Slope Criterion Research Articles

Method for identifying the main factors controlling landslides based on a particle coupling algorithm simulating the ultimate state of a gas pipeline

To determine the ultimate load of buried gas pipelines under different working conditions under landslide action and provide a quick decision-making tool for landslide risk management, a pipe–soil coupling model is established based on smoothed particle hydrodynamics and the finite element method. The double elastic slope criterion and fault tree analysis method are used to perform limit and failure analyses on the pipelines. The research results indicate that pipeline stress and strain during oblique crossing are positively correlated with the crossing angle. The upper section of the pipeline exhibits tensile bending, whereas the lower section exhibits compressive bending. Local stress is concentrated at the elbows at both ends of the pipeline during longitudinal crossing, which is similar to the force applied during oblique crossing. The ultimate pipeline bearing capacity is negatively correlated with its burial depth and pressure. There is a positive correlation between the distance from the pipeline to the rear edge of the landslide and the width of the landslide. There is also an optimal value for the moisture content of landslides. Fault tree analysis reveals that, to prevent pipeline failure under the action of landslides, priority should be given to determining a reasonable pipeline laying method, reducing the moisture content of the sliding body, controlling the thickness and width of the landslide body, controlling the displacement and inclination angle of the sliding body, timely eliminating soil and soil pressure, and avoiding the failure of drainage systems and support facilities. Based on the research results, we propose a method that can preliminarily identify the main control factors affecting pipeline integrity. This method provides a reference for studying and developing engineering mitigation measures, identification procedures, and operation guidance documents for geological disaster risks for pipelines crossing landslide sections.

Pemodelan Numerikal Kestabilan Lereng Galian Abutment Jembatan pada Ruas Jalan Tol Bogor – Ciawi – Sukabumi

The Cikereteg Bridge is one of the infrastructures on the Bogor-Ciawi-Sukabumi Toll Road. Based on drilling data, it is recognized that the groundwater level is high and that the slope under the bridge has soil with a low standard penetration tests value (N-SPT) of less than 10. Hence, the stability of the slope is called into doubt. In order to strengthen slope stability under the bridge, this research will investigate slope stability while taking seismic loads into account and offer options for efficient slope reinforcement. By using the PLAXIS 2D software, the finite element method was used to analyze slope stability. The outcomes of the modelling suggest that the slope may not be stable, since it does not fulfill the design slope criteria, which are 1.8 for static conditions and 1.5 for earthquake situations. Respectively, the safety factor value is 1.396 for static condition and 1.068 when given an earthquake load. The design reinforcement model's results highlight that the subdrain reinforcement in combination with bored piles and ground anchors can fulfill the criteria for the slope of the bridge plan.

Experimental study on instability mechanism and critical intensity of rainfall of high-steep rock slopes under unsaturated conditions

Two critical factors, namely intense precipitation and intricate excavation, can trigger rock mass disasters in mining operations. In this study, an indoor rainfall system was developed to precisely regulate the flow and intensity of precipitation. A large-scale model experiment was conducted on a self-designed physical simulation experiment platform to investigate the failure and instability of high-steep rock slopes under unsaturated conditions. The real-time reproduction of the progressive failure process in high-steep rock slopes enabled the determination of the critical rainfall intensity and revealed the mechanism underlying slope instability. Experiment results indicated that rainfall may be the primary factor contributing to rock mass instability, while continuous pillar mining exacerbates the extent of rock mass failure. The critical failure stage of high-steep rock slopes occurs at a rainfall intensity of 40 mm/h, whereas a rainfall exceeding 50 mm can induce critical instability and precipitation reaching up to 60 mm will result in slope failure. The improved region growing segmentation method (IRGSM) was subsequently employed for image recognition of rock mass deformation in underground mines. Herein an error comparison with the simple linear iterative cluster (SLIC) superpixel method and the original region growing segmentation method (ORGSM) showed that the average identification error in the X and Y directions by the method was reduced significantly (1.82% and 1.80% in IRGSM; 4.70% and 6.26% in SLIC; 9.45% and 12.40% in ORGSM). Ultimately, the relationship between rainfall intensity and failure probability was analyzed using the Monte Carlo method. Moreover, the stability assessment criteria of rock slope under unsaturated condition were quantitatively and accurately evaluated.

