Visual MODFLOW Version 4.3 - Readme

Visual MODFLOW 4.3!

Schlumberger Water Services is pleased to welcome you to the growing community of Visual MODFLOW users, currently consisting of more than 6,000 scientists and engineers from around the world.  We are proud of the fact that Visual MODFLOW is the most popular and widely-used groundwater modeling software package in the world, and we are committed to maintaining a leading position in groundwater software development.

If you are purchasing a new license(s), your purchase includes 1 year of Software Maintenance. You may purchase additional 1-year increments for your Maintenance Contract at the time of software purchase, or at any time during your Maintenance Contract period. If you are upgrading an existing software license, 1 year of Software Maintenance is included.

This document provides supplemental information to the Visual MODFLOW User's Manual and contains late-breaking details on new features and known issues with the program.  You are encouraged to read this document prior to starting Visual MODFLOW.

Table of Contents

Introduction to Visual MODFLOW

Visual MODFLOW is the most complete and easy-to-use modeling environment for practical applications in three-dimensional groundwater flow and contaminant transport simulations. This fully-integrated package combines MODFLOW, MODPATH, ZoneBudget, MT3Dxx/RT3D, and WinPEST with the most intuitive and powerful graphical interface available. The logical menu structure and easy-to-use graphical tools allow you to:

The model input parameters and results can be visualized in 2D (cross-section and plan view) or 3D at any time during the development of the model or the displaying of the results. For complete three-dimensional groundwater flow and contaminant transport modeling, Visual MODFLOW is the only software package you will need.

When you purchase Visual MODFLOW, or any Schlumberger Water Services product, you not only get the best software in the industry, you also gain the reputation of the company behind the product, and professional technical support for the software from our team of qualified groundwater modeling professionals. Schlumberger Water Services has been developing groundwater software since 1989 and our software is recognized, accepted and used by groundwater professionals in over 90 different countries around the world. This type of recognition is invaluable in establishing the credibility of your modeling software to clients and regulatory agencies.

What's New in Visual MODFLOW

New Features in v. 4.3

The following new features are available in Visual MODFLOW v.4.3:

Numeric Engine Updates

The following numeric engines have been updated to the most recent versions:

Multi-Processor Support for MT3DMS Engine

For MT3DMS transport variants that involve multiple species, you can now leverage the power of multiple processors (or dual core processor) on your machine. One or more species can be allocated to the available processors on your machine, and solved independently.

Upgraded MODFLOW-SURFACT to v.3.0

Visual MODFLOW 4.3 supports the following MODFLOW-SURFACT v.3.0 features:

The following MODFLOW-SURFACT v.3.0 features are not supported in this version of Visual MODFLOW:

NOTE: The Visual MODFLOW v.4.3 GUI has been designed to present settings available in MODFLOW-SURFACT v.3 only. You may continue to use the previous version of MODFLOW-SURFACT (v.2.2) within Visual MODFLOW, though, please be aware that you will see settings for features that are specific to SURFACT v.3 (PCG5 solver, flags in the MODFLOW/Time Steps window, and Time series options for Recharge and Evapotranspiration). Please do not attempt to use these new features with v.2.2 of MODFLOW-SURFACT.

Implementation of Multi-Node Well (MNW) Package

Visual MODFLOW now features the drawdown-limited, Multi-Node Well (MNW) Package. When used with the MODFLOW flow model, MNW allows you to simulate intraborehole flow in wells with screens that span multiple aquifer layers. Through the newly improved Wells Manager window, you can now select which well package to use (MNW or WEL), specify a well loss type (Skin, Linear or Nonlinear) and its respective values to simulate well losses, specify pumping and drawdown contraints, and select the cell-to-well conductance method.

For more information on the draw-down limited, Multi-Node Well package, please refer to User Guide for the Drawdown-Limited, Multi-Node well (MNW) package for the U.S Geological Survey's Modular Three-Dimensional Finite-Difference Ground-Water Flow Model, Versions MODFLOW-96 and MODFLOW-2000 by K.J. Halford and R.T.Hanson.

