Understanding hydraulic models

In InfoWorks ICM, you create, simulate and analyze hydraulic models. A hydraulic model is a mathematical model of a fluid flow system. ICM uses a dynamic simulation engine to model the hydraulic behavior of a water system, such as a river or sewer network.

Engineers working with ICM can:

1. Create hydraulic models
2. Analyze environmental impacts
3. Help civil engineers design structures and plan land work

Typically, ICM is used to predict the performance or behavior of a system under current and future conditions, which helps to answer important questions, such as:

• Which properties are at risk of flooding from a severe storm?
• How does a storm impact water quality?
• How high does my flood embankment need to be?

ICM helps you and other stakeholders comprehend the complexity and scale of the problem and understand the risk and cost associated with proposed solutions.

The hydraulic model is not assumed to be an exact representation of reality. Rather, it is a prediction of reality. The bigger the project, or the more complex the problem, the higher the confidence required from the model outputs.

Model resolution is not the same as model confidence. Model confidence is a measure of assumptions. To improve model confidence, the number of assumptions that are being made must therefore be reduced.