SMS

Computing a Courant Number for an SRH-2D Model

By aquaveo on December 21, 2022

Sometimes, you might want to calculate a Courant number for your SRH-2D model. In most cases, this isn't necessary because SRH-2D is an implicit model. Unlike explicit models such as HEC-RAS, SRH-2D is not Courant limited. With SRH-2D, it is more important to verify convergence and stability than Courant compliance. However, we know that calculating a Courant number dataset for SRH-2D is occasionally desired. Fortunately, SMS now has the Advective Courant Number tool to compute a Courant number dataset based on velocity.

First, let's be clear about what a Courant number does. A Courant number tells you the number of mesh elements that a given water particle passes through during a time step. If the Courant number is less than one, the given particle of water would not pass through an entire mesh element in a single time step.

In SMS, the Advective Courant Number tool computes a Courant Number dataset including every node at every time step. It uses the following equation:

Courant Number Equation

To use the Advective Courant Number tool, do the following:

Make sure a transient SRH-2D solution file is already loaded.
Open the SMS Toolbox, and under Datasets, find the Advective Courant Number tool.
Set the Velocity dataset, the time step length for the simulation, and the desired name for the output dataset.
Run the tool.

Example of the Advective Courant Number tool

The Advective Courant Number tool might stall depending on the vector dataset for your SRH-2D simulation. Running the SRH-2D simulation again might solve this problem. Before running the simulation again, we recommend saving the project as a new file to preserve the old solution files. Then, in the new SMS project file, run SRH-2D again. Once the new solution is loaded into SMS, run the Advective Courant Number tool again using the new velocity dataset.

To see the results, open the Properties dialog for the Courant number dataset. There, you will find the maximum and minimum for the whole dataset and the current time step.

Calculate the Courant number dataset for your SRH-2D simulation in SMS today!

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SMS

Switching Model Executables

By aquaveo on November 30, 2022

The Groundwater Modeling System, Surface-water Modeling System, and Watershed Modeling System (collectively known as XMS) applications make use of multiple numerical models. XMS is packaged with the executables for each of these numerical models. At times, you may need to switch out which numerical model executable XMS uses.

In general, you will want to use the model executable that comes packaged with the XMS. XMS is coded to work with the specific model executables that are distributed with each version of the software.

There are some reasons you might want to change which model executable it used. It might fix a bug with the model executable. It might get you access to features in an older or newer version of the model executable. It might also help you test issues with the numerical model. Replacing the model executable isn't guaranteed to help with any of these, but it is one option for troubleshooting with all of them.

For all XMS applications, the numerical model executables to be used are selected in the Preferences dialog. If you already know where the model executable is, you can copy and paste the executable into the preferences dialog. To do so, use the following workflow:

Copy the executable file path. If using Windows 11, right-click on the desired model executable and select "Copy as Path."
If using Windows 10, open the Properties dialog from the right-click menu. Copy and paste the location path into a text document. Then, make sure to grab the file name ending in ".exe" as well. The executable path will be incomplete without that file name.
In your XMS software, open the Preferences dialog from the Edit menu.
Find the model executable that you want to change and click on the file path next to the name or the Browse button.
In SMS or WMS, this will bring up an Open dialog. In the File name box, paste in the new executable path. If you are using Windows 11, make sure to delete the quotation marks at the beginning and end. Selecting Open saves the new model executable.
In GMS, the model executable is editable without bringing up the Open dialog. Simply erase the former executable path and paste in the new one. As long as the path is a valid path and the path ends in ".exe", GMS will save it. Again, for Windows 11, delete the quotation marks.
Finalize the model executable by clicking OK to exit the Preferences dialog. Otherwise, the executable will not save.

Example of model executables in the Preferences dialog

Now, there are some issues to keep in mind. As mentioned earlier, changing out a numerical model executable is not guaranteed to fix a particular issue or even improve the situation. Older or newer versions of the model executable may not always be compatible with your version of XMS. Sometimes the model executable is not compatible with a particular project. The new executable might even worsen the situation. If any of these things happen, you can reintroduce the original executable.

Check out the available model executables in XMS today!

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Exploring Display Themes in SMS

By aquaveo on November 23, 2022

SMS has an expansive suite of display options that allows you to visualize your results with style and clarity. What’s more, SMS has tools that can streamline how you adjust display options. Have you ever wanted to be able to adjust display options in SMS without actually opening the Display Options dialog? Have you contoured a dataset to your liking and now want to save those particular contour settings to return to them quickly? Display themes make these things possible. Today we discuss the uses of display themes as well as considerations to keep in mind while using them.