Enhanced Wells Manager

To accommodate data input for the MNW package, the wells manager was dramatically improved to allow for easier definition and modification of properties for pumping and observation wells. The following new features are available:

Import Recharge Concentrations from Text File

Visual Modflow now allows you to import species concentrations for point source concentration boundary conditions. This is especially useful for PHT3D simulations with multiple variants.

Run SEAWAT with Uncoupled Flow

Visual MODFLOW 4.3 supports uncoupled variable-density flow and solute transport for SEAWAT simulations. A new option in the SEAWAT run settings allows you to uncouple flow with transport and run the simulation using an existing user-specified concentration file (*.UCN).

New Features in v. 4.2

The following new features are available in Visual MODFLOW v.4.2

PHT3D Integration

PHT3D is a multi-component transport model for three-dimensional reactive transport in saturated porous media. It couples the two existing and widely used computer programs, the solute transport model MT3DMS and the USGS geochemical code PHREEQC-2. The coupled model forms a powerful and comprehensive three-dimensional reactive multi-component transport model, which can handle a broad range of equilibrium and kinetically controlled biogeochemical processes.

Visual MODFLOW includes the following reaction module templates that allow the user to develop their own reaction modules and to customize them to site-specific aquifer conditions:

For demonstration purposes Visual MODFLOW includes several sample reaction modules that enable the user to simulate selected, well-known benchmark problems for reactive transport such as:

Furthermore, additional reaction module templates that can be adapted by the user to address specific reactive transport problems, for example:

MIKE 11 Integration

DHI's MIKE 11 software package is a versatile and modular engineering tool for modeling conditions in rivers, lakes/reservoirs, irrigation canals and other inland water systems. The basic river network/channel modeling component of MIKE 11 is now integrated into Visual MODFLOW with the use of OpenMI technology, providing the tools for integrated surface water - groundwater flow.

MT3DMS Update

Visual MODFLOW supports MT3DMS v.5.1, which includes an option to simulate zeroth-order decay or production. Zeroth-order reactions may be useful for describing certain types of biogeochemical decay or production.  In addition, zeroth-order reactions can be used for direct simulation of groundwater ages or calculation of parameter sensitivities.

SEAWAT Update

Visual MODFLOW now supports updated version of SEAWAT, v.3.11.02, which addresses the following issues:

New Features in v. 4.1

The following new features were added in Visual MODFLOW v.4.1.

New Features in v.4.0

The main interface for Visual MODFLOW 4.0 has the much of the same user-friendly look and feel as the previous versions of Visual MODFLOW.  However, the functionality of the program has been dramatically improved to give you more powerful tools for entering, modifying, analyzing and presenting your groundwater modeling data. Some of the more significant upgrade features are described below.

Exporting Gridded Model Data

Visual MODFLOW v.4.0 allows you to export virtually any model property values, and simulation results, to a variety or ASCII and binary data formats including:

  • ASCII XYZV (.TXT) - consists of four or more columns containing X, Y, and Z co-ordinates for each cell, and one or more selected model parameters. Cell co-ordinates can be in either world co-ordinates, model co-ordinates, or IJK cell indexes. Data can be exported with multiple layers in a single file, or as separate files for each selected layer.
  • ASCII Array (.TXT) - consists of an NR x NC array of values for each selected parameter, for each selected model layer. The data can be exported with multiple layers in a single file, or as separate files for each selected layer.
  • SURFER Grid (ASCII or Binary) (.GRD) - consists of a single file for each selected parameter, for each selected layer, with a user-defined grid density. Some averaging of parameter values occurs where the model grid differs from the Surfer grid, and inactive or dry cell values can be excluded.
Exporting and Capturing Images

The exporting capabilities of Visual MODFLOW have been greatly expanded, providing a full suite of common graphical image and GIS formats (including Tecplot .DAT, ESRI .SHP, AutoCAD .DXF, .GIF, .JPG, .TIF, .PNG, and .BMP) with options for increasing image resolution and controlling image quality of graphics image files. These high-resolution images can either be exported to a separate graphics file for manipulation with third-party editing software, or inserted directly into a report document.