Location-allocation combining fuzzy analytical hierarchy process for waste to energy facilities siting in developing urban areas: The case study of Lomé, Togo

Waste facilities siting is one of the complex problems encountered by decision makers of waste management in urban developing areas. Waste to Energy (WtE) facilities siting alongside transfer stations involves a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and has leveraged waste value chain. However, the process requires to consider the interlinked fields of environment, socio-cultural and economic/technical factors as Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in a context of lack of knowledge and expertise. This study aims to propose a framework of WtE facilities siting through a GIS-based Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and location-allocation method in Lomé’s case study in Togo. This method was applied with boolean logic and fuzzy overlay operators, to assess the potential sites and optimize their selection through a location-allocation solver considering transfer stations and road networks under ArcGIS. Moreover, WtE technologies were attributed to sites based on the territorial aspect. As result, 30.70% of the study area was excluded and three potential areas with a minimum value of 3.47 km2 comprised between 0.81% and 1.01% of the study area, and have been obtained with an acceptable consistency ratio of 0.09. The potential sites are more influenced by slope and residence criteria under economic/technical and socio-cultural factors, with 29.13% and 19.84% of weight respectively. Therefore, through the location-allocation method two optimized sites are obtained and assigned to transfer stations; the first suitable site close to industrial area is appropriate for the gasifier which consequently classified ahead of the anaerobic digester that is suitable for the second suitable site close to agricultural area. As result, prioritizing WtE technologies and site selection should take into account territory aspect, waste sources as well other environmental, socio-cultural and economic/technical factors. This approach has demonstrated its robustness and serves as a stepwise tool for decision makers in WtE facilities siting in developing urban areas.

Determining the Suitability of Lands for Agricultural Use with the Best-Worst Method

The interaction of agricultural activities with the land starts with soil in the production part and continues until the consumption stage. Sustainable agricultural land for their use, a database regarding their current potential should be created and the land prepared based on this database should be evaluated by considering the use planning. The suitability of Ankara province lands for agricultural use by making use of the Geographical Information System analysis was carried out. To determine the suitability for agricultural use; Major Soil Groups, Land Use Capability Classes, soil depth, degree of erosion, elevation, slope, aspect, precipitation, and temperature criteria were used. This was done with the Best-Worst method, which is one of the multi-criteria decision-making approaches. It was ensured that the best and worst of the nine factors were determined by the decision makers. In the last layer, because of the analyzes made for the province of Ankara, the most appropriate land use map was created based on the natural abilities and capabilities of the lands. It has been determined that the most affecting criterion is Large Soil Groups, and Ankara's Kızılcahamam, Çankaya and Mamak districts are not very suitable for agricultural use, but other districts are generally suitable for use.

Using the Analytic Hierarchical Process in Determining the Relative Importance of some Spatial Criteria to Locate Railway Track

In this study, the weights of a number of criteria that affect the selection of the railway track between Mosul and Fishkhabur on the Iraqi- Syrian- Turkish border are determined. These criteria include ground slope, water resources, irrigation canals, infrastructure services routes, land use, environmental impact, and soil bearing strength. A questionnaire is conducted for a group of decision makers, specialists and planners. The Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) technology developed by Saaty is implemented by using pairwise comparison among the criteria. This method is chosen due to its ease, accuracy and the existence of a specialized computer program to perform the mathematical calculations, incorporating weights for all forms, and extracting the final weight for choosing the path. The study shows that the water resources criterion of (29.7%) at a consensus rate of (57%) gets the highest relative importance followed by the ground slope criterion (21.3%) at a consensus of (49%). The environmental impact criterion of (6.9%) at a consensus rate of (53%) gets the lowest value of the relative importance.

Cartographic Modelling and Multi-Criteria Analysis (CMCA) for Rail Transit Suitability

Rail transportation planning is a continuous, multi-phase, functioning scale that is based on reconstructing the spatial system, thus contributing to build a more quality-focused, long-term-oriented and balanced approach. This paper presents cartographic modelling and multi-criteria analysis (CMCA) for the optimum route/station location in accordance with selected criteria and constraints for rail transit system planning. The methodology is based on overlay analysis (cartographic modelling) to combine diverse criteria maps and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method for criteria weighting. The purpose of the study is to examine a GIS multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework by considering Stream, Geology, Slope, Land use and Population decision criteria. The decision modelling framework conceives an additional prominent approach by co-producing with the public, especially for underserved areas of low socio-economic status and public user expectations in the railway transport planning process. This model applied to a candidate metro line referred to as M 18 (Başakşehir-Esenyurt-Beylikdüzü) with eight railway stations for the preliminary stage evaluation. The outcomes of this research will close the gap by establishing a novel suitability framework which can be used as a preliminary analysis for transforming and developing urban rail transit networks.

