Introduction

 

FHC hydraulic calculation software can be used for the hydraulic analysis of almost any water-based fire protection system including fire sprinklers, water mist (low and high pressure), hydrants, hose reels and much more.  In fact if water comes out of a nozzle FHC will be able to calculate the system for you so it is only limited by your imagination.  FHC is a world leader in hydraulic analysis software and has hundreds of users in over 50 countries. Complying with over 30 international design standards including NFPA, FM Global and EN 12845 FHC has been created with a global outlook in mind.

 

With FHC you can build complex hydraulic models simply, with a set of easy to use design tools and you can see the pipe network instantly on the screen. You can calculate any type of pipework network from simple tree systems to multiple looped systems or any other combination. As you create the hydraulic model and connect pipe nodes together FHC will automatically find any tees and elbows you have created and will add the fitting to the pipe and lookup the equivalent length in its extensive pipe and fitting database.

 

In this tutorial will introduce you to some of the basic concepts to help you gain an understanding of the most common commands in easy to learn steps.  If you follow this guide you will soon be creating your own hydraulic models and calculating successfully.

 

 

How to Start FHC

 

You should find the FHC icon  on the desktop which is the simplest method of starting FHC or by going to the Windows 'Start' menu and select 'All Programs -> FHC' (Windows 7, 8, 8.1,10 and 11) in Windows 10 you can just type FHC in to the search bar, once the program has started you will see the FHC screen as bellow.

 

 

You will find that most of the command commands you require will be available on the Toolbar or as shortcut keys (a full list is given in Appendix A).   We will indicate a shortcut key such as ‘Add Pipe’ like this [Ctrl+A] you then press the Control key and the ‘A’ key together.

 

The most frequently used commands are grouped together in logical sections on the Tool bar such as file, view, pipe tools (Add, Edit...), Copy & Calculate.

 

 

 

The status bar is divided in to sections and will display information about the project

 

1.P = No of pipes in the system, L = No of loops, H = No of Heads & A = Area the heads cover
 

2.The current selected tool (VIEW, ADD, EDIT, CALC...)
 

3.The current display view
 

4.OFF/NO is error checking switch off
 

5.The heights and lowest node numbers in the system
 

6.Green tick indicates that the FHC project has been saved