Basic Circuit Methodology

In the Hysopt software, hydronic systems are modeled according to the so-called 'Basic Circuit Methodology' (BCM). With this unique modeling concept systems are designed as a modular composition of elementary Basic Circuits (BCs) instead of elementary components (like pumps, pipes, valves,...). This way systems can be modeled much faster. Moreover, we can embed much more intelligence into the model as the software actually 'knows' what is built. Unlike the typical CAD software, the system model is not just a graphical representation of the system. However a complete hydraulic and thermal calculation model is generated at the back-end of the software while modeling the systems, which allows the designer to automate the design process and thoroughly optimize the systems' performance.  

Drag & Drop from the basic circuit libraries 

Systems are built in the drawing canvas according to the following workflow: 

1. First, the appropriate basic circuits must be dragged & dropped into the drawing canvas.

2. Secondly, the basic circuits are connected using the right piping tools.  

A basic circuit is selected by clicking (Left Mouse Button) on a BC in the library (DO NOT KEEP THE MOUSE BUTTON PUSHED IN, A SINGLE CLICK WILL DO!). Once selected the mouse cursor is replaced by the respective basic circuit which can now be dropped into the drawing canvas by once clicking the left mouse button again. Multiple basic circuits from the same type can be successively dropped into the drawing canvas. The actual cursor mode can be undone by clicking the right mouse button or the escape function.

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Graphical operations

The following graphical operations are provided for basic circuits and piping using hotkeys.

• Rotate clockwise                        R

• Rotate counterclockwise            Shift+R

• Flip left/right                               F

• Flip-up/down                              Shift+F

• Flip reverse return chain            G

Note that these graphical operations can be used both before and after the drop. All graphical operations can also be used from the operations buttons in the upper toolbar.

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Zooming and panning  

The far most important tools to navigate across your model are 'ZOOMING' and 'PANNING'. You can zoom in and zoom out using the mouse scroll wheel. Push the right mouse button to pan the canvas. Sometimes a 'zoom to fit  (Ctrl+F) might be useful.   

Connecting the basic circuits with piping tools

Once the basic circuits are dragged & dropped into the drawing canvas they need to be connected using the right piping tools. Hysopt supports 2-pipe systems, reverse return ('Tichelmann'), and collector piping. The appropriate pipe type can be selected by clicking on the respective icon or by using the hotkey 'D' with which you can toggle between the different pipe types. The mouse cursor indicates the pipe type as follows:

When drawing pipes, both the supply pipe and the return pipe are drawn simultaneously. The starting position for the pipe network can be freely chosen in the drawing canvas. However, when clicking on a node of a basic circuit the right pipe type is automatically activated and indicated on the mouse cursor. The pipes are drawn according to a poly-line approach. The right mouse button (or Esc function) is used to stop the poly-line. To deactivate the piping tool, the right mouse button (or Esc function) must be clicked once more.

When drawing poly-line pipes, the supply pipe is always situated on the right side of the direction in which the polyline is drawn. However, supply and return pipes can be easily swapped using the flip (F) function. This way the drawing can be organized to avoid crossing pipes. However, note that this is only a graphical operation and it has no impact on the thermal-hydraulic calculation model. 

Pipe branches can be easily modeled by taking the starting position of the new poly-line on top of an existing pipe segment. When hovering the mouse cursor across the existing pipe segment, the pipe segment is marked green to indicate that a branch pipe can now be drawn. Oppositely, a poly-line can also end on top of an existing pipe segment to connect the two pipes.     

Node-based modeling

Note that the Hysopt design environment is node-based which means that all nodes (black dots at the start and endpoint of a pipe segment), as well as all basic circuits, can be pivoted freely without breaking the model. In doing so, nodes and basic circuits can be selected individually or as a group. This feature is particularly interesting to rearrange the drawing, e.g. to provide more space in between certain system parts.

When removing nodes from a poly-line (select the node and delete it), the adjacent nodes of the removed node are connected directly with each other with one straight pipe segment. Sometimes, it might be useful as well to add a node to a poly-line to pivot the poly-line using this new node. The latter can be done by starting a branch pipe on the poly-line (left mouse button), but not finishing the branch with an end node (press Esc function or right mouse button).

Copy / Paste functionality

Complete systems, as well as parts of a system, can be copied using the Copy / Paste functionality (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V). This way large systems can be modeled very fast by copying repetitive system parts. E.g. first a single apartment is modeled in detail and then copied 50 times to model the total system of the complete apartment building. Experienced Hysopt users are trained to recognize repetitive system parts before they start modeling and save a lot of time this way.

After the Ctrl+V action, the copied part of the system can be dragged to the desired location in the drawing canvas before pasting it.

Replacing components

Basic circuits can be replaced by other types of basic circuits by using the replace functionality (Ctrl+H, see operations button). Multiple basic circuits can be replaced at once. E.g. in the system illustrated below, the three active mixing circuits are replaced by three passive mixing circuits with a single replace operation.

Selecting multiple basic circuits

In order to easily select multiple base circuits at once:

• using 'Alt+Click' within one canvas

• using 'Shift+Alt+Click' to span multiple canvasses

• using a drag selection

Using 'Alt+Click' within one canvas

When pressing the 'Alt' button while clicking on a basic circuit (or pipe), all basic circuits of the same type will be selected at once. The number of selected basic circuits is shown at the top of the parameter box.

1. Number of selected basic circuits

Using 'Shift+Alt+Click' to span multiple canvasses

The 'Shift+Alt+Click' selection is the same as the 'Alt+Click' selection however it spans multiple canvasses (see 'Canvas Management') whereas the 'Alt+Click' selection is restricted to the canvas which is currently shown. To make the designer aware of the fact that the 'Shift+Alt+Click' selection spans multiple canvasses, the heading of the parameter box is shown in pink.

Making a drag selection

A drag selection can be made by dragging the mouse cursor over the desired area in the drawing canvas while pressing the left mouse button. During the drag selection movement, a dashed line rectangle indicates the selected area. After the selection, the selected basic circuits are marked green and the respective basic circuits are listed in the parameter box.