Importing from Excel

A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet can be used to make changes to objects in an AFT Arrow model. The values in the Excel file are located in specific locations as described in the Setting Up Excel section.

Setting Up Excel

When reading an Excel file, AFT Arrow will search for a worksheet named "AFT Transfer". There can be other worksheets in the workbook, but AFT Arrow will only look for a sheet with this name. The file structure looks like the following:

A spreadsheet that shows the structure of Excel imports.

Figure 1: Sample AFT Transfer Excel Sheet

Row 1 and column A are not read by AFT Arrow - these cells can have any value in them, though it is recommended to enter the values above for the header row.

Each column has certain accepted values, which can depend on the values in neighboring columns.

Note: A template spreadsheet containing validation rules for the required layout is included in the AFT Arrow installation. By default the file path is: C:\AFT Products\AFT Arrow\AFT Arrow Excel Import Workbook.xlsx, or the spreadsheet can be downloaded here.

Apply Column

This column accepts Yes or No. Only changes marked as Yes will be imported into the model.

Object Type

This column must be a junction name or Pipe. Valid choices can be seen below in Table 1.

Object Number

This corresponds to the junction or pipe number.

Parameter

The specific parameter to be changed. These parameters vary based on the Object Name selected.

Table 1: Object Types, Associated Parameters, and Change Codes

Pipe

S Additional K Factor

S Ambient Fluid Velocity

S Ambient Temperature

S Buried Pipe Depth

S Design Factor - Pipe Fittings & Losses

S Design Factor - Pipe Friction

S Design Factor - Pipe Heat Transfer

S External Heat Flux/Tracing Flux

S External Heat Rate

S Initial Guess Flowrate

S Inner Diameter (for unspecified, cylindrical pipes)

S Length

I Nominal Size Increment

C Nominal Size Set (must match text in Pipe Property Window)

C Nominal Type Set (must match text in Pipe Property Window)

S Noncylindrical Flow Area

S Noncylindrical Wetted Perimeter

C Pipe Name

S Rectangular Duct Height

S Rectangular Duct Width

S Roughness Value (for unspecified friction models)

S ID Reduction (Scaling)

I Sizing/Cost Setting

S Soil Surface Temperature

I Special Condition

Area Change

S CdA (for sonic choking)

S Design Factor

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

C Junction Name

I Sizing/Cost Setting

S User Specified K

Assigned Flow

S Design Factor

S Flow Rate

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

C Junction Name

I Sizing/Cost Setting

I Special Condition

S Temperature (Static)

Assigned Pressure

S CdA

S Design Factor

S Elevation

C Junction Name

S Pressure

I Sizing/Cost Setting

S Temperature

Bend

S CdA (for sonic choking)

S Design Factor

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

C Junction Name

I Sizing/Cost Setting

S User Specified K

Branch

S Design Factor

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

C Junction Name

I Sizing/Cost Setting

S Source/Sink Flow

S Source/Sink Temperature/Enthalpy

I Special Condition

Check Valve

S CdA (for sonic choking)

S Design Factor

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

S Forward Velocity to Close Valve

C Junction Name

S Loss Value

I Sizing/Cost Setting

I Special Condition

S Xt Value

Compressor/Fan

S Control Setpoint

S Delta Head/Pressure to Re-Open Combined Check Valve

S Design Factor

S Fixed Flow Rate

S Fixed Speed (%)

S Forward Velocity to Close Combined Check Valve

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

C Junction Name

S Nominal Efficiency

S Polytropic Constant

I Sizing/Cost Setting

I Special Condition

Control Valve

S Design Factor

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

C Junction Name

S Loss When Full Open

S Setpoint

I Sizing/Cost Setting

I Special Condition

S Xt When Fully Open

Dead End

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

C Junction Name

I Sizing/Cost Setting

General Component

S CdA (for sonic choking)

S Design Factor

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

C Junction Name

S K Factor

I Sizing/Cost Setting

I Special Condition

Heat Exchanger

S Controlled Outlet Temperature

S Design Factor - Friction Loss

S Design Factor - Heat Transfer

S Heat Flow Into System

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

S Heat Transfer Area

C Junction Name

S K Factor

S Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient

S Secondary Fluid Flow Rate

S Secondary Fluid Specific Heat

S Secondary Fluid Inlet Temperature

I Sizing/Cost Setting

I Special Condition

Orifice

S Area/Diameter

S Design Factor

S Exit Pressure

S Exit Temperature

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Inlet Elevation

C Junction Name

S Loss Value

S Outlet Elevation

I Sizing/Cost Setting

Relief Valve

S Cracking Pressure

S Design Factor

S Exit Pressure

S Exit Temperature

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

C Junction Name

S Loss Value

I Sizing/Cost Setting

I Special Condition

Screen

S Design Factor

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

C Junction Name

S K Factor

I Sizing/Cost Setting

Separator

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

C Junction Name

I Sizing/Cost Setting

Spray Discharge

S CdA (for sonic choking)

