Application of pressure reducing and throttle control valves for optimal pressure management in water distribution networks

Abstract

ABSTRACT Advanced pressure control facilitates the smart management of water distribution networks (WDNs). In this study, an optimization-based method is proposed to develop a time-based schedule for pressure reducing valves (PRVs). For this purpose, a single-objective optimization problem is initially delineated, seeking to minimize spatiotemporal variations in the nodal pressures. Then, the application of PRVs is addressed in two scenarios, viz. individual (i.e. employing PRVs) and hybrid (i.e. the combined use of PRVs and throttle control valves [TCVs]). The proposed scenarios are subsequently applied to the hydraulic model of synthetic and real WDNs. A set of hydraulic evaluation indices, including variation index (VI), are further measured to spot the optimal pressure management scenario. The study results establish that the hybrid scenario leads to a larger decrease in the VI along with more efficient pressure control (namely, 39.9% and 11.8% in the synthetic and real WDNs, respectively), compared with the individual one.