Applying an AHP–GIS model to hybrid wind–solar energy site selection in a hot desert region: A case study of the Kuwaiti desert

ABSTRACT The aim of this research is to present how sand encroachment and dust fallout criteria impact the siting of hybrid wind – solar energy in hot desert regions. Analytical Hierarchy Process and Geographic Information System techniques were used to generate a hybrid wind – solar energy suitability map for Kuwait. For siting solar farms, dominant aeolian geomorphic processes like sand encroachment and dust fallout rate, distance to urban areas and farms, proximity to main roads and transmission lines, and slope criteria were used. Wind speed, distance to urban areas and farms, and proximity to main roads and transmission lines were considered for siting wind farms. According to the findings, sand encroachment and dust fallout rate were the top two criteria in terms of weighting for siting solar energy. The lowest hybrid suitability class covers the smallest area, with an area of 19 km2 of the study area, and is located in the south of the study area. The highest hybrid suitability class covers 1349 km2 and is located in the northeast, midwest, southeast, and south. The sensitivity analysis results demonstrate that sand encroachment and dust fallout rate have a significant role in siting hybrid wind – solar farms in hot desert regions.

Cell counting chamber vs. Sysmex XN-1000 for determining white blood cell count and differentiation for body fluids

Abstract Objectives Sterile body fluids (BFs) include key information for the diagnosis and monitoring of a variety of diseases. A cornerstone test is the total white blood cell (WBC) count, which comprises the differential of WBC of body fluid analysis. It is important to test automated hematology analyzers that should be verified using patient samples. The aim of this study is to compare both the performance of the Sysmex XN-1000 system’s body fluid module for cell counting and differentiation to the results of a cell counting chamber. Methods This study was performed on 200 routinely laboratory sent BFs. Cell counts and differentiation were determined with both bright-lined Neubauer Cell Counting Chamber and Sysmex XN-1000 system body fluid mode. Results The correlation coefficients of WBC count by two methods indicated very strong correlation (r≥0.90, p<0.0001) for any specimen except pleural fluid. According to Passing-Bablok regression analysis, Sysmex XN-1000 showed acceptable performance according to bias of the slope criteria (<±20%). Conclusions The XN-1000 hematological analyzer’s body fluid mode can rapidly count and identify cells, and it can be used as a simple and rapid screening method for laboratory testing of sterile body fluids, particularly in laboratories with a massive quantity of biological fluids.

Geospatial Technique Integrated with MCDM Models for Selecting Potential Sites for Harvesting Rainwater in the Semi-arid Region

Severe droughts and mismanagement of water resources during the last decades have propelled authorities in the Kurdistan Region to be concerned about better management of precipitation which is considered the primary source of recharging surface and groundwater in the area of interest. The drought cycles in the last decades have stimulated water stakeholders to drill more wells and store uncontrolled runoff in suitable structures during rainy times to fulfill the increased water demands. The optimum sites for rainwater harvesting sites in the Qaradaqh basin, which is considered a water-scarce area, were determined using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), sum average weighted method (SAWM), and fuzzy-based index (FBI) techniques. The essential thematic layers within the natural and artificial factors were rated, weighted, and integrated via GIS and multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches. As a consequence of the model results, three farm ponds and four small dams were proposed as future prospective sites for implementing rainwater harvesting structures. The current work shows that the unsuitable ratio over the study area in all methods AHP, SAWM, and FBI occupied 12.6%, 12.7%, and 14.2% respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) and receiver operating characteristics were used to validate the model outcomes. The AUC values range from 0.5 to 1, meaning that all MCDM results are good or are correctly selected. Based on the prediction rate curve for the suitability index map, the prediction accuracy was 72%, 57%, and 59% for AHP, SAWM, and fuzzy overlay, respectively. The final map shows that the potential sites for rainwater harvesting or suitable sites are clustered mainly in the northern and around the basin’s boundary, while unsuitable areas cover northeastern and some scatter zones in the middle due to restrictions of geology, distance to stream with the villages, and slope criteria. The total harvested runoff was 377,260 m3 from all the suggested structures. The proposed sites may provide a scientific and reasonable basis for utilizing this natural resource and minimize the impacts of future drought cycles.

