Introduction

FHC hydraulic calculation software can be used for the hydraulic analysis of almost any water-based fire protection system
including fire sprinklers, water mist (low and high pressure), hydrants, hose reels and much more. In fact if water comes out of
a nozzle FHC will be able to calculate the system for you so it is only limited by your imagination. FHC is a world leader in
hydraulic analysis software and has hundreds of users in over 50 countries and complies with over 30 international design
standards including NFPA, FM Globe and EN 12845

With FHC you can build complex hydraulic models simply, with a set of easy to use design tools and you can see the pipe
network instantly on the screen. You can calculate any type of pipework network from simple tree systems to multiple looped
systems or any other combination. As you create the hydraulic model and connect pipe nodes together FHC will automatically
find any tees and elbows you have created and will add the fitting to the pipe and lookup the equivalent length in its extensive
pipe and fitting database.

In this tutorial will introduce you to some of the basic concepts to help you gain an understanding of the most common
commands in easy to learn steps. If you follow this guide you will soon be creating your own hydraulic models and calculating
successfully.

How to Start FHC

You should find the FHC icon on the desktop which is the simplest method of starting FHC or by going to the Windows
'Start' menu and select 'All Programs -> FHC' (Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10) in Windows 10 you can just type FHC in to the search
bar, once the program has started you will see the FHC screen as bellow.

You will find that most of the command commands you require will be available on the Toolbar or as shortcut keys (a full list is
given in Appendix A). We will indicate a shortcut key such as ‘Add Pipe’ like this [Ctrl+A] you then press the Control key and
the ‘A’ key together.

The most frequently used commands are grouped together in logical sections on the Tool bar such as file, view, pipe tools
(Add, Edit...), Copy & Calculate.