Pumping Well Optimization

Visual MODFLOW v.4.0 includes an interface supporting pumping well optimization using the Modular Groundwater Optimizer (MGO) program. This program is primarily used to determine the optimal well pumping and/or injection rates at one or more wells, in order to achieve a specific objective while maintaining reasonable system responses. Some of the more common scenarios include:

  • Minimizing the pumping/treatment cost of a pump-and-treat groundwater remediation system while maintaining capture of a contaminant plume.
  • Minimizing the mass removal cost of a pump-and-treat groundwater remediation system while maintaining capture of a contaminant plume.
  • Maximizing the pumping rate at one or more water supply wells while maintaining a minimum water level in the aquifer.
  • Maximizing the pumping rate at one or more water supply wells while maintaining the concentration of an identified pollutant below a specified level.

MGO has been developed by Dr. Chunmiao Zheng under a contract for the U.S. Department of Defense. A public domain version is available with similar optimization capabilities.

Printing Options

Previous versions of Visual MODFLOW offered few options for customizing the print layout, and a limited amount of space for description of the image being printed. Visual MODFLOW v.4.0 includes a more flexible page layout designer for adding image descriptions, project descriptions, and a company logo.

Faster Solver

Visual MODFLOW now includes the new SAMG solver developed by the SCAI-Frauhofer Institute in Germany. This solver has been demonstrated to be from 3 to 11 times faster than the traditional PCG solver for medium sized models, and much faster still for large models containing one million or more grid cells.

2D Color Shading

The drawing tools and algorithms used to render the color shaded contour maps of distributed data have been upgraded to include rich RGB color schemes, and to allow for color map transparency in order to see underlying model features. The color schemes remain the same, however, the colors themselves are much more vibrant, and the transition between colors is much smoother.

Assigning Grid Cell Elevations

Visual MODFLOW v.4.0 incorporates graphical selection and assignment of grid cell elevations. You can easily digitize the desired cell area using a polygon or rectangle selection, or simply “paint” a group of cells, and then assign a constant elevation to the top or bottom of the layer surface. Built-in data validation checks prevent layer surfaces from intersecting adjacent layers, and provides suggested remedies in situations where this would occur.

Importing MODFLOW Data Sets

Although previous versions of Visual MODFLOW were able to import MODFLOW-88 data sets, the import process often ignored important data such as Specific Storage and Specific Yield values, and it was not able to accommodate quasi-3D models containing implicitly represented aquitards. Visual MODFLOW v.4.0 has a significantly improved importing process that supports MODFLOW-2000, MODFLOW-96, and MODFLOW-88 data sets. This new process utilizes a modified version of the USGS utility (MF962MF2K.EXE) to convert MODFLOW-96 and MODFLOW-88 data sets into MODFLOW-2000 format, and then imports the MODFLOW-2000 data set into the Visual MODFLOW graphical environment.

Importing Property Zones and Recharge Zones from Polygon Shape Files

Visual MODFLOW v.3.0.0 introduced the capability to import and interpolate Conductivity and Storage zone distributions from external data sources including XYZ ASCII .TXT files, MS Access .MDB files, MS Excel .XLS file, and ESRI Point and line .SHP files. Visual MODFLOW v.4.0 extends this capability to additional model properties including Initial Heads, Initial Concentrations, and Dispersivities. The ability to map property zones and recharge zones from ESRI Polygon .SHP files is also included.

