Research Project Full Title: Urban Infrastructure Management
Principal Investigator(s): Lina Sela
Full Abstract: Urban water distribution systems are complex pipe networks with looped and branching topologies. A detailed network model may result in thousands to tens of thousands links and nodes, making system analysis, control and management a complicated task. One premise to overcome this complexity is to achieve a decentralized network topology, in which the network is reconfigured into a star-like topology. In this topology, the center node is a connected subset of transmission mains, that provides connection to water sources, and the nodes are the subsystems that are connect to the sources through the center node. We develop a practical methodology for the flexible reconfiguration of existing water distribution infrastructure, which is adaptive to the water utility constraints and facilitates in operational management for pressure and water loss control. The approach relies on network flow modeling, graph theory, and optimization methods.