Abstract
ABSTRACT This paper presents a refinement of a method that simulates flow- and pressure-regulating valves by replacing them with pipes and adjusting the resistances (diameters) of those pipes to meet the valve settings. The method, referred to as the replacing pipe method (RPM), is readily integrable into the global gradient algorithm, which is the heart of the commonly used EPANET 2 water distribution system modeling software. The RPM proved to be more robust, yet slower than the EPANET 2 valve handling heuristics. In this work, the RPM was modified to increase its computational speed. The modification involved the RPM check valve handling algorithm and condition for updating the diameters of the valve-replacing pipes. The modified RPM was tested as part of a hybrid simulator, which switches from the EPANET 2 valve handling heuristics to the RPM when the former fails. The test networks included a large network with thousands of nodes, pipes, and valves, and a case of an ill-posed problem. As the testing showed, the modified RPM offers a significant reduction in the number of iterations compared to its previous version.
Published Version
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