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Modular Conceptual Modelling Approach and Software for Sewer Hydraulic Computations

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Abstract

A major challenge in urban water management is the identification of cost-effective and future-proof strategies that can cope with the rapid urbanization and changing environmental conditions. Water quantity modelling forms a key-element in the development of such strategies. Conventional detailed hydrodynamic models are not well suited for use in decision support systems due to several important drawbacks. Therefore, this paper presents a novel and computationally efficient conceptual modelling approach for sewer water quantity simulations. A modular framework is considered that combines well-established model structures with machine learning techniques. This flexible framework ensures that even complex flow dynamics can be emulated accurately. An accompanying software tool was developed to facilitate model configuration. As an example, a full hydrodynamic sewer model of a city in Belgium was transformed into a conceptual model. This model delivered precise results, while the calculation time was 106 times shorter than the detailed model.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT). The authors would like to thank Innovyze for the InfoWorks CS license. Farys is gratefully acknowledged for providing the InfoWorks CS model used in the case study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hydraulics Division, Department of Civil Engineering, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 40, box 2448, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Vincent Wolfs & Patrick Willems

  2. Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Ixelles, Belgium

    Patrick Willems

Authors
  1. Vincent Wolfs
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  2. Patrick Willems
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Correspondence to Vincent Wolfs.

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Wolfs, V., Willems, P. Modular Conceptual Modelling Approach and Software for Sewer Hydraulic Computations. Water Resour Manage 31, 283–298 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1524-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1524-2

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