Export budget for all nodes and time steps

In FEFLOW 6.0, I have a transient flow only problem that I would like to extract budget information from. From a DAC file, I can get the flow budget data from a single timestep, and view it in the model.

In particular, I can choose Data > Process Variables > Flow > Budget

then right-click Budget > Export Data > All Nodes ...

then I can choose a file name (e.g. [tt]scenario1_budget_000.pnt[/tt]) as ASCII Point File type. The resulting file is perfect. It shows the +/- (inflowing/outflowing) values in the specified units (e.g., l/s).

The problem is that I have 731 time steps. If I could do four of these exports a minute, I'm looking at just over three hours of repeating the same clicking. Furthermore, I have a few scenarios in separate DAC files to repeat this procedure, which will fill a few days of clicking.

Is there a way to export the budget for all nodes and all time steps?

As I am also capable of programming, I have a related question : http://www.feflow.info/forum/index.php/topic,1089.0.html

You can use the budget analyzer in the classic interface:

Load your .dac and start the budget anlyzer. Choose as 'type of results': 'Boundary types' and for 'time period to be encountered': 'time period for balancing'. Also check the box 'Save the results in a protocol file'. If you hit 'Start' the budget will be calculated and stored in the specified protocol file.
Additionally you have the possibility to copy and paste the results from the boxes below the diagrams of the 'Budget results viewer', either their single value at each time step or as accumulated mass over time.

I have used Budget Analyzer before, however it is only useful for summarizing the budget at all time steps for a group of nodes (e.g., a polygon, or even all nodes). With the result file, I can't see the individual nodal data. Just a reporting of the budget summary in/out of the group of nodes, for each time step.

What I need is the in/out flow term for each node, each time step. So for example, with my FEFLOW problem I have 31032 nodes and 730 time steps, so I would expect 22684392 flow terms (=31032 * 731).

[quote author=Bastian Rau link=topic=1090.msg2659#msg2659 date=1313571297]
You can use the budget analyzer in the classic interface:

Load your .dac and start the budget anlyzer. Choose as 'type of results': 'Boundary types' and for 'time period to be encountered': 'time period for balancing'. Also check the box 'Save the results in a protocol file'. If you hit 'Start' the budget will be calculated and stored in the specified protocol file.
Additionally you have the possibility to copy and paste the results from the boxes below the diagrams of the 'Budget results viewer', either their single value at each time step or as accumulated mass over time.
[/quote]

Bastian,

Please explain in detail how to copy and paste this budget data out of Feflow Classic. I have been unsuccessful in my attempts

Also, is it possible to use selections from Feflow Standard as nodal selections for the budget analyzer. I would like to understand inflow/outflow from a set of nodes I have selected for a mine pit, which falls only upon slices 1-4 of a 9 slice model, and only on a select few nodes corresponding to the geometry of the base of the pit.

Hi Tim,

In the [u]classic[/u] interface copying is done by selecting the values in the list and then hit the middle mouse button. Pasting into an editor can be done by CTRL+V.

Regarding using nodal/elemental selections from the standard interface in the classic interface: You can only export them as .xml, so converting them to .shp or similar would become necessary if you want to use it for budget analysis, f.e.

For the budget analysis in the [u]classic[/u] interface, I suggest to use a polygon (.shp) you may already have used assigning your pits data and which covers the pits extent. In the Budget Analyzer you can choose 'Summed influxes and outfluxes...', hit 'Polygon' and choose 'slice list' (for the number of slices) and 'Join'. Then you can load the .shp. In the last step hit 'Start' and then you should be able to left click into the area of interest, so that all nodes become active. A right-click then gives you the 'Fluid flux mass balance histories' for the desired time period.

Please provide detail of how to convert .xml exported data to .shp files.
Unfortunately I dont have existing shape files that cover the area I am interested in.

Hi Tim,

Using the .xml is not possible, since it only contains information about the selected nodes. If you cannot create a polygon with external (GIS or CAD) software, there is another, yet not straightforward solution:

Export the selected nodes or elements with a compatible parameter (i.e. hydraulic heads with nodal selection) as a shape. The selection must be activated in the spatial units panel and the desired parameter can be exported with a right click on its entry (Export Data... Current Selection) in the 'View Components' panel.

In the next step, you start a new model and choose the stored .shp as initial working area (Load maps...). Now, you can add the .shp to the view components by clicking on its default entry in the maps panel.

Select the .shp in the mesh editor toolbar with point snapping and digitize a new polygon using the border points of the .shp. Store this new polygon as supermesh (.smh).
Now you can use this supermesh file as polygon in the budget analyzer.

Mind that the budget analyzer only regards fluxes from nodes with boundary conditions!