AFT Mercury

Piping System Optimization for Incompressible Pipe Flow Modeling

Overview

AFT Mercury analysis software is built on and includes all of the modeling building tools and analysis capabilities of AFT Fathom. Models of different incompressible piping systems may be developed and analyzed within AFT Mercury as in AFT Fathom, or model files developed within AFT Fathom may be opened by AFT Mercury.

AFT Mercury employs an advanced optimization engine and it is developed by Vanderplaats Research & Development to automatically determine optimal pipe and equipment sizes.

Cost Reduction Through Intelligent System Sizing

With AFT Mercury, you specify the design requirements and sizing criteria. Sizing criteria may be minimize initial or life cycle cost, or parameters such as pipe weight, volume or surface area.

The saving s in materials, installation, energy and other costs associated with you piping or ducting system can be dramatic. Traditional methods of systems sizing simply can't compare. No matter how good your design methods are, AFT Mercury is guaranteed to reduce cost.

Leading Edge Pipe Flow Modeling Technology

Built on advanced flow analysis and system modeling capabilities of the acclaimed AFT Fathom, AFT Mercury can simulate your piping system in complete detail. AFT Mercury addresses open and closed loop systems and include built-in library of fluids and fittings, variable model configurations, pump and control valve modeling and much more.

With the optional Chempak add-on, Thermo physical database of almost 700 fluids is avaible to further expand the envelope of our analysis and design.

Advanced Graphical Interface

The power of AFT Mercury's intelligent system sizing capabilities is readily accessible through and advanced drag and drop interface allowing the engineer to focus on their system rather than the mechanics of software manipulation.

Extensive database support greatly facilitates adding your data for fluids, materials, components and cost.

AFT Mercury applications include: Initial vs. Life Cycle Cost Optimization

By optimizing on initial cost or life cycle cost of any specified duration, AFT Mercury provides the power of informed decision making in developing your optimal piping or ducting system design.

Variable Frequency Drive vs. Control Valve Analysis

The true relative costs of VFD's vs control valves can only be determined by comparing systems optimized for each case, a task quickly done using AFT Mercury.

System Balancing through Optimal Sizing of Pipe and Duct Sizes

AFT Mercury analysis software can automatically determine line sizes to achieve inherent system flow balance resulting in significant reductions in pumping costs by minimizing throttling losses in flow control devices.

Optimize Over Multiple Design Cases

Imagine impact of determining piping, ducting and component sizes to minimize cost while insuring performance requirements are met for one or more off-design cases. Or perhaps you need concurrently optimize for alternate operating scenarios such as two pump operation in the summer and one pump operation in the winter? Optimization of these real world system requirements are all within AFT Mercury's capabilities.

Optimal Pump Sizing

More than just accurate defining pump head and suction requirements, AFT Mercury software will automatically determine the optimum trade off between pipe size selection and the resulting impact on pump capacity requirements and cost.