Comprehensive reliability evaluation of water-energy nexus systems

Abstract

• New reliability model is developed for integrated Water-Energy Nexus (WEN). • An augmented probabilistic algorithm is devised to evaluate the reliability of WEN. • Renewable energy sources and energy storage are considered in reliability analysis. • Both mechanical failures and hydraulic analysis of the water system are considered. • Three reliability indices for water system considering power reliability are devised. • Power supply reliability is an unneglectable factor as three overall reliability indices of water system increase by 19.7%, 32.6%, and 26.9% respectively when it is considered. Water and power systems are two national critical infrastructures which support our daily life and economic growth. Both are highly interconnected and complex networks, which consist of various system elements. The core functions of water and power distribution systems are to deliver satisfactory water and electric services to consumers by satisfying the demands at all load points. Besides the factors in the water distribution system itself, power supply may affect the performance of the water distribution system. Therefore, the two systems are in fact physically connected and coupled. The purpose of this study is to develop an appropriate model and an efficient evaluation algorithm to quantify the reliability of the water distribution and power supply system as an integrated Water-Energy Nexus (WEN). This paper proposes a probabilistic reliability evaluation method for the micro-WEN model based on the sequential Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) procedure. In the proposed evaluation procedure, both mechanical failures and hydraulic analysis are taken into consideration. Case studies are performed based on a representative water-energy nexus system to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.