Display themes have several uses. Imagine a project where you want to quickly navigate between two different parts of the project. Display themes can be used to save view options, so you can jump back and forth between opposite ends of the project by clicking on the display theme in the Project Explorer.

Display themes also allow you to develop a unique set of contours for each dataset. You can build a display theme that automatically comes on every time a certain dataset is activated. If you save only contours in that display theme, then you have essentially tailored specific contours to turn on when the dataset is active. This allows each dataset to have unique contours.

Finally, if you get a shot of the project that you want to return to easily, you can set up a display theme to save almost all the display options. Display themes can save everything from the angle of the Graphics Window to the visibility of different items. However, even a display theme that saves all possible options does not guarantee producing the same view every time.

For example, the active dataset selected in the Project Explorer will affect the visuals. Selecting a display theme does not adjust the active dataset even if selecting certain datasets activates certain display themes. Furthermore, the display themes will not display any data that has been deleted in the Project Explorer. Please be aware of the various settings and actions besides the specified display options that can affect your graphics.

Depending on how you set up your display themes, selecting one can cause an unexpected change in what appears when looking at another display theme. Therefore, the order in which you select display themes can change the view you end up with, depending on what you have saved in each display theme.

How can you optimize your use of Display Themes? You might start by keeping them organized in folders in the Project Explorer. You can also label them with names that help you remember what display options got saved in each display theme. For examples of how this might be done, refer to the tutorials relating to display themes.

Assigning one group of display options to save with each display theme can make display themes more useful and precise. Display themes with one group of settings saved allow you to make quick, specific changes to the display. In this way, display themes become like shortcuts for adjusting the display options. To make sure that the display theme is only saving the desired display options, uncheck all the checkboxes except the desired checkbox in the Display Theme Properties dialog.

Getting the right display options can help you communicate your results more effectively, and display themes can make your display options more agile. Check out display themes in SMS today!

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SMS

Recovering SMS Projects Using Temp Files

By aquaveo on November 9, 2022

Rarely,SMS project files don’t save correctly. Various errors can cause this: for example, running out of processing power when saving a large project. Fortunately, there are multiple ways to recover SMS files that don't save correctly. One possible way is using the temp files created during the saving process.

SMS creates temp files that hold the information from the SMS file while the original files get rewritten. When an SMS project saves under normal conditions, the temp files are quickly erased. In many projects, if watching in the File Explorer, you won't even see them appear. However, if the SMS file fails to save correctly, the SMS temp files and folders may remain. If they are still available, they can be used to recover the project.

To recover an SMS project from available temp files and folders, do the following:

Identify the temporary *.sms project file, the data folder, and the models folder. They are located in the same folder as the project file and its accompanying folders. Each of these temp files has a time stamp at the end of the file name. The timestamp corresponds to the time at which they were created, which is the minute the project began to save.
Move these files/folders (there should be three of them) away from the original project folder. Ensure that they all end up in the same folder. Moving the temp files ensures that SMS doesn’t get confused about which data it's supposed to load when you open the *.sms project folder. This is important because the temp files are going to become the new project files.
Rename all of the temp files and folders, so they follow the normal SMS naming conventions. When done, they should appear as follows:
- "ProjectName.sms"
- "ProjectName_data"
- "ProjectName_models"

If the temp files don't get renamed according to the naming conventions, it's likely that SMS will have trouble reading the information. Renaming the temp files usually only requires that you erase the time stamp at the end of the file/folder name. Some projects will not have the temp model folder.

Open the new ProjectName.sms file in SMS to verify everything imports correctly and looks good. We strongly recommend a thorough review of the project prior to continuing to work with it.
Adjust the project to ensure stability. Cleaning up your project and removing unnecessary data can help reestablish stability for your project. This makes it less likely for the project to save incorrectly in the future.

Please remember that these files were created before the most recent save was complete. This means that they cannot have the information that was supposed to be saved in the save that failed.

Unfortunately, a project saving incorrectly does not guarantee that the temp files will still exist. As soon as you realize your project might have saved or might be saving incorrectly, go in search of the temp files. There is no guarantee as to how long they will be available, so copy them to a new directory as soon as possible if they are still available.

There are other ways to rebuild SMS projects. If you have a file that saved incorrectly, but you can't find the temp files, refer to the wiki for further instructions or contact Aquaveo technical support (support@aquaveo.com). With added confidence that you can recover project files, build a model in SMS today.

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