Optimization of water distribution networks using a deterministic approach

Abstract

Water distribution networks (WDNs) are the main component of industrial and urban water distribution systems and are currently formed by pipes, nodes and loops. In this article, a deterministic mathematical programming approach is proposed, aiming to minimize the cost of looped WDNs, considering known pipe lengths and a discrete set of commercially available diameters. The optimization model constraints are mass balances in nodes, energy balances in loops and hydraulic equations, in such a way that no additional software is needed to find the appropriate pressure drops and water velocities. Generalized disjunctive programming is used to reformulate the discrete optimization problem to a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem. The GAMS (General Algebraic Modeling System) environment is used to solve the problem. Four cases are studied to test the applicability of the model and the results show compatibility with the literature.

KEYWORDS:

• Water distribution networks
• optimization
• generalized disjunctive programming
• MINLP
• GAMS

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) (Brazil) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) (Brazil), for their financial support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financially supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) (Brazil) [processes 88887.217374/2018-00 and 88881.171419/2018-01] and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) (Brazil) [processes 428650/2018-0 and 440047/2019-6]; and by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior.