What's new in Visual MODFLOW Flex 4.1?

Enjoy robust upgrades and dynamic enhancements in Visual MODFLOW Flex 4.1 This latest version gives users the ability to utilize key upgraded engines; grid editing updates; property and boundary improvements; enriched visualization abilities, and so much more.

The Waterloo Hydrogeologic development team heard from users around the globe that editing capacity was lacking, so they improved it and added many new user-friendly features, including but not limited to those listed below.

Visualization and Settings

  • 2D/3D View Keyboard Navigation – Navigate in the active 2D or 3D view using the keyboard. Arrows keys pan the view, +/-keys (on the number pad) and page up/page down keys zoom in and out. In an active 3D view, the Shift+arrow up/down keys changes the inclination of the model relative to the horizon and Shift+arrow right/left rotates the model about the vertical axis.
  • Custom Contours – Customize contours in 2D, 3D and Flex Viewers by setting start and finish contour values for contour lines and isolines. You can also specify a contour interval. Changes in one part of the flex Viewer are reflected in other parts.
  • 3D View Setting Defaults – Create and Save project-Specific Default View Settings for each data type in the 3D Viewer.

Workflows

  • Modeling Objectives – Modeling Objectives for Transport Simulations can be changed at any time, not just during initial set-up or conversion.
  • Model Settings for Translate/Run – You can now specify whether individual packages are translated and/or run with the model, which provides the flexibility to use your own packages similar to the advance settings in Classic for model translate/run.

Grid Editing Enhancements

  • Cell size Control for Conceptual Models – Similar to numerical grids, you now have full control over the grid size specification during initial grid creation; you can set grid cell dimensions to whole numbers for ease of calculation and reporting.

Property and Boundary Condition Enhancements

  • LGR Boundary Conditions – Boundary conditions that span the parent/child grid interface(s) in an LGR model can be specified in both the Conceptual and Numerical workflows
  • Dual Domain Mass Transfer – Flex 4.1 now supports dual domain mass transport modeling through the MT3D-MS and MODFLOW-SURFACT transport engines. (See Updated Engines)
  • Unsaturated Zone Flow (UZF) Package – Flex now supports 1-D unsaturated flow associated with the UZF package in MODFLOW-2005.

Updated Engines

  • Upgraded MODFLOW 2005 – Flex is now packaged with MODFLOW-2005 v1.12.00, the latest official USGS version as of the release date of Flex 4.1.
  • Upgraded MODFLOW NWT – Flex is now packaged with MODFLOW-NWT v1.1.2, the latest official USGS version as of the release date of Flex 4.1
  • Added support for MODFLOW-SURFACT – Visual MODFLOW Flex now supports MODFLOW-SURFACT version 4.0, a fully-coupled flow and transport engine developed by HydroGeoLogic, Inc. which features many robust methods and enhanced simulation capabilities for handling complex saturated/unsaturated subsurface flow and transport processes. Based on the USGS modular groundwater flow model, MODFLOW, it supports the following packages:

MODFLOW-SURFACT-CHART-for-website
NOTE: MODFLOW-SURFACT was developed by HydroGeoLogic, INC. and is sold as a separate add-on for Visual MODFLOW Flex. A demo-version that supports model grids of up to 10,000 cells is included for evaluation purposes. Additional packages (e.g. subsidence [SUB], streamflow routing [SFR], etc.) are supported by SURFACT and may be developed outside Flex.

General

  • Undock/Redock Tabs – Tabs can be undocked as separate windows. Simply drag and drop or right-click on the Tab name and select the 'Undock Tab' option and you can place the new window anywhere on your monitor screen(s). Redock a window back to the main program window using drag and drop or right-click and select the 'Dock Tab' option.
  • Explorer Support – Open a Visual MODFLOW Flex .AMD file directly from Windows Explorer.
  • .Net Framework 4.6.1 – Now bundled with Flex installation.
  • About/Splash Screen – Version and build number are displayed on the Splash Screen and on the About Screen.
  • Improved Performance – Improved memory handling and performance enhancements

Defects Addressed

  • Could not edit or define a Boundary Condition when multiple grids were present as part of the same LGR grid.
  • Inconsistency between calculating and displaying leakance in the lake boundary condition when using certain time units.
  • Some PEST runs were not successful due to incorrect observation files.
  • Issue when importing time schedules for recharge package.
  • Translation issue when importing some Visual MODFLOW 2010.1 Classic projects into Flex.
  • Progress bar does not provide adequate feedback when opening large projects.
  • Issue with extracting multiple species from sub-grids for MT3D-MS runs.
  • Toolbox was blank after translating/running the model and clicking Define Properties step.
  • Translation issue in MT3D-MS RC3 file for bulk density values when using inconsistent units.
  • Improved feedback/reporting for certain engine runs that do not converge.