Address-Oriented Impedance Matrix Method for Generic Calibration of Heterogeneous Pipe Network Systems

The generic evaluation of pipeline parameters is one of the most demanding technological tasks in the efficient management of a water distribution system. Information about current pipeline status is feasible by monitoring the pressure variation online. Conventional methods of transient computation and parameter calibration for a heterogeneous pipeline network suffer from cost issues both in time and storage as well as several other constraints associated with the numerical representation of a real-life system. As an alternative approach, an extension of the impulse response method, namely the address-oriented impedance matrix method (AOIMM), has been developed for a more robust calibration of a heterogeneous and multilooped pipe network system. The genetic algorithm was incorporated into the AOIMM for generic calibration of several parameters, such as the location and quantity of leakage, friction factor, and wave propagation speed. The potential of the proposed calibration algorithm over other conventional approaches was demonstrated when it was applied to a hypothetical heterogeneous pipe network system.