Hazmap3D User Manual 1 X
Hazmap3D User Manual 1 X
Hazmap3D User Manual 1 X
x
USER MANUAL
Ref: HZ01.4358
February 2016
Company Information
Micropack (Engineering) Ltd
Fire Training Centre, Schoolhill, Portlethen
Aberdeen, AB12 4RR, Scotland, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1224 784055
Fax: +44 (0) 1224 784056
Email: [email protected]
Registered in Scotland. Company Registration Number: SC170022.
An ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company. FPAL Registered.
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1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 4
1.1. Welcome ................................................................................................................................... 4
1.2. The Origins of Fire and Gas Mapping ........................................................................................ 4
1.3. The Rise of 3D Mapping ............................................................................................................ 5
2. Getting Started ................................................................................................................................. 6
2.1. System Requirements ............................................................................................................... 6
2.2. Software Installation ................................................................................................................. 6
2.2.1. Choosing a target folder. ................................................................................................... 7
2.3. Activation (and Deactivation) ................................................................................................... 8
2.4. Trial (Time Limited) Versions of Hazmap3D ............................................................................. 9
2.5. Moving Hazmap3D to a Different PC ........................................................................................ 9
2.6. Loading an example project .................................................................................................... 10
2.7. The Project Panel .................................................................................................................... 11
2.8. Create your own project ......................................................................................................... 12
3. 3D Model Formats.......................................................................................................................... 13
3.1. Supported import formats ...................................................................................................... 13
3.2. Good Models vs. Bad Models ................................................................................................. 14
3.3. The importance of scale .......................................................................................................... 14
4. Navigating Within the Model ......................................................................................................... 15
4.1. Initial view ............................................................................................................................... 15
4.2. The Flying Camera Analogy ..................................................................................................... 15
4.2.1. Reset camera.................................................................................................................... 15
4.3. Zoom ....................................................................................................................................... 16
4.4. Rotate ...................................................................................................................................... 16
4.5. Translate.................................................................................................................................. 16
4.6. Spin around (Pan and Tilt) ....................................................................................................... 17
4.7. Selection .................................................................................................................................. 17
4.8. Selectable vs. Non-Selectable Objects .................................................................................... 18
4.9. Other useful navigation tips.................................................................................................... 18
5. The Mode Toolbar .......................................................................................................................... 19
5.1. Viewing/Navigation Mode ...................................................................................................... 19
5.2. Drawing Mode......................................................................................................................... 19
5.3. “Add Fire Detectors” Mode .................................................................................................... 20
5.4. “Add Point Gas” Mode ............................................................................................................ 21
5.5. “Add Beam Gas” Mode ........................................................................................................... 21
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1. Introduction
1.1. Welcome
Welcome to Hazmap 3D, Micropack’s new graphically based hazard assessment software. This
software is the culmination of Micropack’s decades of experience in the hazard assessment and
detection business.
That first program was called FDA (Fire Detector Assessment). It was written in Turbo Pascal 4.0
(for DOS) and, as far as we know, it was the first software of its kind. The news, however, soon
spread and Micropack starting providing similar services to other companies. Following on from
this success, we have seen the rise in similar methodologies being used widely in the hazardous
industries, with subtle improvements over the years which Micropack has also incorporated. We
also now see independent guidance from organisations like the ISA, the influence of which can
again be found in Micropack mapping tools.
The first version of the FDA software used low resolution 320x200 2D colour coded images of the
flame detector footprints, and a same resolution “grade map” plan view of the site to be assessed.
Detector footprints needed to be hand tailored – added masking – if there was significant
obstruction of the field of view of a detector.
In 1995 the software was rewritten in 16bit C as a Windows 3.1 application. Picture resolution
increased to 640x480. In 2001 FDA was rewritten again, now as a 32bit C Windows application. A
Gas Detection module was added around this time and the software name changed to FDAGDA.
In 2004 it was rewritten yet again, this time to remove the last remnants of DOS (no more 8.3
filenames, much higher resolution graphics), file management was now built in, and a high quality
reporting module was added. No more text file output and screenshots! We were no longer
constrained by PC RAM, so resolution increased to 2400x1800, which at 200dpi was around the
maximum resolution that a colour printer of the day could handle.
Thereafter changes have been gradual. The 2D FDAGDA software continues to be used to this day
as a simple and clearly understood tool for expressing detection coverage in a given area.
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1.3. The Rise of 3D Mapping
Over the years it had been suggested several times that a move to 3D modelling might be a good
idea. Generally speaking the idea was rejected as being impractical: too much work, too much PC
compute power required, no access to 3D models, no in house expertise in 3D modelling (and any
such expertise would be expensive to clients), no way to present the results on a 2D sheet of
paper, etc.
