HydraStorm

Storm Drain Hydraulic Design for Civil 3D

HydraStorm is an Autodesk Civil 3D plugin for storm drain hydraulic design. Design pipe networks with real-time HGL/EGL analysis, junction loss calculations, rational method hydrology, and automatic pipe sizing — all without leaving your design environment.

Key Capabilities

HGL/EGL Analysis

  • Real-time hydraulic & energy grade line computation
  • Interactive profile view with pipe slopes, ground surface, and grade lines
  • Automatic surcharge and overflow detection
  • Full pipe-by-pipe results summary

Junction Loss Calculations

  • HEC-22 energy loss method (FHWA)
  • iSWM junction loss coefficients
  • Custom loss expressions for local standards
  • Benching, plunging, and angled inflow factors

Rational Method Hydrology

  • Rational method peak flow computation (Q = CiA)
  • NOAA Atlas 14 IDF curve import & fitting
  • User-defined IDF tables and coefficients
  • Weighted runoff coefficients for composite drainage areas

Automatic Pipe Sizing

  • Size pipes to meet velocity, capacity, and cover criteria
  • Configurable minimum/maximum pipe sizes and slopes
  • Multiple pipe materials with Manning’s n values
  • Design constraints checked in real time

Civil 3D Integration

  • Reads Civil 3D pipe network data directly
  • Runs inside Civil 3D 2025+ as a native plugin
  • No import/export — work on your live design
  • Automatic surface & alignment reference

Design Standards & Export

  • Design standards library for municipality-specific criteria
  • Customizable loss types and design parameters
  • Excel/CSV export of full pipe network results
  • HydraLink integration for basin and runoff data

How It Works

HydraStorm operates directly on your Civil 3D pipe network. Select your network, assign drainage areas and design parameters, and HydraStorm computes the full hydraulic analysis in real time. Results are displayed as an interactive HGL/EGL profile that updates as you modify the design.

Typical Workflow

  1. Create or open a pipe network in Civil 3D
  2. Launch HydraStorm and select the network
  3. Assign drainage areas and runoff coefficients to inlets
  4. Configure IDF data (NOAA Atlas 14 or manual entry)
  5. Set design criteria (min/max pipe size, velocity, cover)
  6. Run the analysis — HGL/EGL profile updates in real time
  7. Use automatic pipe sizing to meet design criteria
  8. Review the interactive profile and results table
  9. Export results to Excel/CSV for submittals

HydraLink Integration

HydraStorm integrates with HydraLink, Bezalel Design Lab’s desktop hydrology and hydraulics modeling application. Use HydraLink for watershed-level analysis (unit hydrograph, detention design, pond routing) and import basin/runoff data into HydraStorm for storm drain pipe sizing. Together, the two products cover the full stormwater design workflow.

System Requirements

  • Autodesk Civil 3D 2025 or later
  • OS: Windows 10 or later (64-bit)
  • RAM: 8 GB minimum (16 GB recommended)
  • Internet: Required for license activation and NOAA Atlas 14 data

Target Audience

Civil engineers and stormwater designers who work in Autodesk Civil 3D and need storm drain hydraulic analysis integrated directly into their design environment.