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USU-NETWK is a pipe network simulation analysis computer program developed by Dr. Roland Jeppson at Utah State University. AutoCAD is a computer-aided drafting and design program developed by Autodesk, Inc. The purpose of this thesis is to create an interface between AutoCAD and USU-NETWK.
Currently, USU-NETWK requires a user-generated input data file, and the results of an analysis are contained within pages of alpha-numeric output. Using AutoCAD to create a piping network and to display the results of an analysis will reduce the amount of time required to create an input data file and review the results of an analysis.
A customized AutoCAD menu has been created that will carry out a set of commands to create a piping network, create an input data file, analyze the network using USU-NETWK, and then display the results of the analysis in an AutoCAD drawing.
Using a customized AutoCAD menu, the user selects the portions of the network to create. The programs executed after the selection of a menu option provide prompts for the information necessary to describe that particular portion of the network. After the network has been created, the information contained within the drawing can be passed to USU-NETWK where it can be analyzed. By reading the PLTNET.DAT file created by USU-NETWK, the results of the analysis can be placed in a DXF file and can then be converted into an AutoCAD drawing displaying the results of the analysis.