However, quite recently, what used to be considered high end (gaming) graphics cards have
dropped radically in price, so that high quality 3D real-time rendering is possible on the most
standard of office PCs, and a market for 3D hazard modelling has developed.
Micropack has therefore decided to whole heartedly accept the challenge of the largest update to
FDAGDA, and incorporate 3D visualization features which would be practical and useful to
engineers – not just be another pretty picture generator (but yes, we do that too).
We hope you appreciate our efforts. And, although we cannot commit to a public timeline, we
believe you will enjoy the many improvements we have planned for the coming years.
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2. Getting Started
2.1. System Requirements
Hazmap3D can run on any PC running Windows XP (32bit) or later, with a dual core processor and
4GB RAM or better. You will also need a good quality graphics card which includes OpenGL 4.x
drivers. These days any entry level gaming graphics card has everything we require. Micropack
has had good success using ATI Radeon 3D graphics cards. The graphics chipset built into the
motherboard may or may not be suitable.
For data storage you will require a disk drive with a few GB of free space.
A good quality mouse can be a great boon, since navigating around a 3D space can be quite
stressful on the buttons and scroll wheel of a cheap mouse (and its owner). Again, entry level
gaming mice tend to be very good for this: much better quality then your typical generic PC
mouse, and not really that much more expensive. Look for a mouse without the weird shapes and
extra buttons that gamers sometimes go for. At the time of writing (2016) the author found the
“Razer Abyssus” to be very good. There is no need to install the gaming drivers, the standard
Windows mouse driver is fine.
We would be surprised if the software was practical to use without a mouse, e.g. using only a
trackpad or touchscreen.
Hazmap3D is currently a 32bit application, but future versions may move to 64bits in order to
enable larger models. So, if sourcing a new PC to run Hazmap3D then for “future proofing” we
would suggest quad core, 8GB RAM and a 64bit Windows OS as the minimum spec.
If the software came as bare files then you don’t need to unpack anything, just run the installer.
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2.2.1. Choosing a target folder.
The installer will display a welcome screen. Click cancel, or click “Next” if you wish to continue
with the installation.
There follows a dialog box in which you can choose the installation folder. We suggest that you
stick to the default, i.e. just click next. SSD users should not be concerned: the Hazmap3D
executable files are not large, and the location of these will not affect where project data files are
stored.
If you chose the larger download which included examples then the latter will be installed in your
“My Documents” folder.
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2.3. Activation (and Deactivation)
The Hazmap3D software will need to be registered with the activation server before it can be
used. The first time you run the software the main window will not appear, instead you will be
taken to the “About” box on which there will be an “Activate now” button. Press that button.
You will be presented with a second dialog box which requests your licensing details: name,
company and product key. Enter those details very carefully, or better yet paste them in from the
activation email. Then click the “Activate now” button.
Note that activation will require an Internet connection, so do make sure that you are connected
to the internet before you try this. If all goes well then you’ll get a success message and the main
application window will appear. You are now ready to load your first Hazmap3D project.
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2.4. Trial (Time Limited) Versions of Hazmap3D
Micropack currently sells Hazmap3D licenses as annual, 6 month or 3 month subscriptions. This
means that all Hazmap3D installations are time limited: trial versions typically allow 14 days, and
annual subscriptions are 365/366 days. If the time remaining to expiry for the currently activated
product key is less than 30 days then a caption will appear on the Hazmap3D toolbar.
The 30 day warning gives you plenty of time to renew the subscription. If you have the 14 day trial
then this panel is always visible. The panel background will change to red if you have less than one
day left.
Contact [email protected] to request a subscription renewal. Note that extensions are added
to your old expiry date, so you don’t lose days by renewing early.
Note for the curious: the days remaining counter relies on your PC’s date/time and clock being set
correctly. If your PC clock is not set correctly then the time remaining caption will be wrong,
however the remote activation server will still disable the product key at the proper time (i.e.
adjusting the clock in your PC will not affect the activation server and hence will not extend the
subscription or the trial).
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2.6. Loading an example project
The first time you view the File menu it will look like this :-
If you chose the download which included the example projects then the “recent files list” at the
bottom of the menu will already be populated with those projects. Just go ahead and choose one.
“Testground” is a bare bones project using the Micropack (MEL) test ground (beside our
Portlethen office) as the area to be assessed. The test ground 3D model was created using
SketchUp 2014.
“Tutorial One” is a fuller assessment of the MEL test ground, based on the same background
model.
“Tutorial Two” is an assessment of a dummy platform. This platform 3D model was created in
SketchUp 2015, and consists of almost one million polygons. This is about the limit to the practical
size of a 3D model in Hazmap3D. You will notice that it already begins to lag when rotating etc.
