a final Review & Submit screen which just lets you double check what you have entered all in one screen before you submit the record. You may need to download the latest version of Ventlog if you can't see the Tablet mode button. Let us know if you have any questions. Regards, Craig

Hi Frédéric, Can you let us know what version you are running? We will see if we can recreate it. You can't change any of the system settings in the script though, so this might not be the tool to use. What are you looking to achieve with the different heat sims? We may be able to point you to a more suitable tool for what you are trying to do. Regards, Craig

Hi Frédéric, It depends on which parameters you are wanting to change, but the scripting tool may be your best bet. A quick guide to the tool: Use the Connect menu and launch the static script tool. Then select the Create button first, this will generate a script that contains each airway in your model. Open the file that was generated and you should see that the output will contain all of the airways, but you can delete the ones you aren't intending to modify across the scripts. The file format is pretty much just the Ventsim Excel file format for the airways. In this case for simplicity sake, I have removed everything but these first two airways (just so you get the idea): Now that I am left with just a couple of rows, it will be much easier for me to make a few scripts that will execute one after the other. To do this you just copy and paste the rows and then change the number in the first column, and then you can modify some other part of that airway's properties in the other columns. Make sure you keep each script's rows together. It's okay to have a space between scripts but it isn't necessary. The rest of the model will remain identical to how it is at the time that you run the script. Now back in the Static Script form, you can select that file you created as the Script File and also you will need to choose a location to save the results as an output file, using the buttons is the easiest way. Then choose which types of simulations you want to run on your script using the Simulate options. Then for the output format, you can choose to output all of the data columns possible, or you can select the data values you are interested in only using the Selected button on the Output area of this form. Running the Test will show you how your output will look. The extra options are to Reset after each run: this just resets the results between scripts. Output only input airways: this one limits the data output to just the airways found in the script, otherwise it will output every airway's results). Summarise only input airways: each script output contains a summary report, if this is selected the summary details will only be for the airways found in the script, otherwise the whole model will be summarised. Create New Worksheet each case: this will set the results into different worksheets, but they will be within the same result file. You can also use the Output folder and Prefix to name the script outputs as separate files that will appear in a selected output folder. Auto-exclude: to remove airways mined after a input date from the scripting The final choice is just there to give you an easy way to change between outputting all of the possible results columns (Native Output) or just the ones you selected (Selected Output). Then you can just run the scripts with the Run button and you should see a results file something like this: If you need help with modifying a specific property of an airway in the script file, let us know as it can be a bit tricky to know exactly what to change there. If you need help with the script file you have already made, send it to us at ventsim.support@howden.com and we will take a look at it and see what it is missing. Regards, Craig

Hi, The spreadsheet tool is a read only view of the model. There is no way to edit via that form other than using it to select airways to bring up into the normal edit form. If you want to do some bulk editing, one way to do it is via saving the model to spreadsheet format using the file Save As menu. Then editing the resulting file in excel. Then you can go back to Ventsim and open that edited excel file afterwards and save it back to a Ventsim format file. Some parts of the spreadsheet columns may be a bit confusing, so let us know if you need any help with the spreadsheet file format.

Hi, Sorry we missed this post, we noticed an email in our support as well and replied there. Static Scripts are tricky to get working as you often need to change it in several different columns to create a valid script, if you send us a copy of the script to our support email we will look at what might be causing the issue.