Tracing connectivity along the network

Step-by-step guide

ICM includes a number of tracing tools to help find problems or anomalies in the network, such as connectivity and flow issues.

To complete this exercise, copy the network out of the accompanying transportable and open on the GeoPlan. A theme has been applied to this network showing the system type and pipe direction.

Access all the tracing tools in the GeoPlan > Tracing Tools menu; a few of the more common tools have toolbar buttons.

The Upstream Network Trace and Downstream Network Trace tools allow a trace to be carried out from a chosen node or link to the furthest upstream or downstream extents of the network.

NOTE: The buttons for Trace and select links downstream and Trace and select links upstream are located on separate toolbars. If the wrong one is picked accidentally, holding the CTRL key while the tool is active reverses the direction.

1. For this exercise, on the GeoPlan Tools toolbar, activate the Trace and select links downstream tool.

2. Use the Quick Find tool to locate node TF91280701.
3. Pick the attached link.
4. On the GeoPlan, right-click and select Zoom to Selection.

The entire selection is displayed, which traces to where the water discharges out of the model at the outfall.

5. To clear the selection, right-click again and click Selection > Clear Selection.
6. Press F12 to zoom out to the entire network

The Connectivity Trace tool scans the model for any sub-networks that are physically separated. This allows verification that the model is fully connected. Any sub-networks found by the trace can be selected or deleted.

To perform a Connectivity Trace:

7. With the network open, select GeoPlan > Tracing tools > Connectivity.

This displays the Connectivity Trace view, with a list of found sub-networks.

8. Keep sub-network 3 selected.

The Pipe Direction Trace tool traces upstream from a selected outfall pipe, selecting links that are potentially in the wrong direction.

To carry out a Pipe Direction Trace:

9. With the network open, on the GeoPlan, select links for which direction is to be tested, including the pipe to be traced from. For this exercise zoom to the outfall at the end of the selected sub-network.
10. On the GeoPlan Tools toolbar, click Pipe Direction Trace.

11. Select the outfall pipe.

NOTE: A warning message appears if the tool cannot trace through all of the selected pipes or if the network contains a closed loop.

A conduit several links upstream will be selected. Notice that this conduit is digitized in the wrong direction. It can easily be corrected using the Reverse all selected links tool.

The Intermediate Paths Trace tool allows for viewing and selecting all the paths that exist between two selected nodes. Note that this tool becomes less useful the more network loops there are between the two points, as the solution grows exponentially larger.

To use Intermediate Paths Trace :

12. Drag the Intermediate paths selection list onto the GeoPlan to select two nodes.
13. Right click and Zoom to the selection.
14. In the GeoPlan menu, select Tracing tools > Intermediate paths.

InfoWorks ICM traces all routes between the two nodes.

The Proximity Trace tool searches for nodes that lie within a specified distance of a pipe but are not connected. Analyze each occurrence before correcting the connectivity by snapping the node to the pipe or the pipe to the node.

To use Proximity Trace:

15. In the GeoPlan menu, select Tracing tools > Proximity trace.
16. In the popup, click Search.
17. Select the first row to zoom to those objects.

The link is not connected to the downstream node.

18. In the InfoWorks network dialog box, click Correct connectivity to correct both issues.