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DRAINS: Stormwater Drainage System design and analysis software for Australian practice.
Developed and supported locally in Australia, DRAINS allows users to design and analyse stormwater drainage systems, produce summary graphs and tables, and create pipe long-section drawings.
DRAINS incorporates the latest Australian Rainfall and Runoff (AR&R) guidelines.
- Draw drainage system components such as sub-catchments, pits, pipes, detention basins, channels and overflow routes.
- Use several available hydrological models recommended by the AR&R guidelines.
- Solve the full unsteady flow equations in pipes, channels and overflow routes.
First software to incorporate AR&R Design Procedures & BOM 2016 IFDs (January 2017)
Features
AR&R Compliant
First software to incorporate the new Australian Rainfall and Runoff (AR&R) design procedures.
Hydrology
Use IL-CL (the AR&R preferred model), Horton ILSAX, Rational & Extended Rational Method models, and a Storage Network Routing Module that includes RORB, RAFTS and WBNM.
Hydraulics
Solve the full unsteady flow equations, which is useful for analysing complex surface flooding situations where storage or backwater effects occur in overflow routes, or when splitting surface flows in multiple directions.
Licensing Options
DRAINS is available as a Subscription and USB Perpetual licence in multiple versions.
All DRAINS licences include the Australian Rainfall and Runoffs’ (AR&R) Initial Loss – Continuing Loss (IL-CL) and Horton (ILSAX) hydrological models, and are capable of analysing AR&R temporal patterns and design procedures.
Note: When referred to below, a “link” is a pipe, channel, pump, orifice link or weir link.
Demo
The demo version of DRAINS (available to download here) is fully functional software, except that it is limited to a maximum of five pipes or channels, one irregular channel and limited to viewing existing detention basin data only.
DRAINS Lite
The DRAINS Lite version solves the full unsteady flow equations for pipes and channels. DRAINS Lite is available in standalone 20 links only.
- However, it only uses the Manning’s Equation for overflow routes which does not allow for back water or ponding effects. This can be suitable for small inter-allotment style projects, or when it is clear that the Manning’s equation is adequate.
- Other suitable uses for the Lite version may include modelling a simple detention basin with a single low-level outlet.
- Weir and orifice links are not available and only a single overland flow route can be modelled leaving a pit.
DRAINS
DRAINS solves the full unsteady flow equations in pipes, channels and overflow routes. DRAINS is available in standalone, 20, 50 or unlimited link versions, and also in a Network Unlimited links version.
- Solving the full unsteady flow equations is useful for analysing complex surface flooding situations where storage or backwater effects occur in overflow routes, or when splitting surface flows in multiple directions via multiple outgoing overflow routes.
- Pumps, weirs and orifices can be modelled as separate objects allowing for complex arrangements (e.g. multi-level orifice outlets from detention basins or pit diversion chambers, or overland flow diversions across the crown of a road).
- It also includes a flood mapping capability.
- A network version of DRAINS allows the licensed number of users access to DRAINS from anywhere on your network.
DRAINS Viewer
The free DRAINS Viewer allows anyone to open DRAINS files and inspect the model structure, inputs and results. The Viewer operates in the same way as DRAINS, but does not allow models to be altered or run.
- If a DRAINS .drn file contains stored results, these can also be viewed, and exported to spreadsheets.
- The purpose of the Viewer is to make checking or reviewing of DRAINS models easier, either within an organisation, or between organisations such as a consultant preparing a model and a Council reviewing this.
- The Viewer can be freely distributed by DRAINS users to other organisations.
- The Viewer will need to be periodically updated when the DRAINS .drn format alters, otherwise it will not be able to view files created with the latest version of DRAINS.
Additional Modules
Three additional modules are available for DRAINS.
Storage Network Routing Module
The Storage Network Routing Module adds the RORB, RAFTS and WBNM storage routing hydrological models, useful when modelling large urban or rural sub-catchment areas where estimating the time of concentration with time area routing might be difficult.
DRAINS RAFTS does not rely on XP Rafts and is not affected by the discontinuation of XP Rafts by Innovyze.
GIS Module
The GIS Module is useful where you need to interface with GIS systems that support ESRI shapefiles or Mapinfo MID/MIF files. This module allows transfer of data and results between DRAINS and GIS.
Rational + Extended Rational Method Hydrological Module
The Rational + Extended Rational Method Hydrological Module adds the ability to model the rational method procedures with ARR87, ARR2019 and AS3500.3.
The Extended Rational Method allows users to produce hydrographs to improve detention basin analysis and utilise the full unsteady hydraulic model. This is achieved by including temporal patterns as part of the analysis and including the ability to model ensembles of storms from ARR2019.
Updates & Support
DRAINS comes with 12 months of updates and support. Ongoing updates and support are available if required after that time. If your updates and support have expired, you can request a quote here.
Workshops & E-Learning
Workshops on DRAINS are presented by Kustom Engineering. Public workshops are currently on hold due to COVID-19. As an alternative, live webinars have been presented since March 2020 and online E-Learning since August 2020. Please see Kustom Engineering for more details.
Recent News
Watercom’s DRAINS a “Key Tool” in Western Sydney Airport Drainage Network Design
3 March 2022 We offer our huge congratulations to Aurecon’s Yuna Chen and Arcadis Australia Pacific’s Rob Peterson on their great presentation on the Western Sydney Airport (WSA) drainage network…
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Message from the Director
2 March 2022 I am incredibly proud and humbled to be taking over as Director of Watercom from today, as part of Watercom’s transfer of ownership to Kustom Engineering Pty Ltd.…
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