Evolutionary Optimization for the Number and Capacity of Surge Tanks and Pipeline Diameters in a Transmission Line

• Main Authors: Gholam Reza Talebzadeh Sarvestani, Mohssen Nasseri, Keivan Asghari
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Water and Wastewater Consulting Engineers Research Development 2006-09-01
• Series: آب و فاضلاب
• Subjects: Evolutionary Optimization; Genetic Algorithm (GA); Unsteady flow; Surge Tanks; Diameter Optimization
• Online Access: http://www.wwjournal.ir/article_2289_cfd9fe42d0018d26d9fec1ab7f312bb1.pdf

Controlling the unsteady effects of fluid flow (water hammer) is one of the most important monitoring factors for structural protection of transmission pipelines. These effects are controlled by surge tanks, air chambers, pressure relief valves, and check valves. Generally, the critical points are detected by simulating the unsteady flow of the fluid, and accordingly, optimum positioning of the control devices is decided. Among the search methods, Genetic Algorithm (GA) is an effective and robust method to solve highly complex optimization problems. Here, for the first time, GA coupled with an unsteady flow simulator is used to optimize the number and capacity of surge tanks in a pipeline system. In addition, the pipeline diameters are optimized for their best performance.