S Cd (Discharge Coefficient)

S Design Factor

S Discharge Flow Area

S Exit Pressure

S Exit Temperature

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

C Junction Name

I Number of Holes

I Sizing/Cost Setting

I Special Condition

Tank

S Design Factor

S Elevation

S Fixed/Initial Volume

C Junction Name

S Pressure

I Sizing/Cost Setting

S Temperature

Tee or Wye

S Design Factor

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Elevation

C Junction Name

I Sizing/Cost Setting

Valve

S CdA (for sonic choking)

S Design Factor

S Elevation

S Exit Pressure

S Exit Temperature

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

C Junction Name

S Loss Value

S Open Percentage

I Sizing/Cost Setting

I Special Condition

S Xt Value

Venturi

S Design Factor

S Initial Guess Pressure

S Initial Guess Temperature

S Inlet Elevation

C Junction Name

S Loss Value

S Outlet Elevation

I Sizing/Cost Setting

Change Code

Each Parameter has restrictions on how it can be changed. All of the Parameters are decimal numbers, integers, or strings.

Table 2: Valid Change Codes for each type of Parameter

Decimal Number (S)	Integer Number (I)	String (C)
Set equal to value	Set equal to value	Set equal to value
Change by value (+/-)	Change by value (+/-)	Add string to list
Change by percent (+/-)		Delete string from list

Value

The actual value to change the Parameter to or by.

For special conditions there are specific values assigned to each special condition option, as are listed in the table below.

Table 3: Values used to import special conditions

Junction	Special Condition	Value
Assigned Flow	None Closed	0 1
Check Valve	None Closed Open	0 1 2
Control Valve	None Closed Fully Open - No Control	0 1 2
General Component	None Closed	0 1
Heat Exchanger	None Ignore Heat Transfer	0 2
Jet Pump	None Closed	0 1
Pump	None Pump Off No Flow Pump Off With Flow Through	0 1 2
Relief Valve	None Failed Open Ignore Relief Valve	0 2 5
Spray Discharge	None Closed	0 1
Valve	None Closed	0 1
Weir	None Ignore Weir	0 5

Junction

Special Condition

Value

Assigned Flow

None

Closed

Check Valve

None

Closed

Open

Control Valve

None

Closed

Fully Open - No Control

General Component

None

Closed

Heat Exchanger

None

Ignore Heat Transfer

Jet Pump

None

Closed

Pump

None

Pump Off No Flow

Pump Off With Flow Through

Relief Valve

None

Failed Open

Ignore Relief Valve

Spray Discharge

None

Closed

Valve

None

Closed

Weir

None

Ignore Weir

Scenario Path Name

The Scenario that the changes are intended to apply to. If no scenario is present, the changes will be applied to the current scenario.

It is important that the Scenario name is uniquely qualified - if there are multiple scenarios with the same name, the full Scenario Path Name can be used. Scenario Path Names can easily be copied from AFT Arrow by right-clicking the scenario name and selecting "Copy Scenario Path Name."

Importing the File

When the sheet has been completely filled out, it can be imported from File > Import Excel Change Data. When importing the data, the Object Change Log will appear, listing the changes that were made and any errors that occurred during the import.

Table 4: Excel Importing Error Messages

Error	Description
Scenario name is not unique in the model (use full scenario path name)	There are multiple scenarios with this name. Use the fully qualified path name (e.g. Base Scenario\US Units\Pump A).
Invalid change type	The Change Code is not valid for the Parameter. For example, trying to change a string type with Change by Value (+/-).
Invalid parameter ID	The parameter given does not match the object type (e.g. Length for a junction).
Invalid parameter value	The value cannot be changed because the value is not valie. For example, a pump speed cannot be negative.
Object not found	A pipe or junction with the given ID was not found.
Parameter conflict	The value cannot be changed because it conflicts with another setting. For example, the loss value cannot be set when the junction is using a resistance curve.
Scenario not found in the model	No scenario by the given name was found in the model.

Note: In order for the junction to accept the changes, some fields must already contain data. For example, if the control setpoint for a control valve is being changed, there must already be a setpoint and units entered into the control valve junction object. This is to ensure that the correct set of units are being used. These values can be set using Global Pipe Edit or Global Junction Edit to an arbitrary value before the changes are made from Excel.