RTC of valves for leakage reduction in water supply networks

This paper reports the results of a numerical investigation aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the real-time control (RTC) of valves in reducing leakage in water supply networks. The investigation was carried out considering the head-driven simulation of a network under successive steady conditions. A literature bench-test case-study was used for the simulations enabling the comparison with other methodologies proposed by previous writers and based on the use of optimization algorithms. The performance of RTC was evaluated in terms of pressure and leakage reduction with respect to uncontrolled conditions in the network. Further elaborations showed the better flexibility of RTC, with respect to optimization algorithms, in adjusting valve regulation under variable daily water demand conditions.