Importing and Editing Layer Surface Elevations

Visual MODFLOW v.4.0 provides a dramatically improved set of tools for importing, creating, and modifying layer surface elevations for the finite difference model grid. From importing USGS DEM files, to specifying a constant slope using Strike and Dip information, no other graphical interface offers a more complete set of features for designing the model grid layer surfaces, including:

  • Importing layer surface elevations from gridded data files including USGS .DEM files, Surfer .GRD files, ESRI .GRD files, and MapInfo .GRD files.
  • Importing and interpolating sparse elevation data from XYZ ASCII .TXT files, MS Access .MDB files, MS Excel .XLS files, and ESRI point and line .SHP files, using either Natural Neighbor, Kriging, or Inverse Distance interpolation methods.
  • Adding Control Points to a sparse data set in order to direct the interpolation process
  • Assigning constant elevation or constant thickness values to any layer surface, or applying mathematical expressions containing existing layer surface elevations as variables.
  • Assigning a constant slope to a layer surface using three points in space, or using Strike and Dip information.

Layer surface elevations may be visualized using three different view tabs:

  • The 2D Preview displays a color map of the layer surface elevations for the currently selected layer surface.
  • The 3D Preview displays a 3D wire mesh of the entire model grid.
  • The Array preview displays a spreadsheet array of the individual grid cell elevations for the currently selected layer surface.
Importing and Displaying Site Map Images

Previous versions of Visual MODFLOW supported importing an unlimited number of site map images, but the images were required to be in .BMP form, and it was only possible to view one site map image at a time. Visual MODFLOW v.4.0 provides support for importing and displaying the most common graphics image formats, including .JPG, .GIF, .TIF, .PNG, and .BMP files. Additionally, a transparency setting may be applied to the imported images in order to display multiple images simultaneously, or to view other model attributes underneath the site map image overlay.

Predictive Analysis using PEST-ASP

Predictive Analysis is similar in function to Goal Programming. The user asks the program to minimize or maximize a specific system response (e.g. aquifer head or groundwater concentration) by adjusting selected model parameters within given bounds, while still maintaining the obligation of a calibrated model. By using Predictive Analysis, the modeler is able to replace the traditional trial-and-error sensitivity analysis by asking questions such as:

  • “What is the maximum contaminant concentration possible at a selected location in 50 years?”
  • “What is the maximum seepage from a section of the river due to nearby pumping?”
  • “What is the maximum rise in the water table at a selected location due to irrigation?”

Recent History of Changes

Fixed in v.4.3.0.154 (May 2008)

  • When importing recharge from a polygon shapefile, you are prompted to assign an attribute to ponding when MODFLOW is the selected flow engine. Ponding is not supported by MODFLOW and should only be available when the MODFLOW-SURFACT flow engine is selected
  • When configuring a new PHT3D variant, an assertion error message is shown if the minimum required species, i.e., tot_h, tot_o, cb, pH and pe, are not set to active in the variant parameters settings
  • After running a SEAWAT simulation, velocity vectors point in the wrong direction
  • When using Visual Modflow Pro Edition, the Geometric Multigrid (GMG) Solver can not be used with MODFLOW-2005
  • When installing Visual Modflow on a 64-bit operating system, an error message is displayed, indicating that the operating system is unsupported
  • When running the example model provided with the MODFLOW-SURFACT tutorial, using MODFLOW-SURFACT Advanced Flow edition, an "Abnormal Termination" error message is shown
  • If you change the numeric flow engine from MODFLOW-2000 to MODFLOW-2005, or vice versa, and then run your model with MODPATH, an error message will be shown when you view the particle pathlines in the model output

Added to v.4.3.0.154 (May 2008)

  • Added support for MIKE 11 2008
  • Added support for importing MODFLOW-2005 datasets through the File / Import MODFLOW menu option

Fixed in v.4.2.0.153 (November 2007)

  • Updated the following numeric engines:
    • SEAWAT to v.3.13.00
    • MODFLOW 2000 to v.1.17.02
    • MT3DMS to v.5.2
    • PHT3D engine to v.2.0
  • Updated to support MIKE11 2007 and updated OpenMI assemblies

Added to v.4.2.0.153 (November 2007)

  • MODFLOW 2005 v.1.2.01 numeric flow engine
  • Import property zones from polygon shapefile
  • Georeference maps using two or more control points
  • With the PHT3D 2.0, the following reaction modules are now available:
    • Carbon cycling and biogeochemical changes during ASR
    • Seasonal redox dynamics and corresponding fate of the PhAC phenazone during artificial recharge of groundwater
    • Reductive, sequential dechlorination of PCE and associated isotope factionation

