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Fathom

Calculate steady-state pressure drop and flow distribution in liquid and low-velocity gas piping systems

Significantly improve the quality of systems engineering you can achieve, leading to less costly, more efficient, and more reliable piping systems.

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Visual Modeling

Quickly build, view, and validate complex pipe networks—all in a single intuitive graphical environment

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Scenario Manager

Track and compare multiple design or operating cases within one file, enabling rapid “what‑if” comparisons

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Cost & Energy Analysis

Automated Network Sizing calculates capital costs (pipes, components) or ongoing energy use to help optimize designs for both initial budget and lifecycle efficiency

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Advanced Fluid Modeling

Supports complex fluids and systems—including non‑Newtonian slurries, variable‑speed pumps, heat transfer, and goal‑seeking controls—making it ideal for rigorous engineering applications

Scenario & system management

Track and compare multiple design cases, operating conditions, and system states with powerful tools in a single environment.

  • Track all your design variants and potential operating conditions in a single file with Scenario Manager
  • Use integrated, customizable graphing and reporting to make analysis visually intuitive
  • Integrate with Excel to import model data and export output data
  • Import piping layouts from CAESAR II® Neutral files, PCF Files, and GIS shapefiles regardless of source
Scenario & system management

Comprehensive pump analysis

Model centrifugal and positive displacement pumps with real-world fidelity and evaluate performance under varying operating conditions.

  • Model your centrifugal and positive displacement pumps to account for:
    • Shifting performance curves through variable speed control and impeller trimming
    • Viscosity corrections using standards from the Hydraulic Institute
    • Acceleration head loss for positive displacement pumps
    • NPSH evaluation
  • Size motors and evaluate power usage by considering wire-to-water efficiency (including pump, motor and VFD efficiencies)
  • Evaluate Pump and System curve interaction including composite head and efficiency curve
Comprehensive pump analysis

Cost & energy optimization

Balance initial investment with long-term energy consumption by analyzing capital and operational expenses.

  • Calculate the capital costs of pipes and components, as well as operating energy expenses
  • Wire-to-water efficiency, including pump, motor, and variable frequency drive efficiencies, is used to size motors and evaluate power usage
  • Account for heat transfer effects in pipes and heat exchangers 
Cost & energy optimization

Standards & compliance

Ensure your design adheres to critical regulatory and engineering standards for performance and safety.

  • Ensure a design adheres to industry standards such as API 526, ANSI/HI 9.6.3, API 610, or NFPA Standards
  • Consider viscosity and frictional effects from non-Newtonian viscosity models or non-settling slurries
Standards & compliance

Fluids & component libraries

Accelerate model building with built-in databases and optional extensions for fluid property data. 

  • Leverage built-in libraries of fluids and fittings to build your own database upon
  • Built-in libraries of fluids (including NIST REFPROP and ASME Steam Tables) and fittings which can be extended and customized
  • An optional Chempak add-on utility provides a thermophysical database of almost 700 fluids 
Fluids & component libraries

Slurry system modeling

Accurate Hydraulic Analysis for Complex Slurry Flows

  • Multi-Component Slurry Modeling
    • Support for up to four-component non-settling slurries, enabling detailed simulation of blended mixtures with multiple solids and liquid phases.
  • Non-Newtonian Fluid Behavior
    • Account for shear-dependent viscosity in slurries using built-in models for shear-thinning and shear-thickening flow conditions.
  • Viscosity Corrections & Friction Losses
    • Apply Hydraulic Institute methods and empirical correlations to determine accurate pressure drop and energy requirements in slurry pipelines.
  • Pump & Piping Sizing with Slurries
    • Evaluate the effects of solid concentration and particle behavior on pump performance, NPSH, and optimal pipe diameter selection.
Slurry system modeling

Add-on Modules

Engineering extension tools that can help you quickly and efficiently complete projects. Modules can work individually or together within Fathom and your existing Fathom models.

Settling Slurry

Models the effects of pumping fluids containing settling solids using the Wilson/GIW method. Used with either Fathom or Impulse.

Goal Seek and Control

Identifies input parameters that yield desired output values and simulates control functions. Used with either Fathom or Arrow.

Extended Time Simulation

Models dynamic system behavior in steady-state flow and how critical system parameters vary over time. Used with either Fathom or Arrow.

Automated Network Sizing

Evaluates the complex interaction of system variables to reveal combinations of cost savings. Used with either Fathom or Arrow.

Chempak Database

The Chempak add-on utility provides a thermophysical database of almost 700 liquids and 600 gases with mixing capability.

