Optimizing intermittent water supply in urban pipe distribution networks

TL;DR

This paper presents a computational model for transient pipe flow in urban water networks with intermittent supply, validated against data, and used to optimize flow control and pressure management.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model for transient pipe flow with realistic boundary conditions and demonstrates its application in flow inference and pressure gradient minimization.

Findings

Model accurately predicts flow dynamics in real networks.

Flow inference from a single sensor is feasible.

Optimized control reduces damaging pressure gradients.

Abstract

In many urban areas of the developing world, piped water is supplied only intermittently, as valves direct water to different parts of the water distribution system at different times. The flow is transient, and may transition between free-surface and pressurized, resulting in complex dynamical features with important consequences for water suppliers and users. Here, we develop a computational model of transition, transient pipe flow in a network, accounting for a wide variety of realistic boundary conditions. We validate the model against several published data sets, and demonstrate its use on a real pipe network. The model is extended to consider several optimization problems motivated by realistic scenarios. We demonstrate how to infer water flow in a small pipe network from a single pressure sensor, and show how to control water inflow to minimize damaging pressure gradients.