Optimisation of pumping and storage design through iterative hydraulic adjustment for minimum energy consumption

Abstract

Water distribution networks (WDNs) require large capital investment and ongoing operational costs, resulting in their optimisation being a highly researched field. Despite the benefits tanks bring to networks, most optimisation models omit them as decision variables due to the complexity they can introduce to heuristic approaches. This paper addresses the least-cost optimisation of WDN design and operation through the development and application of the Small-network Configurator for Optimising Pump Energy consumption (SCOPE). The SCOPE algorithm incorporates pipes, pumps and tanks as decision variables and solves the optimisation problem through an iterative approach that pairs EPANET simulation results with subsequent hydraulic calculations to converge on the pumping and storage configuration which yields the lowest energy consumption. The SCOPE output can then be used to seed further optimisation techniques. This approach has been tested on the synthetic Nametown and real-life Dili networks and demonstrated annual cost savings of 10% and 25%, respectively.