Pulsation Frequency Analysis

Helps identify pipe acoustical frequencies to avoid resonance from excitation, especially in systems with positive displacement pumps and reciprocating compressors. Used with either Impulse or xStream

Results

Our software is the leading pipe flow modeling software in many industries and is used in 115+ countries to design and troubleshoot systems of every size.
Explore Customer Stories
Bottleneck Remediation
Lyondell
28% chemical process production

See how the engineer used a pump and system approach to increase capacity, use of features, and use of the model to reveal faults in the physical system.

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Energy Optimization
Orbital
~25–30% power reduction

Arrow model was used to identify the configuration with the greatest energy savings across system states

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Data Center Surge Safety
Data Center - Feature 6
3,000 pipes converged Impulse is known for its robust solver

Surge potential evaluation of 9 HVAC circuits in an 11-story data center including chilled water, process water, condenser, condensate, and fuel oil circuits.

Learn More

Who We Serve

Datacor Pipe Flow Modeling is built for professionals who design, analyze, and operate complex fluid systems.

From plant engineers to consulting firms, Datacor Pipe Flow Modeling Solutions empowers users to optimize performance, troubleshoot issues, and ensure safe, efficient operations. If your work depends on understanding and improving piping and fluid flow systems, Datacor is your trusted partner.

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Questions?

We have answers! Here are some of the most common questions we hear from engineers and companies evaluating Fathom. Topics include software verification, model size limits, non-Newtonian fluids, system applications (HVAC, ventilation, fire protection), cost analysis, and optimization.
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How has Fathom been verified?

There are several aspects to software verification.  
 
First, it has been compared to published data where it exists. Available published data is usually for a single pipe, which is not very challenging for a network solver. Models, comparisons and explanations for such published predictions are given in the Verification folder.  
 
Second, it can be verified that predictions agree with the fundamental equations for networks. Finally, predictions have been compared to test data and other analytical methods on numerous occasions and good agreement has been shown.

What is the limit to the size of model I can create with Fathom?

There are no theoretical limits to model size, but there are a few practical limits. First, Fathom accepts pipe and junction ID numbers up to 9999. This limits the model size to 10,000 pipes and 10,000 junctions. Before you reach that limit, however, you will likely encounter a limitation of your available RAM to hold all of the solver parameters. To determine how much RAM you need, add up the number of branches and tees in the model. Take the square of this number. Then multiply it by 32 to get the amount of RAM that must be available. For example, with 1,000 branches and tees, the square is 1 million, and after multiplying by 32 you need 32 million bytes of RAM (i.e., 32 MB).

Can I model a non-Newtonian fluid in Fathom?

Yes, Fathom offers several non-Newtonian fluid models including Power Law, Bingham Plastic, and Herschel–Bulkley.

Can Fathom model ducting system like those in HVAC, ventilation and dust collection systems?

Yes, Fathom can model ducts or other air or liquid cooling systems by representing rectangular geometry as a non-cylindrical pipe using a hydraulic diameter. Since Fathom assumes incompressible flow, this may be acceptable for some systems, but for cases where fluid compressibility is important, Arrow is typically the better choice.

Can Fathom model fire sprinkler systems?

Yes. The Spray Discharge junction is perfectly appropriate for fire sprinklers. The fire sprinkler K values can be entered directly into the Spray Discharge. In addition, Spray Discharge junctions can be turned on or off with a single mouse click. Evaluating multiple fire location scenarios is easily done, and use of the Scenario Manager allows all cases to be kept in the same model file.

Can I keep all of my design cases together in a single file?

Yes, the Scenario Manager lets you create dependent design cases where changes are inherited by children.

I see cost settings for Material, Installation, Maintenance and Operation. Do I need to specify costs for each one?

No. Depending on your goal, you need only specify the costs for which you are interested. If you are looking for just a first-cost estimate, then you need to only specify Material and possibly Installation. Remember, these are very broad categories and can be tailored to meet your specific application.

Costs are entered in a one or more user-defined Cost Databases using the Cost Database editor. You can keep separate databases for each type of cost or put all the costs for a project into one database. These databases can also be used in multiple models and can be shared among all the users over a network. 
 
You can specify an Interest Rate and an Inflation Rate which are used over the System Life. 

Is there a limit on the number of variables and goals Fathom GSC can handle?

While there is no limit, the time required to find a solution will increase with the number of variables and goals that must be solved since the number of possible variations increases exponentially with the number of variables and goals. Fathom GSC employs a robust and efficient numerical optimization engine to be able to handle models with large numbers of variables and goals.
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