Happily the size of the model has very little influence on the time taken for an assessment
calculation.
You may wish now to jump ahead to the “Navigating Within the Model” chapter, and learn how to
move around, rotate, zoom and so on within the example models.
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2.7. The Project Panel
Assessment folders contain the details of a particular assessment. You can have many types of
assessment folder (Fire and Gas are currently supported), and you can have many named variants
within each type. For example the two assessments in the picture shown were both named
“Proposed Layout”). Quite often you might have “Existing”, “Proposed”, and so on.
Assessment folders contain a list of detector definitions appropriate to the type of assessment
(e.g. fire or gas detectors). If an assessment has been performed then the folder will also include
an XML link. In each case if the element is checked (all the way up the hierarchy) then an
appropriate visual representation of the object will be visible in the scene, and like grade volumes
the detector models are not selectable with the mouse (if you try to grab a detector cone it is
actually the background geometry that you grab). The base level checkbox controls whether that
item will be used in an assessment or not.
Please note: the visibility checkboxes are not always rigidly honoured, this is not a bug. For
example, when you first do an assessment the assessment result will be displayed even if it is
contained in a folder which is unchecked and therefore should be hidden from view. The intention
is that you don’t have to enable the entire hierarchy in order to make the new information visible,
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because the view can then become so cluttered that it is hard to understand. Likewise if you
toggle the visibility checkbox of an assessment result that is inside a hidden folder.
Creating your own project is almost as simple. You just choose “File|New…” and import the
background geometry 3D CAD file from somewhere. It is good practice to save your new project as
soon as possible, which ensures that it’s had a file name and home folder assigned to it, which
influences where additional files will be stored.
If possible, create your project inside a folder, and locate the folder itself inside your “My
Documents\Hazmap3D Projects” parent folder. Having the project files in a predictable location
will make them easier to find.
Note that when you import external CAD files as geometry then the project only stores a link to
that file (like a URL) - no copying is done. Future management of the project will be a lot easier if
all of the linked files are contained in the project folder. The easiest way to ensure that is, after
importing the CAD file, right click it and choose “Export…”. The export feature writes the CAD file
back out again, in your project folder, and using Micropack’s proprietary 3D CAD format (.drg3d):
the main benefit of the latter format is that it will load significantly faster than other formats,
because we don’t have to spend any time checking for compatibility issues and bad models.
Once your background is set you will be able to add assessment folders and then add detectors to
those folders. Please see the Fire Assessments and Gas Assessments chapters for details of how
you do this.
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3. 3D Model Formats
3.1. Supported import formats
Hazmap3D currently supports CAD formats from 3D Studio® (.3ds files), Wavefront® Object (.obj
files), and we also support stereo-lithography (.stl) files. That is also the order of preference:-
.3DS (3D Studio) files are compact and precise (because they are binary), and they also retain
colour information, which helps if you want the pictures to look impressive. And let’s face it, we all
do.
.OBJ (Wavefront) files are almost always text rather than binary, so not as compact, and since the
generating application can choose the number of digits to print after the decimal point, they are
usually not as precise either. Colour information is included, so pictures can still look nice as long
as you don’t zoom in too far.
.STL (Stereo-lithography) files can be used as a last resort. Standard .STL files do not include colour
information, so if you export to this format then colours and textures will be lost. STL has text and
binary options, and the latter would be preferred, however there are technical reasons1 why STL
can never have the precision of the other supported formats, even if you find the binary variant.
Micropack may implement support for other formats in future, but please bear in mind that the
proposed format must meet a number of requirements :-
1. It must be an open format, i.e. we have to be able to get the specification from
somewhere, and we are not currently prepared to incur large licensing fees – which have
to be passed on to all our clients – just for the privilege of adding one additional format
that most clients do not need.
2. It must be an actual 3D format, not a container format. Many of the apparent 3D formats
you may see being talked about or used (e.g. dwf) are actually just containers similar to zip
(dwf actually is just a zip), and inside that container would be a drawing in some actual 3D
format – and that’s what we would have to support.
3. It should ideally be a proper 3D format, not a 2D CAD format with an additional dimension
added. 3D CAD formats are designed to put lines in precise places, and it is up to the user
to form lines into connected polygons and solids. True 3D formats put 3D solids in precise
places, in fact they do so precisely enough that the object can be fed into an automated
manufacturing process. This type of model is far superior, because you can’t have oddities
such as missing lines, shapes that have no volume etc. SolidWorks is an example of a solid
modelling tool with a very good reputation, but it is quite pricey. The Pro version of
SketchUp has tools for working with solids, and with a bit of care taken can be quite
suitable.
