The skip steady state periods uses the last computed flows in the conveyance system instead of computing new flows. In the sample graphs you can see where the change in lateral flow is below 0.05 cfs (the blue arrow in the second image). The network solution used the steady flows about 27 percent of the time. The time step summary in the text output file tells you how often the model was in steady state.
Skip Steady State Periods
Checking this option will make the simulation use the most recently computed conveyance system flows during a steady state period instead of computing a new flow routing solution. A time step is considered to be in steady state if the change in external inflow at each node is below 0.5 cfs and the relative difference between total system inflow and outflow is below 5%.
Checking this option will make the simulation use the most recently computed conveyance system flows during a steady state period instead of computing a new flow routing solution. A time step is considered to be in steady state if the change in external inflow at each node is below 0.5 cfs and the relative difference between total system inflow and outflow is below 5%.