A Robust Gaussian Process-Based LiDAR Ground Segmentation Algorithm for Autonomous Driving

Robust and precise vehicle detection is the prerequisite for decision-making and motion planning in autonomous driving. Vehicle detection algorithms follow three steps: ground segmentation, obstacle clustering and bounding box fitting. The ground segmentation result directly affects the input of the subsequent obstacle clustering algorithms. Aiming at the problems of over-segmentation and under-segmentation in traditional ground segmentation algorithms, a ground segmentation algorithm based on Gaussian process is proposed in this paper. To ensure accurate search of real ground candidate points as training data for Gaussian process, the proposed algorithm introduces the height and slope criteria, which is more reasonable than the use of fixed height threshold for searching. After that, a sparse covariance function is introduced as the kernel function for calculation in Gaussian process. This function is more suitable for ground segmentation situation the radial basis function (RBF). The proposed algorithm is tested on our autonomous driving experimental platform and the public autonomous driving dataset KITTI, compared with the most used RANSAC algorithm and ray ground filter algorithm. Experiment results show that the proposed algorithm can avoid obvious over-segmentation and under-segmentation. In addition, compared with the RBF, the introduction of the sparse covariance function also reduces the computation time by 37.26%.

Criteria of slope and endogenous level for selection of matrix in the quantitation of endogenous compounds by LC-MS/MS.

Selection of the appropriate matrix for standard curve is critical for an accurate and sensitive biomarker method. Slope of a standard curve is the key factor for parallelism assessment between tested matrix and authentic matrix for LC-MS/MS assays. Herethe authors have established slope criteria using a generic equation and endogenous level criteria for achieving assay sensitivity. The slope difference criterion is from -13.0 to +17.6% for LC-MS assays with ±15% bias criteria. When the ratio of endogenous concentration in the tested matrix to the lower limit of quantitation is <4.0, the lower limit of quantitation is achievable. If these criteria are met, the tested matrix can be used for assays. The utility of the two criteria has been illustrated with case studies.

Satellite magnetic anomalies with a smooth spectral transition to long wavelengths

In most cases, the magnetic field anomalies from satellite data and models are determined by using a cut-off degree that splits the Earth's internal magnetic field (supposed to be of the core and lithospheric origin) into long-wavelength and a short-wavelength parts. This practice allows to effectively compare the signal of both components with other models and controls the signal content as well. In this study an alternative approach is followed to provide the components in long and short wavelengths without cutting the spectrum. Instead, we seek iteratively for the signal loss when the magnetic signal (from degree 1 to the maximum degree of the model) is propagated from the core-mantle boundary to satellite altitude. The problem is generally non-unique, it is required that the signal fit has to follow the slope of the geomagnetic spectrum over the lowest degrees (the degrees least affected by the magnetic lithosphere). The tool operates in the spatial domain – the spectral slope criterion is met after the procedure ends by selecting an appropriate solution. The method can be applied to the vector components individually as soon as they are given in the Earth-fixed Earth-centered frame, for which the integral equation is valid. The obtained magnetic anomalies have different spectral properties because the transition from the long wavelengths to the short wavelengths becomes smooth, although the appropriate number of iterations is questionable. It is found that the long-wavelength signal hands over the magnitude dominance to the short-wavelength part at around degrees 16 to 18.

Delineation of potential water harvesting site for agriculture water planning in Betwa basin of India using geospatial and analytical hierarchical process technique

World is facing acute water scarcity owing to growing freshwater demand, rainfall aberrations and miserable management of water resources. Selection of site for water harvesting structure is crucial for water management in basin. SWAT and AHP techniques applied for decision making at HRU level. AHP technique was used for delineation of sites using soil type, slope, runoff ratio and land use land cover criteria. Model R 2 ranged from 0.85 to 0.92, NSE ranged from 0.85 to 0.92, RSR ranged from 0.28 to 0.38 and PBIAS ranged from −14.68 to 0.79 for calibration while R 2 ranged from 0.68 to 0.80, NSE ranged from 0.70 to 0.81, RSR ranged from 0.30 to 0.40 and PBIAS ranged from −12.7 to 0.57 for validation. upper region of basin has the highest potential of water harvesting, which can be managed efficiently by specific water harvesting structure. The tools and techniques can be adopted worldwide, for water resource planning at HRU level.