1
STL files don’t share vertices between polygons, so polygons which should meet at a common edge sometimes don’t,
due to slight rounding differences between vertices.
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3.2. Good Models vs. Bad Models
Even if you get CAD models in a supported file format, not all CAD packages are created equal, so
the resulting models can still have problems. A good model is one which the academics would call
“2-manifold”, and 3D practitioners often refer to as “manifold”.
For our purposes a good model is one in which the model consists exclusively of triangles (it has
been “triangulated” or converted into a mesh). Each triangle will be accompanied by a “surface
normal”, i.e. an arrow that points directly out from the side which is supposed to be visible. In
many 3D formats the surface normals are optional (e.g. they would be pointless in a wire frame
model), but a solid model can’t be rendered properly if we don’t know what side of each polygon
is supposed to be visible.
By convention the three vertices in each triangle will be defined in anti-clockwise order, as seen
from the viewing side. If this is known to be true then we can generate the surface normals
internally. We say that the triangle should have an anti-clockwise “winding order”.
Each edge should have exactly 2 adjacent faces (if it has fewer then there are holes in the model).
Strange things start happening if the model is not manifold. For example, how would you go about
calculating the volume of a cube if only 7 out of 8 faces have been defined? This “cube” has an
infinite volume, and computers are not very fond of dealing with infinities.
It’s important to use a common scale for everything, otherwise detector ranges will be all wrong,
and you won’t be able to mix and match models in one scene. This isn’t usually a big deal: just
make sure you know what internal scaling units are used in any model you want to export. For
example if you export from SketchUp then the units are almost always inches, even if you used
mm when creating the model.
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4. Navigating Within the Model
4.1. Initial view
Here is an example of an initial view when you first open a project :-
You see the familiar project hierarchy on the left, and a view of the background model.
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4.3. Zoom
In fact Hazmap3D doesn’t really have a zoom in the sense of having a function which makes pixels
larger. Instead it has a function, which we might as well continue to call zoom, which in fact just
moves the camera closer to the thing we would like a better look at.
To use the Zoom function, just use the mouse cursor to point at a selectable object in the scene
and move the mouse’s scroll wheel forward. Imagine a line (a vector) which runs from your eye
(the camera) to the object you are pointing at: for each forward click of the scroll wheel the
camera moves a fixed fraction of the distance between its old position and that object. Result: the
object appears larger.
You can go in reverse too, just move the mouse wheel backwards instead of forwards. The
procedure is exactly the same except that the camera reverses along the eye vector. The camera
orientation doesn’t change, so you will still be looking at the same object from a bit further away.
A nice thing about this function is that since the step size is proportional to how far away your
target is, you’ll find that you can zoom quite quickly on an object no matter how far away it is, and
furthermore your risk of overshooting the object is nil, at least until you get very close.1
The zoom function does have a certain minimum step size it applies, otherwise you would never
be able to pass through walls for example. However, you can override this by pressing the shift key
while zooming. The shift key tells the zoom function to microstep (step forward by a much smaller
fraction of the remaining distance).
This zoom function has another subtle but important side effect: by pointing at an object you are
implicitly telling the software that you are interested in that part of the scene. When you come to
rotations you will discover that you actually seem to orbit around that implied point of interest.
4.4. Rotate
To rotate you press and hold down the left mouse button while you move the mouse. The scene
will rotate in accordance with the mouse movement. Actually what really happens is that the
camera is orbiting at a fixed radius around your most recent zoom location. If you haven’t zoomed
yet then you will be orbiting around the centre of gravity of the model.
You can also rotate by pressing down the scroll wheel (a.k.a. the middle mouse button). This
method is slightly more awkward to use, but has the benefit of still working when you are using a
CAD mode that reserves the left mouse button for something else (i.e. when drawing simple
shapes for gas grading etc.).
4.5. Translate
Translation when you first encounter it will seem similar to rotation. However with translation the
camera moves parallel to the viewing window, you are not orbiting around anything. To translate
1
Note that if you point at nothing then the camera will travel at a default speed which is usually much slower. So,
point at a nearby target if you want to zoom in faster.
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the camera you press the right mouse button while you move the mouse. Translation is perfect
when you zoom in on a spot and then wish that the camera was just a teeny bit to the left.
4.7. Selection
If you double click on part of the background model then it will turn blue. That means it is
selected. When you come to grading you’ll find that selection is important for choosing what
volume you want to grade.
By the way, please understand that just because you know that all of those facets are part of the
same object, that doesn’t mean that the software knows, and it doesn’t mean that that
information has been encoded in the model. The reason we have implemented several forms of
selection is that it is actually quite hard to satisfy a human being’s intuition of what should be
considered a single object.
