Case Study: Jacobs Carter Burgess



Complex Airport De-icing & Stormwater Collection System Handled with Ease

About Jacobs Carter Burgess

What began in 1939 as a two-man partnership providing landscape architecture and civil engineering services, has matured into a dynamic, full-services consulting firm. With more than 3,200 employees in major metropolitan areas across the nation, Jacobs Carter Burgess is a full-service, nationwide architecture/engineering/construction management firm with headquarters located in Fort Worth, Texas.

Advanced, Yet User-Friendly Modeling

As Jacobs Carter Burgess engineers prepared to begin the project, they realized that their existing stormwater modeling applications lacked the capabilities required to model critical aspects of the SADF/ stormwater system. The team turned to StormNET by BOSS International, which offered that essential modeling functionality.

“We chose StormNET because it has the ability to model pumps and create control rules for valves and orifices, which our other modeling applications could not handle,” said Jerrod Melander, Engineer. “We were also looking for a more user-friendly application.” The fully-dynamic hydrology and hydraulic model analyzes both simple and complex stormwater systems using a variety of hydrology methods and models, including water quality.

An engineer from BOSS International assisted Jacobs Carter Burgess in the initial setup and training for StormNET. He demonstrated how to define control rules for opening/closing valves and operating pumps, and network elements specific to the airport project. “Assistance from BOSS in setting up the model saved probably two weeks of work for us,” Melander said.

Dynamic, Detailed Designs

After initial setup, Melander and Eric Hahn, another engineer at Carter Burgess, were able to work on different parts of the DFW stormwater project, and then later merge the two separate models into one. This allowed them to work independently on the same project, speeding up the completion of the project. As engineers added, changed and moved network elements, StormNET automatically updated the model by moving any connected pipes or pumps. They were also able to import AutoCAD® and ArcGIS® data and network components directly into StormNET, saving time in building the model.

StormNET allowed them to model all elements of the airport project’s complex stormwater flow structures, including storage/treatment units, flow diversion structures, pumps, orifices and valves. Engineers apply their own user-defined dynamic control rules to simulate the operation of pumps and control valves. “The biggest benefit for us is the ability to model force mains and pump or lift stations, which is very critical to the project,” Melander said.

Jacobs Carter Burgess engineers used the latest NRCS (SCS) TR-20 hydrology method within StormNET for the project’s de-icing and stormwater sewer systems. StormNET allows them to select from pre-defined dimensionless unit hydrograph peak rate factors or assign user-defined unit hydrographs to match the airport’s hydrology.

As the airport monitors its flow meters during actual stormwater and de-icing events, Jacobs Carter Burgess can further calibrate the model using StormNET. The calibrated model can then be used to project runoff volumes for design storms, helping the engineers improve the stormwater and SADF collection system to more adequately handle runoff.

StormNET is being used on 18,076 acres (28.24 sq. miles) for the de-icing and stormwater collection system for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (world’s third busiest airport)

Viable Designs - More Quickly

StormNET helps Jacobs Carter Burgess take some of the complexity out of the complex analysis and design for the DFW airport project. With StormNET, engineers automate some of the manual steps typically involved in modeling, allowing them to arrive at viable designs more quickly. “It’s saving quite a bit of time on day-today modeling,” Melander said.

When complete, the collection system will include two separate sewers, one for glycol recovery and the other for stormwater. When not de-icing, the stormwater valves are set for normal stormwater collection and conveyed to outfalls. During de-icing events, valves are set to collect all glycol runoff and route it to treatment facilities and storage tanks.

With the ability to export detailed model information to Excel, and produce graphical representations, Jacobs Carter Burgess can analyze the system more easily, as well as present results and improvements to airport management.

The end result: A stormwater collection system that contributes to safety at one of the world’s busiest airports while protecting the local environment.