Ecosystem services (ES) provided by ditches in a desert agricultural valley

Agricultural ditches can be an efficient method for removing nutrients in wetlands and rivers. In this paper, we document that additionally, ditches offer other ecosystem services (ES) such as providing bird habitat and sediment retention. A typical ditch reach of 6 km with variable width between 3 and 80 m and water depth from 0.06 and 0.5 m, was selected as a monitoring site among 1492 km of a drain network in the agricultural Mexicali Valley located in the Colorado River Delta. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentration and discharge flow rate determinations were obtained monthly during a year, at three stations along the ditch, dividing the reach into two segments. Total nutrient removal efficiency of 39%, along the monitoring year was observed. Additionally, nutrient mass flow had a significant winter-spring seasonal increment associated with crop irrigation, up four times for total nitrogen, nearly 2.5 times for nitrogen-based nutrients, and five times for PO4. Monthly estimations of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from Sentinel images were obtained to evaluate the response of riparian vegetation to high flow discharge seasonal fluctuations, from 0.072 to 1.219 m3 s−1, and nutrient mass flow changes. No correlation among them was found, as riparian species are tolerant to high water levels and nutrient concentration fluctuation. Downstream changes in water electrical conductivity from 6.06 to 8.45 mS cm−1 along the resulted in the shift from Typha domingensis to Phragmatis australis which has a higher salinity tolerance. An intensive bird census showed ditch vegetation provided suitable habitat and refuge to 29 different bird species, including five common birds of the flooded remnant areas of the Colorado River Delta, as well as migratory birds. By using slope criteria of drainage network, 47% of it has a high and moderated potential of sediment retention. These ES are fundamental in semiarid regions because of the intense land-use changes from riparian and desert ecosystems to irrigation lands, as well as water being diverted from natural streams to irrigation channels. This study highlights the importance of considering agricultural ditches as helpful, not only as a natural water treatment of agricultural pollutants, but also as providers of resident and migratory bird habitat and vegetation diversity and erosion regulation by sediment retention on desert agricultural valleys.

A GIS model for exploring the water pumped storage locations using remote sensing data

In recent decades, the energy sector in Egypt faces various challenges due to the continuous increase in energy demand. Fossil fuels may be running out, so there is an urgent need to find a sustainable energy source. Renewable energy is one of pure energy, but it needs to be stored using economical and environment-friendly means. Pumping hydroelectric storage (PHES) plants are currently one of the most economical and unique storage technologies available. In addition, PHES plants are working on creating a balance between the supply and demand of energy during the day. A GIS model based on remote sensing data was used to discover suitable sites for PHES plants and establish a (PHES) map for Egypt. The new PHES locations were filtered using a model based on GIS multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). The GIS model criteria were developed by using the weighted linear combination (WLC) technique. The global digital elevation model SRTM 1 arcsec was used for depicting elevation head, head ratio, and terrain slope criteria. The National Grid, road networks, land use, and airport-restricted areas as constraints data sets were analysed using Arc GIS spatial analysis math algebra tool. The results discovered many suitable PHES sites covering a total area of 10428 km2 and, maps of PHES have become available for Egypt.

Presentation of landscape-fuzzy approach of forest capability evaluation (LFAFCE) for degraded sites.