Smart selection: this is where you double click on a face in the scene, and the software tries to
infer what other parts of the scene you would consider to be part of the same object. It does this
by first finding all the faces which share edges on the face you selected. Then it finds more faces
which share edges with those faces … and so on. Eventually we hope that a closed shape is
completed, otherwise the function runs out of memory and gives up. All the faces it found will
turn blue. We find that this selection method works the best, most of the time.
Object selection: this is where you press Ctrl+Click on a face, and the software checks the model to
see what object that face belongs to, then highlights the entire object. In a good model this will
give almost identical results to smart selection. Unfortunately it relies on the model designer
having remembered to make every face a member of an appropriate object list, and it turns out
that designers often skip this step, because it has no effect on rendering. Quite often you’ll find
that the only reason objects were created at all was so that the designer could paint them all at
once with the same colour.
Face selection: this is like an emergency fallback selection method. If you press Alt+Click on a face
then only that face is selected.
All of the selection methods above in fact toggle the selection state. I.e. if the face is already
selected then doing the same thing again will unselect it.
Selection is cumulative: you can select additional objects after you select the first.
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You can deselect everything by double clicking on empty space, or you can choose the Edit|Select
none menu option.
The Edit|Select toggle menu option toggles the selection state of every selectable face.
Status line info: when you double click a selectable object in the scene, some diagnostic
information about that object is displayed on the status line (grey bar at bottom of window). Much
of this information is probably only useful to Micropack, but you may be interested in the (x,y,z)
click coordinate given. This can help you estimate distances in the scene.
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5. The Mode Toolbar
On the right side of the viewing panel is the Mode Toolbar. The software would be a lot
easier to use if it didn’t need modes, unfortunately there are just too many operations to
squeeze onto a couple of mouse buttons.
The toolbar consists of a number of “radio buttons”, only one of which can be active at a
time. The raised border indicates the currently active mode. In any mode you can click the
right mouse button to go back to viewing/navigation mode. Apart from the default
viewing mode, all other modes have submodes too. In any submode a right click backs up
to the previous submode (examples will be given), until you reach the starting submode. A right
click when in a starting submode will restore viewing/navigation mode.
The button represents view or navigation mode. You can consider this the default mode. All
of the navigation functions described in the previous chapter apply to this mode. This is the mode
which the software reverts to if you back out of the other modes using right click.
The button represents drawing mode. At the time of writing the number of drawing features is
very limited (you can only extrude polygons), but we expect this feature list to expand in future.
When you enter this mode a supplemental toolbar will appear in the top left of the viewing
window.
You are about to draw a polygon (a many sided shape). To start things off you should click any
selectable object in the scene. Doing so establishes both your starting point and the plane of the
2D polygon you are about to draw. If you now move the mouse you will see that a line is drawn
from your starting position to the mouse cursor – the line is in the plane of the face you first
clicked.
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Your options now are as follows :-
1. Click to fix a further vertex (and fix the current polygon edge) in the same plane.
2. Right click to back up (cancel the last vertex set). If you back up to zero vertices then you
can choose a new plane. A right click when there are already zero vertices cancels drawing
mode altogether.
3. Double left click to set and indicate the last vertex.
The function repeats until you either cancel drawing mode (right click until -1 vertices set), or you
double click to indicate the last vertex.
If you continue all the way to setting the last vertex then Hazmap3D will take your 2D polygon and
extrude it into the third dimension by adding a second layer of vertices which are offset by
“Height/Offset” amount in the direction of the surface normal of the drawing plane. Put more
simply, if you draw on the ground then the second layer of vertices will be at height
(Height/Offset) above the ground. The resulting 3D object will be added to the project hierarchy
in the selected project folder, and given a colour and appearance which is appropriate for objects
in that project folder.
Do remember that left click can’t be used to grab and rotate the model in this mode. Hold the
scroll wheel down instead.
This function is currently most useful for adding grade volumes to gas assessments.
The button represents “Add Fire Detectors” mode. In this mode you can freely navigate
around the model, and in particular you can zoom in to find the exact spot where you would like
to place a detector. You press Ctrl+Click (or double click) at that spot, and a detector origin is
placed there. By default the detector will have an alignment which is normal to the selected face.
At the same time as the cone is added to the scene, a detector node will be added to the project
hierarchy, in the fire detector assessment folder. If no such folder exists then it will be created and
added to the hierarchy. If you have multiple fire assessment folders then the default fire
assessment folder receives the new detector.
The default fire assessment folder highlighted in bold text. If you have multiple fire assessment
folders then you can change the default by highlighting a folder and choosing “Make default” from
the popup menu.
