Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the Fluids Pad website (“the Service”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree with any part of these terms, you must not use the Service.

These Terms apply to all users of the Service, including without limitation students, engineers, academics, and companies.

2. Description of Service

Fluids Pad provides a collection of interactive engineering calculators, design tools, AI-assisted practice questions, and reference material covering fluid mechanics, pipe flow, thermodynamics, and related disciplines. The Service is currently provided free of charge.

The Service is intended for use by engineering students and professional engineers as a supplementary resource. It does not constitute professional engineering services, and no engineer-client relationship is formed through use of the Service.

3. No Professional Engineering Services

The Service is an educational and preliminary-design reference tool. It does not constitute the provision of professional engineering services as defined under the Engineering Profession Act 46 of 2000 (South Africa) or any equivalent legislation in other jurisdictions.

The developer of this website is not acting as your engineer of record. Any reliance on outputs from this website for a real engineering project must be accompanied by independent review and sign-off by an ECSA-registered professional engineer (or equivalent) who takes professional responsibility for the design.

Specific limitations applicable to each calculator are listed in the “Validity & Limitations” section on that calculator’s page. These limitations are not exhaustive.

4. Accuracy of Results

While reasonable care has been taken in the implementation of calculation methodologies referenced in industry standards (including but not limited to ASME, ISO, IEC, SANS, and SANRAL publications), the developer makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for purpose of any result produced by the Service.

Engineering calculations involve simplifying assumptions that may not apply to your specific situation. You are responsible for understanding the assumptions underlying each tool and determining whether those assumptions are appropriate for your application.

5. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the developer of this website shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from:

• The use of or inability to use the Service
• Any errors or omissions in any calculation result
• Reliance on any output from the Service in any design or decision
• Interruption, suspension, or termination of the Service
• Any unauthorised access to or alteration of your data

This limitation applies regardless of the legal theory on which the claim is based, and even if the developer has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

6. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the developer of this website from and against any claims, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with your use of the Service or your breach of these Terms.

7. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Service or its infrastructure
• Use automated scripts, bots, or scrapers to make excessive requests to the Service without prior written permission
• Reproduce, resell, or redistribute any part of the Service for commercial purposes without prior written consent
• Use the AI practice or assistant features in a manner intended to circumvent rate limits or generate large volumes of automated requests
• Misrepresent outputs of the Service as having been produced by, or approved by, a registered professional engineer

8. Intellectual Property

All content on this website, including but not limited to calculator logic, user interface design, text, and graphics, is the intellectual property of the developer unless otherwise stated. Underlying mathematical and engineering methodologies derived from published standards or textbooks are not claimed as proprietary.

You may use results from the Service for personal, academic, or professional engineering purposes. You may not copy, republish, or distribute the software, user interface, or content of the Service for commercial purposes without prior written permission.

9. Third-Party Services

The Service uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous usage data to improve the Service. The AI practice and assistant features are powered by Anthropic’s Claude API. Use of these features is also subject to the respective third-party terms of service. The developer is not responsible for the availability, accuracy, or content of third-party services.

10. Availability and Changes

The developer reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service at any time without notice. The developer may also update these Terms at any time. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects when changes were last made.

11. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any disputes arising from these Terms or the use of the Service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of South Africa.

12. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact: info@fluidspad.com