Energy optimization of water supply system scheduling: Novel MINLP model and efficient global optimization algorithm

Abstract

This article is concerned with global optimization of water supply system scheduling with pump operations to minimize total energy cost. The scheduling problem is first formulated as a non‐convex mixed‐integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem, accounting for flow rates in pipes, operation profiles of pumps, water levels of tanks, and customer demand. Binary variables denote on–off switch operations for pumps and flow directions in pipes, and nonlinear terms originate from characteristic functions for pumps and hydraulic functions for pipes. The proposed MINLP model is verified with EPANET, which is a leading software package for water distribution system modeling. We further develop a novel global optimization algorithm for solving the non‐convex MINLP problem. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model and the efficiency of the tailored global optimization algorithm, we present results of two case studies with up to 4 tanks, 5 pumps, 5 check valves, and 21 pipes. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 4277–4296, 2016