System calibration sampling design by genetic algorithm
Abstract
Most municipal water utilities use computerized numerical models of their water distribution systems for tasks such as planning expansions, sizing components, solving operations problems, and estimating operating costs. These models must be periodically calibrated to the existing system by imposing a known demand on the system, collecting pressure data at selected points, and adjusting the model parameters until the model predicts the same pressures. It is not currently possible to rationally design a data collection plan that yields the best calibration information given limited equipment and personnel. This research addresses the demand side of the calibration equation by using genetic algorithms to find the combination of open hydrants that causes water to flow at non-negligible velocities through as much of the pipe network as possible. The genetic algorithm, built around the hydraulic simulation package EPANET, has been applied to a network model for a small town in Ohio and was found to perform well. © 1999 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Publication Title
WRPMD 1999: Preparing for the 21st Century
Recommended Citation
Meier, R., & Barkdoll, B. (1999). System calibration sampling design by genetic algorithm. WRPMD 1999: Preparing for the 21st Century https://doi.org/10.1061/40430(1999)42