Evaluation of forest sites capability (EFSC) is important for the restoration of degraded areas. The current costly EFSC approaches developed based on forest stand structure criteria is too costly for less developed countries (LDC) and not suitable for severely degraded lands. This paper describes an inexpensive Landscape-fuzzy approach for forest capability evaluation (LFAFCE) that can be used to restore degraded forest areas especially in LDC. Five physical criteria of slope, hillshade, altitude, precipitation, and geo formation were evaluated in the Zagros region of western Iran using the fuzzy membership functions, prioritized by analytic network process (ANP), and combined with GIS-based weighted linear combination. We then performed multi-criteria evaluation integrated by GIS. Given the positive correlation between the independent variable of EFSC and the dependent variable of the dominant tree height, the model results were validated based on the linear regression of the relationship between the two variables. The results of the validation showed that the linear regression model with appropriate coefficient of determination was significant. The results of EFSC by LFAFCE showed that most of the forest area was allocated to two classes: well (75%) and moderate (21.8%). In total, only 3.2% of the area belonged to the marginal (0.4%), high (0.1%), and unsuitable regions (2.7%) classes. Our results demonstrate that LFAFCE is valid for low-cost evaluation of degraded area in Zagros and for other similar areas, if calibrated, where normal forest mass parameters are not available.

The pressure characteristics analysis of oil pulsation flow based on VMD

The pressure signal of oil pulsating flow is a kind of multi-component signal; in order to realise the effective separation of the multi-component pressure signal and extract its vibration characteristics, the pressure signal was decomposed by Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD). The slope criterion of the centre frequency is proposed to determine the number of components of VMD decomposition, and the method to judge the main components of the signal by energy value is proposed. The Hilbert envelope demodulation analysis was performed on the main components obtained. The results show that the proposed center frequency slope criterion method is effective in the VMD decomposition of the pressure signal of oil pulsating flow, which is used to decompose the pressure signal into 9 components. Four major components of the pressure signal are obtained by the correlation between each component and the pressure signal, and the energy value calculation of each component. The main component frequency of the pressure signal is one time, 6 times, 11 times and 14 times the frequency of the system spindle rotation; these are the sum of two cosine signals of close frequency and have the characteristic of beat vibration.

Delineation of flood-prone areas using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) in Kuala Krai, Kelantan

Kelantan is one of the states that experience flood events annually including the Kuala Krai district. Flooding has a severe impact on roads, villages, farms, and people’s livelihoods. Early detection of flood-prone areas is essential in detecting the specific area. This study aimed to map a flood-prone area based on evaluation of terrain characteristics include elevation, aspect, slope, contour and hill shade of the Kuala Krai area. The raster data of DEM with 50 m resolution and hydrological data were evaluated to create a potential flood map. A flood-prone map is created by overlaying terrain features with flood criteria of a gentle slope with contour < 250 m and degree of slope less than 10, flat surface in aspect and consideration of hill shade factors. The map was also supported by vector data of rivers network that cross the Kuala Krai area. 56% of the Kuala Krai area facing a moderate risk of flood occurrence, while 41 % of the areas are in a dangerous state and are predicted to be at a high risk of flood. This can be concluded that the areas with low elevation, adjacent to rivers, are the places where actions need to be taken by the experts to overcome the disaster in the future.

Evaluation of Integrating SWAT Model into a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis towards Reliable Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has been recognized as one of the most reliable and efficient methods for water supply, especially in arid and semi-arid regions (ASARs) facing freshwater scarcity. Nevertheless, due to the inherent uncertainty of input data and subjectivity involved in the selection of influential parameters, the identification of RWH potential areas is a challenging procedure. In this study, two approaches for locating potential RWH sites were implemented. In the first approach, a frequently-used method of the multi-criteria decision analysis and geographic information system (MCDA-GIS) was utilized, while, in the second approach, a novel strategy of integrating the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model as a hydrology model into an MCDA-GIS method was proposed to evaluate its performance in locating potential RWH sites. The Mashhad Plain Basin (MPB) was selected as a case study area. The developed potential RWH maps of the two approaches indicated similar patterns for potential RWH areas; in addition, the correlation coefficient (CC) between the two obtained maps were relatively high (i.e., CC = 0.914) revealing that integration of SWAT as a comprehensive hydrologic model does not necessarily result in very different outputs from the conventional method of MCDA-GIS for RWH evaluation. The overlap of developed maps of the two approaches indicated that 3394 km2 of the study area, mainly located in the northern parts, was identified as high-potential RWH areas. The performed sensitivity analysis indicated that rainfall and slope criteria, with weights of 0.329 and 0.243, respectively, had the greatest sensitivity on the model in the first approach while in the second approach, the criterion of runoff coefficient (with weights of 0.358) had the highest impact. Based on results from the identification of the potential locations for conventional RWH techniques, pond and pan techniques are the most proper options, covering high-potential areas of RWH more effectively than other techniques over MPB.