Fixed in v.4.1.0.146 (March 2006)

  • Unable to adjust Legend options when saving an image to file
  • When using RT3D, could not display the Transport Mass Balance graphs in the output

Breaking Change

  • With the implementation of MT3DMS 5.0, the optional implicit matrix solver, the General Conjugate-Gradient (GCG) solver, must now be used in every simulation.  In other words, the dispersion, sink/source and reaction terms are now always solved by the implicit finite-difference method, regardless of whether the advection term is solved by the implicit finite-difference method, the mixed Eulerian-Lagrangian methods, or the third-order TVD method.

Fixed in v.4.1.0.145 (January 2006)

  • Error messages occurred when running MODFLOW SURFACT with FWL4 well package and inactive wells or inactive multi-screen wells

Fixed in v.4.1.0.144 (January 2006)

  • When models are "saved as" a new filename, basemap filenames would continue to grow
  • When models are "saved as" a new project, the distribution array for initial concentration is not kept
  • An error message occurred when you try to add a control point in the interpolator options
  • When importing a .DAT file (with x,y,z elevation data) the coordinates were not converted incorrectly
  • When exporting observation well data in world co-ordinates, the incorrect co-ordinates were displayed
  • MGO translation did not apply pumping rate unit conversion if project unit is not consistent with model unit
  • Removed the data point limit when doing a Kriging interpolation (previously the limit was 10,000 data points)
  • When printing the head residual map in the output the bubble headings appear very small on the printed page regardless of the size increase settings
  • Changes to KD, Kmobile, Ksorbed are not retained when changed in Input menu
  • The Mass Balance Report for Rates for Time Step does not match the Cumulative volume; the rate for Time step shows value of zero
  • Switching from MODFLOW 2000 to SEAWAT engine, then go to run menu creates an Assertion Failed error
  • When translating MT3D files, Assertion Failed error message pops up, followed by Abnormal Program error
  • When importing Evapotranspiration .SHP file, using "Assigning zones based on parameter values of polygons", there are two kinds of polygon zones with different color, but only one new zone was created
  • When importing shape file for evapotranspiraton, switching between the options of "Assigning zones based on parameter values of polygons" and "Assigning a separate zone for each polygon" causes some zones to disappear
  • Importing SHP files for evapotranspiration was not successful
  • The exported calculated concentration values are not representative of the calculated concentration values shown in Cell Inspector. When viewing row and exporting data, the values of concentration are not correct when compared with cell inspector
  • Unable to export a second contaminant concentration values to a grid file
  • Could not translate a MT3D96 model

Updating Old Visual MODFLOW Models

Visual MODFLOW is fully backwards compatible with projects from Version 3.X and 4.x. Visual MODFLOW automatically detects whether a project was created in an earlier version of Visual MODFLOW. If it detects such a project, Visual MODFLOW will automatically update the files to the current format. However, since the converted files are not backwards compatible, Visual MODFLOW will ask if you want to create a backup copy of the project before it converts the files.

NOTE: Although the direct opening of Visual MODFLOW 2.X and older models is not explicitly supported, due to the possibility of differences between the original project and the converted project, in most cases there should be no issues experienced when directly opening an old Visual MODFLOW project in Version 4.3. However, SWS recommends that you carefully check your Input and Run parameters after converting to the current format, before continuing to work with the project. If you encounter problems with converting old projects, please contact us for Extended Modeling Support (EMS):

http://www.swstechnology.com/support_extended.php

It is recommended that you ALWAYS create a backup copy of any project files you open in the new version of Visual MODFLOW.

NOTE: Schlumberger Water Services is not responsible for any direct or indirect damages, however caused, if project data has not been securely and independently backed up.