The newly added detector will have the same type and model as the last detector in the same
assessment folder. You can modify all detector parameters by right clicking it in the project
hierarchy and choosing “Edit”.
Right click to cancel this mode and return to navigation mode, otherwise we remain in this mode
in order to add further fire detectors.
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NOTE: an unfortunate consequence of zooming in so close to place a detector is that the camera
will almost certainly end up inside the detector cone. Faces can only be viewed from the outside,
which means that the detector cone will be invisible to you – but you will have seen the detector
being added to the project hierarchy, so you’ll know that something happened. If you want to see
the detector cone then you need to back the camera away a short distance, or use View|Reset
camera.
The button represents “Add Beam Gas Detector” mode, also known as “Add Open Path Gas
Detector” mode. This mode differs from the point gas mode in that you need to select two points
per detector: starting coordinate first, then ending coordinate of the open path. The gas detector
will be added to the project after the second point is added.
Ctrl+Click (or double click) to set the starting coordinate or right click to return to navigation
mode. If the starting location is set then you can right click to undo it, or another Ctrl+Click (or
double click) somewhere else sets the ending coordinate. The new beam gas detector is added to
the default gas assessment folder and the software waits for you to add another detector.
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6. Fire Assessments
6.1. Overview
The fire detection assessment performed by Hazmap3D is fundamentally the same as that
performed by the FDA component of FDAGDA. In order words we have a number of sample points
in space to be assessed. For each sample point we calculate the fire size which can be detected at
that point by each of the available fire detectors. Later on we examine the grading rules which
apply to the given sample point and colour code the equivalent assessment pixel according to how
well the defined detection targets were met.
The sample points are distributed throughout a 3D space, whereas FDA assessed a single 2D
plane.
FDAGDA used a “representative” plan view of the space projected onto a 2D plane, whereas
Hazmap3D describes the scene using true 3D geometry.
FDAGDA assumed a perfect, horizontally aligned, detector cone shape, according to the
horizontal field of view diagram in the manufacturers data sheet. Hazmap3D builds a true 3D
model of the detectors field of view, still according to the manufacturers data sheet, and
allows this “cone” to be aligned in any way.
In FDAGDA, the technician needs to manually mask out portions of the detector footprint, if
the detector field of view is significantly hampered. There is a small amount of software
assistance provided. In Hazmap3D the software automatically tests for assessment samples
which are hidden behind obstructions from the point of view of a given fire detector.
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6.4. Add Grading Volumes
Fire graded volumes can be defined in a number of ways.
The method which gives the technician the most freedom (and the most work) is to draw the
3D grading shapes in a modelling package such as SketchUp. Of course the model must be in
one of the supported 3D model formats as discussed in section 3.1. You then import the 3D
model into one of the project folders which represents the appropriate grade. This is currently
the only truly practical way to create grade 0 zones (“ignore zones”).
A second method is to first select an object in the scene by double clicking it, or using one of
the other selection methods discussed in section 4.7. Having selected the object you then
choose a grading option from the Grade menu, after which the software will create one or
more graded volumes around the selected object by applying the appropriate grading rules.
The drawing files created will be stored in a subfolder called “DynGrade”, which will be a
subfolder of the project folder (the folder containing the project file).
A third method is to use the drawing features of Hazmap3D itself to manually create 3D shapes
representing graded volumes, adding them to the appropriate fire grade folder. In fact for fire
assessments this is probably not necessary, but it is possible.
Hazmap3D continues the grade colouring conventions established by FDAGDA, however this is
only done as a visual aid for the user. In fact the colour of the object representing a graded volume
has no bearing on the assessment calculation. A shape is defined as representing grade B (for
example) by virtue of being included in the Grade B project folder.
In “Other options” we have “Z steps”, which is the number of horizontal slices you want to take
through the assessment volume (slices will be evenly spaced in the z direction). “Representative Z”
is optional for now, but in future will determine which slice(s) are included in the automatically
generated assessment report.
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A couple of checkboxes control what else is output at the representative Z level. Finally there is an
option to show a visual representation of the “shoebox” in the 3D view. A box is drawn around the
assessment node icon in the project hierarchy, to let you know that this is the assessment whose
shoebox is currently visible.
Save saves the contents of the dialog but leaves the dialog box open.
Close closes the dialog box. If the changes you made were not saved then they are lost.
Assess does a save, followed by an assessment calculation. You can see the result of a fire
assessment in section 8.10.
Number of detectors: generally this only becomes an issue when the user tries to assess the entire
site at once, with a large number of detectors. And even though detector coverage doesn’t
overlap, the number of detectors will still slow down every assessment. Consider if the site can be
broken down into independent areas or fire zones for assessment purposes.
