Node Convergence in SWMM 5

The solution is iterative but each iteration is dependent on the CFL or explicit time step. The time step we select is based on the CFL condition but instead of just using the explicit solution we iterate until the node depths are converged or a maximum of 4 iterations is reached.

The solution of node depths and link flows in SWMM 5 is an iterative process but the number of iterations for the flows and links depends on how fast the node depth converges. The node continuity equation is ALWAYS solved at each iteration for each node but depending on whether both the link upstream and downstream node depths have converged the the number of iterations for a link may be between 2 and 4. The minimum number of iterations for a link is 2.

Figure 1. Iterations in SWMM 5