Additions to the Documentation

Visual MODFLOW is shipped with a printed and bound copy of the Visual MODFLOW User's Manual.  This manual contains detailed descriptions of the features and analysis capabilities of Visual MODFLOW and Visual MODFLOW 3D-Explorer, and instructions on how to use them to easily and effectively build, run, calibrate and visualize three-dimensional groundwater flow and contaminant transport models.  Any information provided in the user's manual is also available from the on-line help file.

User's of Visual MODFLOW Pro/Premium will also receive a printed and bound copy of the WinPEST User's Manual with instructions on setting up and running a parameter estimation simulation.

The Visual MODFLOW Installation CD-ROM includes electronic copies of the Visual MODFLOW User's Manual and all supporting technical documentation for MODFLOW, MODPATH, MT3D, RT3D and WinPEST.  These documents are provided in Manuals folder on the CD-ROM and are stored in AdobeTM Portable Document Format (.PDF).

The printed and on-line documentation for Visual MODFLOW is as complete as possible.  However, for production purposes, the documentation was prepared prior to the final build of Visual MODFLOW. As a result, there may be some differences between the program and the documentation due to last minute changes to the interface or functionality. The following late changes are not available in the printed users manual:

  • Chapter 4: s.4.6.2: Stream Boundary Condition: STR1 package is only used when running MODFLOW 96; the STR6 package is used when running MODFLOW 2000.
  • Chapter 5: s.5.4.5: PHT3D Run Settings, General tab, Simulation Options; there is an option "Enable PHREEQC-MT3DMS Reactions". When selected, PHT3D should run as normal. When not selected, translation of PHT3D package is disabled, and the model can be run as multi-species transport without PHREEQC-reactions. This is a very useful option as you can quickly check whether the transport part of a model is set up properly, but also to quantify the importance of reactions in comparison with reactive results.
  • Chapter 5: s.5.4.5, MODFLOW Time Steps for PHT3D Simulation: For PHT3D simulation, the MODFLOW Time Step Multiplier should be set to 1.0, because otherwise time steps at the end of the stress period will be too long and the operator-splitting error will become too large.  
  • Chapter 3: s.3.8.2, When creating a PHT3D 2.0 Transport Variant, the following reaction modules are now available as options in the Reactions combobox:  
    • Carbon cycling and biogeochemical changes during ASR  
    • Seasonal redox dynamics and corresponding fate of the PhAC phenazone during artificial recharge of groundwater  
    • Reductive, sequential dechlorination of PCE and associated isotope factionation  

Known Issues with Visual MODFLOW

Although every reasonable effort has been made to fix any known problems with the software, there are some issues with the software we were not able to fix before the program was released.  These remaining issues will not affect the results of the simulation in any way, but they do affect your ability to use the software.  We are working towards the elimination of these problems, and we will be posting patch installation programs to the ftp site from time to time so you can update your program.  However, in the meantime, it is important for you to know about the issues that may affect the performance of the software and your ability to use it effectively.  These issues are documented below:

  • For the MIKE 11 example tutorial, the provided *.OMI file is not compatible with newer versions of MIKE 11. If you are using MIKE 11 version 2007 or 2008, you must first run the provided MIKE 11 model to generate a compatible *.OMI file, and then use this file to define the MIKE 11 river network in Visual MODFLOW.
  • Currently, the RT3D (v.1.0, v.5.2) and MT3D (v.1.5) transport engines do not support the Multi-Node Well (MNW) package.
  • For projects that simulate all wells using the the Multi-Node Well (MNW) package, transport cannot be simulated using the MT3DMS transport engine.
    • Solution: The MT3DMS transport engine will only fail if all wells are simulated using the MNW package. To avoid this problem, create a "fake well" with a zero pumping rate and exclude it from the MNW package,i.e., simulate the "fake well" using the default WEL package. Rerun your model and the MT3DMS engine should finish without any problems.
  • For projects using the MODFLOW 2000 flow engine with a PHT3D transport variant, if the flow engine is changed to MODFLOW 2005 after the PHT3D species have been defined, you will receive an "Abnormal Termination" error and Visual MODFLOW will shut down.
  • When running MODFLOW-SURFACT version, with a license that does not include PCG5 solver, you should not select this solver from the MODFLOW / Solver settings. The run and translation will begin, however, you will not see any results.
  • When running MODFLOW-2000 flow engine with MIKE 11 2008 on a Windows Vista 64-bit or Windows XP 64-bit computer, an "Application Error" message is shown and the simulation does not finish successfully.
  • For MODFLOW-SURFACT projects created in v.2, after loading these projects into the latest version of Visual MODFLOW, you must do a Run and Translate with the new version of SURFACT, in order to completely update the project to the latest version of the engine.
  • After performing a remote-update with a network dongle on a 64-bit machine, the network licence will turn into a local license
    • Solution: This is a compatibility issue with 64-bit computers. For network licenses only, be sure to run remote-updates using a 32-bit computer
  • There are display issues when running Visual MODFLOW with more than one monitor; currently this configuration is not supported.
  • Run - WinPEST -  Models located in a directory path that is longer than 100 characters may not run, or the results from the simulation may not be written to the hard drive.
  • Some buttons and labels are not displayed properly when using DPI settings higher than 96, or with large Fonts.
  • Problems deleting a bitmap, then adding a new bitmap with the same name. The new georeference points are not utilized. Change the name of the bitmap before importing again in order for the georeference point changes to take effect.
  • Flux Between Layers calculations may be incorrect if the Layer type is not confined (e.g. layer type=3), and if the cell top elevation is different from the water table elevation.
  • PHT3D simulations require significantly more memory than a typical MT3D/RT3D simulation. Recommended minimum memory is 512 MB
  • When running a MIKE 11 simulation, and MIKE 11 river network is the only boundary condition, Visual MODFLOW will create default stress periods with start time = 0 and stop time = steady-state simulation time
  • In a network server-client installation, currently there are some difficulties when running a MIKE 11 simulation on a network client machine
    • Solution: Please contact Technical Support for details on resolving this issue.
  • After refining the model grid, the initial concentration values are deleted
  • When using MIKE 11, and interchanging a model between computers that use different date formats (as specified in the regional settings), the model result will not update automatically when executing a Run only.
    • Solution: Do a Run and Translate on the Visual MODFLOW project to ensure the .OMI and .OPR files are updated with the system's date format
  • In highly irregular layer surfaces, problems may occur when displaying color shading with transparency in cross-section view.
  • Splash screen displays MODFLOW SURFACT as a supported add-on package with all installations. MODFLOW SURFACT is only available if this package has been purchased, and the appropriate dongle is attached.  Otherwise, MODFLOW SURFACT will be available in a feature-restricted demo mode.
  • Importing MODFLOW files:
    • currently, an imported model always defaults to Steady-State (in the Edit-Engines dialog) regardless of the original model settings
    • for Initial Heads, it is necessary to select the "[project].vmp.hds" file manually after importing the model (from the RUN menu MODFLOW-Initial Heads) before running the model for the first time. If this is not done, then the Specified heads are used instead.
    • solver settings of original model are not remembered - Solver type and settings are ignored and Visual MODFLOW defaults to the WHS solver. Please check your solver and settings after the model has been imported, before you run the model.
  • When running a client installation, and the client has restricted user rights, MODPATH may produce an I/O error.  The workaround is to allow the client Power User rights on the local machine, and log-in and run MODPATH with these rights.
  • When running a network installation, from the client machine, and saving a model as a new name, VMEngines may not run and translate during the first attempt.  A workaround is to close VMEngines and Visual MODFLOW, then re-open and re-run the project.
  • When creating a new project, if you halt midway through the process, then attempt to create another new project, an error will occur.
  • When running MODFLOW 2000 and using the option "Anisotropy as Specified" it is not possible to use the BCF package; only the LPF package is supported.

Contacts

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Phone: Call +1 866 620 9214 Toll free (US and Canada)
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Fax: 801 302 1160

Email: info@scientificsoftwaregroup.com

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