Unsteady flow modeling of pressure real-time control in water distribution networks

This paper investigates the potential of unsteady flow modelling for the simulation of remote real-time control (RTC) of pressure in water distribution networks. The developed model combines the unsteady flow simulation solver with specific modules for generation of pulsed nodal demands and dynamic adjustment of pressure control valves in the network. The application to the skeletonized model of a real network highlights the improved capability of the unsteady flow simulation of RTC compared with the typical extended period simulation (EPS) models. The results show that the unsteady flow model provides sounder description of the amplitude of the pressure head variations at the controlled node. Furthermore, it enables identification of the suitable control time step to be adopted for obtaining a prompt and effective regulation. Nevertheless, EPS-based models allow consistent estimates of leakage reduction as well as proper indications for valve setting under network pressure RTC at a much smaller computational cost.