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Optimal Location and Setting of PRVs in WDS for Leakage Minimization

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Abstract

Water loss is an issue that affect Water Distribution Systems (WDSs) very often, especially when aged and high pressure occurs. Pressure reduction valves (PRVs) can be used as devices to reduce as much as possible the water losses within the network. Indeed, for a given number of PRVs, the daily volume of water lost from the network can be reduced minimizing the pressure through a proper choice of valve positions as well as their settings. In this paper, a methodology for the optimal number, positioning and setting of PRVs is presented. In the proposed methodology, a genetic algorithm is coupled with a physical modelling of leakage from joints and a simplified and yet realistic hydraulic simulation of the WDS. The proposed methodology is demonstrated using two WDSs examples. Comparisons with a more extreme and complicated hydraulic modelling, already proposed by authors in previous work, are also performed in the first case study in order to validate the proposed methodology. These comparisons demonstrate that the methodology proposed in this work performs fairly well when compared to similar approach that uses a more sophisticated hydraulic model. As a consequence, it revealed to be a good tool for the optimal positioning and sizing of PRVs within WDS aimed at reducing the background leakages even when the WDS is characterized by complex geometry and topology.

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Acknowledgments

The present work was developed with financial contributions from the Campania Region, L.R. n.5/2002 – year 2008 – within the Project ‘Methods for the evaluation of security of pressurized water supply and distribution systems towards water contamination, also intentional, to guarantee to the users, and the optimization design of water systems’, prot. 2014.0293987 dated 29.04.2014 – CUP: E66D08000060002.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engrg., Federico II University, Naples, Italy

    Carmine Covelli, Luigi Cimorelli & Domenico Pianese

  2. Department of Engrg., Parthenope University, Naples, Italy

    Luca Cozzolino & Renata Della Morte

Authors
  1. Carmine Covelli
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  2. Luca Cozzolino
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  3. Luigi Cimorelli
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  4. Renata Della Morte
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  5. Domenico Pianese
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Correspondence to Carmine Covelli.

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Covelli, C., Cozzolino, L., Cimorelli, L. et al. Optimal Location and Setting of PRVs in WDS for Leakage Minimization. Water Resour Manage 30, 1803–1817 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1252-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1252-7

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