HydroCalc

HydroCalc is a tool meant to enable access to fast and complex hydraulic engineering calculations from a simple interface.

The tool started as a uniform-flow calculator, meaning it was a basic calculation program with no in-depth features. With time, the developer decided to add extra functions, and that is how HydroCalc came to be a complex hydraulic calculator.

Exceeding the standard requirements involving input and output dialogue boxes, the program now offers, free of cost, advanced computational capabilities and modules.

The app has plenty of sophisticated options for academic purposes and people in need of an advanced calculator. Super small in size and extremely laborious in options, HydroCalc comes packed with the following modules (for corresponding calculation methods): open channel/uniform flow, pipe flow, sediment yield, Manifold/Diffuser, and riverine cross-section geometry.

The app has a basic-looking GUI and manageable commands. The system is well-structured and there are comprehensive features. On the top bar, there are four options: Input, Options, Modules, and Save. The first option allows for switching between partially-full and full flow-data insertions in different formats: trapezoidal, circular, elliptical, parabolic, hoseshoe, and general.

In the 'Options' tab, the user can configure the Xsection properties, the Xsection plots, and the rating curve. In the 'Modules' tab, HydroCalc allows selecting the preferred module — GeoCalc, ManCalc, PipeCalc, and SedCalc. By initializing one of these modules, one gets to open any of them as a standalone app that can perform the indicated calculation. Finally, there is the self-explanatory 'Save (results)' tab.

All things considered, HydroCalc is definitely a valuable tool. It might have an outdated touch and feel, but it surely is a solid instrument that allows performing hydraulic engineering and other types of complex calculations.

Another big plus is the embedded distinctive modules that act as individual applications and are nicely wrapped up in the menu option with the same name.