District metered areas determination for water distribution networks using improved Girvan-Newman algorithm

Abstract

In general, partitioning networks into district metered areas (DMA) is known as a practical method to manage the pressure and reduce water leakage in Water Distribution Networks (WDNs). Different methods such as engineering judgment, optimization techniques, and graph theory are proposed to determine the DMA. The graph theory is a traditional method for partitioning networks including several algorithms. One of these algorithms is the Girvan-Newman (GN) algorithm which is based on the mathematical parameters without considering the characteristics of networks. In other words, the hydraulic quality and quantity condition of WDNs are not used for DMA determination. Therefore, in this research, a new method is proposed to improve the performance of the GN algorithm for DMA determination considering the quantities of water networks. For this purpose, the average values of nodal pressure and residual chlorine concentration are calculated and used simultaneously for the junction’s weight determination. Then, the edge scores are calculated based on the junction’s weights, and the edges with the maximum scores are removed until to reach the desired number of DMAs. For comparison purposes, here, the Demand-Driven Simulation Method (DDSM) and Head-Driven Simulation Method (HDSM) analyses are used for the analysis of the Poulakis WDN, selected as a case study. A comparison of the results shows that by using the proposed method, the average pressure values are decreased and the average residual chlorine concentration values are increased. In other words, the pressure values are decreased from 16.32% to 26.23% and the average residual chlorine concentration values are increased from 2.5% to 18.37% in comparison with the results of the standard form of the GN algorithm using both DDSM and HDSM analyses. Furthermore, by using the proposed method, in all scenarios, the hybrid reliability values increase in comparison with the GN algorithm. The results indicate the unique performance of the proposed method in comparison with the standard form of the GN algorithm for DMA determination of WDNs.