Configure Flow Path flag rules in the Flow Network tab

Use the Flow Network tab to configure the Flow Path flag rules. Flow Path flag rules allow you to improve pipeline safety by configuring the conditions under which a flow path flag should be added or removed from a valve.

Note: Flow Path Flag rules are applicable to valve records configured as Physical valves only. Synthetic and Logical valves should not be configured inside of Flow Networks, so the fields for Flow Path flag rule configurations are disabled when these valve types are selected.

The following are examples of how you could effectively use Flow Path flag rules:

• If closing a valve would block a pump, you can configure a Flow Path flag rule to automatically add a flow path flag to the valve and potentially shut down the pump.

  Note: The pump records define when a pump is considered blocked and how it is shut down. For more information, see Work with the Pump table.

• If product is flowing from a meter to a tank, you can configure a Flow Path flag rule to notify the Controller if the valve closure would terminate the transfer.

To configure Flow Path flag rules

1. In the valve Row Edit dialog, select the Flow Network tab.

   

2. In the Flow Path Flag Add Rule field, click the dropdown list and select one of the following options:

   • Blocks Any Pump: If closing the valve will block one or more pumps, add a flow path flag to the valve.

   • Blocks Pumps and Flow Exists: If closing the valve will block one or more pumps and an active flow through the valve from an upstream terminal to a downstream terminal exists, add a flow path flag to the valve.

   • Never Add Flag: The flow path flag will never be applied to the valve. Controllers will still receive warnings regarding pump blockages and automatic shutdowns will continue.

3. In the Flow Path Flag Remove Rule field, click the dropdown list to select the following option:

   • No Pumps Blocked: If closing the valve will not block any pumps, remove the flow path flag.

4. Save the valve record.

   Note: For valves that are configured to have parents or children, only a single level of the valve hierarchy should be configured in Line Blockage at a time: only the children should be configured, or only the parents should be configured. If both are configured at the same time, race conditions may occur within Line Blockage behavior