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Optimal Operational Scheduling of Pumps to Improve the Performance of Water Distribution Networks

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Abstract

Widely used software packages might still be deficient when it comes to optimal pump scheduling as they allow concurrent Variable Speed Pumps (VSPs) at low speeds and low efficiency. In this study, a new method is developed to optimize the Number of Active Pumps (NAPs) and their variable setting, not only to address the mentioned issue, but also to improve pressure reliability, leakage, and electrical power consumption in Water Distribution Networks (WDNs). For this purpose, an Active Pumps Index (API) is proposed to find the optimal NAPs at each time step and a single-objective Network Pressure Reliability Index (NPRI) is used to optimize VSP setting. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is developed in MATLAB and linked with EPANET as the hydraulic simulator. The proposed method is applied to a sample and a real WDN. The results in both cases show a significant reduction in NAPs, as well as energy costs, while tangibly improving leakage and pressure reliability, especially in big pump stations with several pumps.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Ms. Meagan Marie Tompkins, PhD Candidate at York University, Department of Biology who reviewed and edited the English language for this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Civil Engineering Department, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran

    Mehdi Dini

  2. Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran

    Mozhdeh Hemmati

  3. Hydraulic Modelling Engineer, Jacobs Engineering Group, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Saeed Hashemi

Authors
  1. Mehdi Dini
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  2. Mozhdeh Hemmati
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  3. Saeed Hashemi
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All authors (M. Dini, M. Hemmati and S. Hashemi) contributed to the study conception, design, data collection, and manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mehdi Dini.

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Dini, M., Hemmati, M. & Hashemi, S. Optimal Operational Scheduling of Pumps to Improve the Performance of Water Distribution Networks. Water Resour Manage 36, 417–432 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-021-03034-8

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