Number of layers: the assessment time relationship here is linear. If you double the number of
layers the assessment calculation time doubles along with it. So, we suggest that you configure the
assessment dialog for a small number of layers while you are working, then increase it to a large
number to produce the “proof quality” assessment you’ll include in your report.
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6.8. Interpreting the assessment
Red Indicates areas with no coverage at all
Brown Indicates areas in which the target fire size cannot be seen by any
detector, but some action will occur if the fire escalates.
Orange Indicates areas which have alarm coverage from at least one
detector, but the voting target for control action is not achieved.
Yellow Indicates areas which have alarm coverage from at least one
detector, but will require the fire size to escalate before it causes
control action.
Green Indicates areas which fully meet the graded alarm and control
action requirements.
Scores are shown independently for each grade, i.e. each grade (A,B,C,D) used in the assessment
adds an additional row to the assessment score table. The table does not include columns
(colours) if the total for that colour is zero. If you see 0% in every box in a column then you can
assume that the actual score was greater than 0 and less than 5%, and was then rounded down for
display purposes.
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7. Gas Assessments
7.1. Overview
The Gas Assessment calculation in Hazmap3D in virtually identical to that found in FDAGDA, since
the GDA calculation was always inherently 3D. Only the method of getting the data in and out has
changed.
The method which gives the technician the most freedom (and the most work) is to draw the
3D grading shapes in a modelling package such as SketchUp. Of course the model must be in
one of the supported 3D model formats as discussed in section 3.1. You then import the 3D
model into the “Grades” parent folder, choosing the appropriate gas grade from the context
menu. This is currently the only truly practical way to create grade 0 zones (“ignore zones”).
The second method is to use the simple drawing features of Hazmap3D itself to manually
create 3D shapes representing graded volumes, adding them to the appropriate fire grade
folder. The simple drawing tool is described in section 5.2.
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7.4. Performing an Assessment
To perform a gas assessment you right click the assessment folder name in the project hierarchy,
and choose the Assess… menu option. A dialog box will appear, similar to the one shown below.
In “Other options” we have “Z steps”, which is the number of horizontal slices you want to take
through the assessment volume (slices will be evenly spaced in the z direction).
“Representative Z” is optional for now, but in future will determine which slice(s) are included in
the automatically generated assessment report.
A couple of checkboxes control what else is output at the representative Z level. Finally there is an
option to show a visual representation of the “shoebox” in the 3D view. A box is drawn around the
assessment node icon in the project hierarchy, to let you know that this is the assessment whose
shoebox is currently visible.
Save saves the contents of the dialog but leaves the dialog box open.
Close closes the dialog box. If the changes you made were not saved then they are lost.
Assess does a save, followed by an assessment calculation. You can see the result of a gas
assessment on the next page.
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Orange Indicates areas which have alarm coverage from at least one
detector, but the voting target for control action is not achieved.
This assessment colour cannot occur with methodologies in which
detector spacing is the only assessment criterion.
Green Indicates areas which fully meet the graded alarm and control
action requirements.
In methodologies which test only detector spacing this indicates
that the sample is within spacing*0.5*sqrt(2) of a detector. For
example, if spacing is 5m, then green indicates that the sample is
with 3.54m of a detector.
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We should probably clear up one misunderstanding that often arises when attempting to interpret
gas assessments, which is that each sample point in the colour coded result represents the
assessment of a potential gas cloud which centres on the sample point. The volume filled by
assessment samples of a particular colour has very little to do with the volume of the gas cloud. If
we tried to do it any other way then we’d be in trouble, because an infinite number of possible gas
clouds can overlap each sample point, and how would you represent an infinite number of
conflicting results? Happily only one gas cloud can be centred there, so that is the cloud which the
assessment sample relates to.
Scores are shown independently for each grade, i.e. each grade (O, PE) used in the assessment
adds an additional row to the assessment score table. The table does not include columns
(colours) if the total for that colour is zero. If you see 0% in every box in a column then you can
assume that the actual score was greater than 0 and less than 5%, and was then rounded down for
display purposes.
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8. Example Assessments
A few example projects should have been installed in the “Hazmap3D Project Folder” area of your
Documents folder (called “My Documents” in Windows 7 and earlier). If for some reason this did
not happen, or if you download an updated examples pack then use File| Install Example Project
to install the example projects discussed in this appendix.
This example projects have been previously generated by Micropack and should make a useful
starting point for those new to Fire and Gas Detection in reviewing what a typical project set up
may look like.
