Operational optimisation of water supply networks using a fuzzy system

This paper presents a fuzzy system to control the pressure in a water distribution network, by using valves and controlling the rotor speed of the pumping systems. The variable frequency drive tracks the minimum head of the pumping system, while the control valves have the function of eliminating th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inWater S. A. Vol. 38; no. 4; pp. 565 - 572
Main Authors Da Silva, Simplicio Arnaud, Bezerra, Saulo de Tarso Marques, Gomes, Heber Pimentel
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Water Research Commission (WRC) 01.07.2012
Subjects
Fuzzy logic
Power efficiency
Water
Water supply system
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Summary:This paper presents a fuzzy system to control the pressure in a water distribution network, by using valves and controlling the rotor speed of the pumping systems. The variable frequency drive tracks the minimum head of the pumping system, while the control valves have the function of eliminating the excess pressure at various points of the network. The control system can track any reference pressure value and there is no limit for the number of monitored points. Experiments were carried out to demonstrate the fuzzy system's efficiency. By extrapolating the results achieved in the experimental setup to a real hydraulic network with leakages and no pressure control, the volumetric losses could be reduced by more than 56%. The experiments showed that the system is robust enough to control the pressure of an experimental setup of water distribution. Besides, the proposed system can be easily applied to similar water supply systems and would help to reduce the consumption of water and electricity, as well as to reduce the maintenance costs.
ISSN:0378-4738