Fuzzy Logic Applications for Water Pipeline Performance Analysis

Abstract

Many studies have been performed in the past to improve renewal decision-making of water utilities for aging drinking water pipes. Multiple statistical models have been developed to support advanced asset management. Many models have been prepared for specific materials or conditions, and fail to be used holistically for a water distribution system. To address this issue, a comprehensive understanding of performance parameters for different pipe materials is needed. PIPE i D has been created to help in understanding the critical drinking water pipeline infrastructure. It is envisioned to be a national database platform for advanced asset management addressing the major management levels, including strategic, tactical, and operational, that will assist water utilities of all sizes in sustaining targeted levels of service with acceptable risk. It will also provide secure access to the aggregated data, models, and tools that will enable the synthesis, analysis, query, and visualization of the data for decision support. With the help of PIPE i D, it becomes possible to incorporate the many previous models and to develop a systematic and comprehensive approach in the statistical modeling of drinking water pipeline performance prediction. The research provides knowledge and insights about water pipe condition and performance. The research questions are related to the core tasks (i.e. assessing the pipe performance index/rating and developing pipe performance curves). This chapter presents a critical review of previous studies conducted (both from literature and practice) for modeling a water pipeline infrastructure performance index. This chapter also explains the background knowledge needed for the development of the fuzzy logic based performance index for water pipelines.