This will also provide sample 3D models around which you can create your own test projects and
assessments. To start a new project and build your own assessments, follow the instructions in the
remainder of this user manual.
To create a new project, open the software and select File, then New (in future the notation
File|New means to do this). It is good practice to name your project as soon as possible, so do
that now using File| Save.
Right click on the Background item in the project hierarchy and select Add 3D Drawing. You will be
presented with the following dialog box:
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ground was modelled in mm, no conversion is required. Note it is important to know exactly what
unit was used in the generation of the 3D model, such that the scale will be correct. This is of
critical importance when modelling the detection coverage. The panel on the right allows you to
clip imported geometry that falls outside a shoebox volume described here, but we will not use
that feature right now (the checkbox should not have a tick in it).
When the background model is imported you will be presented with the following:
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8.4. Flame Detection Grades
Select the appropriate grade from the drop down menu (along the tool bar on the top of the
screen) to apply this grade to the highlighted equipment.
Once the equipment is graded one or more new entries will appear the Grade branch of the
project hierarchy. These new entries represent drawings which have been created in the
background and added to the project folder (in the DynGrade subfolder). You can rename these
new grades objects in the hierarchy by selecting them there, and then clicking them again when
they are already selected. Then type in new text and press return.
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The scene can quickly become cluttered with new grades, detectors and so on. To alleviate this
you can untick the checkbox in the project hierarchy to hide those scene elements. Be careful
about clearing the checkbox at a single item level, as this may cause them to be omitted from the
assessment.
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To edit the flame detector, double click on the detector tag on the left hand side tool bar:
To show the flame detector’s true field of view accounting for the obstructions within the area,
check the ‘Show Obstructed Cone’ box:
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8.6. Flame Detection Assessment
To carry out the assessment, ensure the individual grades and flame detectors are checked, to
make sure they are included in the assessment:
To carry out the assessment, right click on the Assessment file in the project hierarchy, and select
‘Assess’, to bring up the following dialog:
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Note the number of ‘Z steps’ maximum is 20, which
will provide the greatest detail in the analysis. The
‘representative Z’ is that which will appear when
exporting the results into a report, to allow for
engineers to quickly review the results.
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Feel free to navigate around the model to review where the blind spots appear and analyse where
detectors can be optimised. Detectors can be added, relocated or removed, then re-assessed to
analyse the impact of detector alterations on the coverage provided.
Remember the percentage coverage is not the most important feature of the analysis, as you need
to consider where the blockages actually occur. This emphasises the importance of an engineer’s
analysis of the detector locations when optimising the detection layout.
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8.7. Gas Detection Grades
Gas detection is typically analysed in a volumetric fashion: we no longer want to detect specific
equipment, but rather to protect a volume. The purpose is to test whether significant gas
accumulations could remain undetected.
To grade a volume with respect to gas detection, select the volume creator tool on the right hand
side of the screen. For the purpose of this assessment, the ‘Height/ Offset’ is input as 3m:
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To create the 3D volume, select the corners at ground level of the area you want to cover, and
double click the final corner. Hazmap3D will extrude the 2D polygon to create a the 3D volume:
The 3D shape is coloured red because the Target Project Folder (in the yellow dialog box) chose
the PE grade folder. Hazmap3D uses red as the standard colour for PE grades.
A new item is also added to the project hierarchy on the left of the screen. This has been renamed
as ‘GasVolume’, for ease of reference.
At this point we can then check the appropriate boxes to hide the grade.
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8.8. Gas Detector Placement
The Micropack Test Ground has an open path gas detector located as shown in the model below.
We can enter the mode to add an open path gas detector (right hand side of the screen), and
double click on the transmitter, then double click on the receiver, to complete adding the open
path detector:
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This detector can then be edited by double clicking in the detector shown in the project hierarchy:
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To add detectors in new location, simply follow the previous process. The following is the
proposed location for a new OPGD, which will then be added in the assessment:
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A point gas detector is now proposed at the following location, but 2.5m above the ground.
In order to locate the detector within the limitations of the model, enter add point gas detector
mode (right hand side) and place the detector on the ground:
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8.9. Gas Detection Assessment
To carry out the gas detection assessment, ensure the
individual grade file and individual gas detectors are
checked. Remember if the folder is unchecked it will
hide them from the field of view, but as long as the
individual files are checked, they will be included in
the assessment:
Right click on the ‘Assessment (Gas/New)’ folder and
select assess. Appropriate properties can then be
inserted. Note the shoebox volume must include the
whole model, but only the graded areas will be
analysed:
Position the camera such that a good angle of the assessment can be viewed, then select ‘Assess’:
As with flame detection, detectors can be relocated, added or removed to analyse the impact this
will have on detection coverage optimisation.
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