Motivation #
While MiTS provided numerous presets such as Half-Round, Box, Trapezoid drains, etc., these standard straight-out-of-catalog profiles may not be applicable for addressing architectural aesthetics or specific hydraulic requirements.
Let’s take ‘A’ shaped drain as an example, which is often used in specialized trenching features- Engineers will need to apply this special drain type in the drainage network to ensure an accurate hydraulic analysis of the system.
This is something doable in MiTS 3 with the newly implemented Customized Drain Editor, a feature that applies a point-based editing system with real-time drawing preview. With known X and Y coordinates (is usually based on the dimensions), users will be able to go beyond the preset drains and be flexible with the drain shapes.
This article is intended to guide users through the steps in creating the custom drain shapes, which is in this case is the ‘A’ shaped drain.
Steps in customizing the drain shape #
Step 1: Accessing the Customized Drain Editor #
In this project file,
Go to Options > Project Settings > Expand Drainage > Expand Drain Types > Click on Customized Drain Editor
Step 2: Setting up the parameters of the drain #
- Set the category for the drain. By default, the drain is set to RC. To select a different category or create a totally new category, users may refer to the steps here.
- Users may set specific color or gradient changes for the drains as well.
Step 3: Defining Drain Profiles #
- Click the ‘+’ button, and a new row will be added to the table.
- Click on the Edit button to define the drain profiles and info. The Customized Drain Transect dialog will appear.
Parameters | Description |
Drain Type | Selection based on the type of the drains- Open drain or Closed drain |
Description | Name representing the drain; ensure the name can easily differentiate the drain type. Example: A-shaped Drain |
Freeboard | The vertical safety gap or extra space above the water level before it overflows the drain rims. |
Manning Coefficient | Referring to the “roughness” of the materials used to build the drain; This roughness will affect the flow speed, as rougher materials may hold back water compared to smooth materials. |
Material Thickness | Refers to the thickness of the wall and base of the drains. |
Data Points (Coordinates) of the drains #
The coordinates input will represent the cross-section of the custom drain.
The rule of thumb is that the X coordinates and Y coordinates must start with 0, whereby the X coordinates should increase monotonously, and the Y coordinates can be either a positive or a negative value.
Once the coordinates have been input, click OK to ensure the data is committed to the program.
As an example, users can refer to the video below on inputting the data points accurately.
Applying custom drains in the network #
Under the Spread Input,
- Go to the column Drain Type > Click on the dropdown and select Custom Drain
- Go to the Dimension column > Set the iterate to No > Click on ‘…’ button > A Dimension Editor dialog will appear
- Click on the dropdown (located at the top right of the dialog) > Select the drain name based on the Description input > Click OK
Users may also see the custom drain applied by looking at the 3D View, as in below.
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