A heuristic method for the optimal design of water distribution systems

• Main Author: Shah, Mahesh
• Other Authors: Civil Engineering
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 2019
• Subjects: LD5655.V855 1987.S5234; Water > Distribution > Research
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/88600

The water distribution system design problem consists of finding a minimum cost combination of network layout and sizes of system components so as to satisfy flow demands, minimum and maximum head requirements and a reliability criterion. A two step procedure is proposed to find a near optimal design. The first step considers obtaining a near optimal tree layout using a heuristic tree search algorithm. Two different methods are followed for the tree search - one for single source networks and the other for multiple source networks. The second step adds loop forming redundant links to the tree layout in such a way that every demand node has two paths from source node(s). The methodology is applied to a single source network and a multiple source network. In both the cases better results arc achieved than those obtained previously by other researchers. === Master of Science