Energy Optimization Using a Pump Scheduling Tool in Water Distribution Systems

Water distribution management system is a costly practice and with the growth of population, the needs for creating more cost-effective solutions are vital. This paper presents a tool for optimization of pump operation in water systems. The pump scheduling tool (PST) is a fully dynamic tool that can handle four different types of fixed speed pump schedule representations (on and off, time control, time-length control, and simple control [water levels in tanks]). The PST has been developed using Visual Basic programming language and has a linkage between the EPANET hydraulic solver with the GANetXL optimization algorithm. It has a user-friendly interface which allows the simulation of water systems based on (1) a hydraulic model (EPANET) input file, (2) an interactive interface which can be modified by the user, and (3) a pump operation schedule generated by the optimization algorithm. It also has the interface of dynamic results which automatically visualizes generated solutions. The capabilities of the PST have been demonstrated by application to two real case studies, Anytown water distribution system (WDS) and Richmond WDS as a real one in the United Kingdom. The results show that PST is able to generate high-quality practical solutions

Multi-objective Optimization of Different Management Scenarios to Control Seawater Intrusion in Coastal Aquifers

PublishedThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via the DOI in this record.Seawater intrusion (SWI) is a widespread environmental problem, particularly in arid and semi-arid coastal areas. Therefore, appropriate management strategies should be implemented in coastal aquifers to control SWI with acceptable limits of economic and environmental costs. This paper presents the results of an investigation on the efficiencies of different management scenarios for controlling saltwater intrusion using a simulation-optimization approach. A new methodology is proposed to control SWI in coastal aquifers. The proposed method is based on a combination of abstraction of saline water near shoreline, desalination of the abstracted water for domestic consumption and recharge of the aquifer by deep injection of the treated wastewater to ensure the sustainability of the aquifer. The efficiency of the proposed method is investigated in terms of water quality and capital and maintenance costs in comparison with other scenarios of groundwater management. A multi-objective genetic algorithm based evolutionary optimization model is integrated with the numerical simulation model to search for optimal solution of each scenario of SWI control. The main objective is to minimize both the total cost of management process and the total salinity in aquifer. The results indicate that the proposed method is efficient in controlling SWI as it offers the least cost and least salinity in the aquifer

Pressure management in water distribution systems in order to reduce energy consumption and background leakage

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from IWA Publishing via the DOI in this recordDue to the seriousness of the water shortage crisis over the past decades, the need to manage water use has become more and more important. Pressure management in urban water distribution networks is one of the options that can significantly reduce water loss. The pressure reducing valve (PRV) and the variable speed pump (VSP) are two devices that are most used in water distribution system (WDS) pressure management. In the present study, an optimization code was first proposed to estimate the instantaneous water demand based on the reported network pressures. According to the estimated instantaneous water demand, another optimization code is presented based on the DE algorithm to control the installed PRVs and VSPs. This results in the uniform distribution of the pressure and reduction of the excessive pressure on the water network for all hours of the day, reducing the water leakage and energy consumption accordingly. The provided method has been applied to a real water distribution network in northern Iran. The results showed that by applying this method, the network background leakage and the energy consumption have been reduced by 41.72% and 28.4%, respectively, compared to a non-management mode

Water Distribution Networks Resilience Analysis: A comparison between graph theory-based approaches and global resilience analysis

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via the DOI in this record.The structure and connectivity of infrastructure systems such as water distribution networks (WDNs) affect their reliability, efficiency and resilience. Suitable techniques are required to understand the potential impacts of system failure(s), which can result from internal (e.g. water hammer) or external (e.g. natural hazards) threats. This paper aims to compare two such techniques: Graph Theory (GT) and Global Resilience Analysis (GRA). These are applied to a real network – L’Aquila (central Italy) – and two benchmark networks – D-Town and EXNET. GT-based metrics focus on the topology of WDNs, while GRA provides a performance-based measure of a system’s resilience to a given system failure mode. Both methods provide information on the response of WDNs to pipe failure, but have different data requirements and thus different computational costs and precision. The results show that although GT measures provide considerable insight with respect to global WDN behavior and characteristics, performance-based analyses such as GRA (which provide detailed information on supply failure duration and magnitude) are crucial to better understand the local response of WDNs to pipe failure. Indeed, particularly for complex networks, topological characteristics may not be fully representative of hydraulic performances and pipe failure impacts.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

A stand-alone Zero-Liquid-Discharge greenhouse model with rainwater harvesting capability

This is the author accepted manuscriptGlobal warming is a prevalent topic throughout the world. The IPCC predicts that the maximum potential global temperature increase will be 4.8 oC by 2100. It has been concluded that a temperature rise of 1.4 oC or higher will have statistically significant impacts on global precipitation levels. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the future trends of precipitation and subsequent irrigation methods. This study will discuss a new multi-functional zero liquid discharge (ZLD) system for a greenhouse, incorporating a humidification dehumidification (HDH) mechanism, solar still desalination and rainwater harvesting. The focus of this paper is on analysing the water production of the system. Although previous literature discusses the inefficiency of solar still (SS) desalination, the fresh water produced during similar experiments has shown otherwise, desalinating 0.95 L/m²/hr of saline water. Using multiple panels could therefore give a substantial output of distilled water for certain usage such as agriculture. Implementing solar stills of large surface area would also allow the collection of rainwater thus increasing the total water productivity of the system. The ZLD system aims to produce no waste product and use the output brine water for aquaculture and salt cultivation.British CouncilScience & Technology Development Fund (STDF), Egyp

Estimating flood characteristics using geomorphologic flood index with regards to rainfall intensity-duration-frequency-area curves and CADDIES-2D model in three Iranian basins

This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordThere is not enough data and computational power for conventional flood mapping methods in many parts of the world, thus fast and low-data-demanding methods are very useful in facing the disaster. This paper presents an innovative procedure for estimating flood extent and depth using only DEM SRTM 30 m and the Geomorphic Flood Index (GFI). The Geomorphologic Flood Assessment (GFA) tool which is the corresponding application of the GFI in QGIS is implemented to achieved the results in three basins in Iran. Moreover, the novel concept of Intensity-Duration-Frequency-Area (IDFA) curves is introduced to modify the GFI model by imposing a constraint on the maximum hydrologically contributing area of a basin. The GFA model implements the linear binary classification algorithm to classify a watershed into flooded and non-flooded areas using an optimized GFI threshold that minimizes the errors with a standard flood map of a small region in the study area. The standard hydraulic model envisaged for this study is the Cellular Automata Dual-DraInagE Simulation (CADDIES) 2D model which employs simple transition rules and a weight-based system rather than complex shallow water equations allowing fast flood modelling for large-scale problems. The results revealed that the floodplains generated by the GFI has a good agreement with the standard maps, especially in the fluvial rivers. However, the performance of the GFI decreases in the less steep and alluvial rivers. With some overestimation, the GFI model is also able to capture the general trend of water depth variations in comparison with the CADDIES-2D flood depth map. The modifications made in the GFI model, to confine the maximum precipitable area through implementing the IDFAs, improved the classification of flooded area and estimation of water depth in all study areas. Finally, the calibrated GFI thresholds were used to achieve the complete 100-year floodplain maps of the study areas.University of BasilicataCNR-IMAAOpenet TechnologiesRoyal Academy of Engineering (RAE

Analysing greenhouse ventilation using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from UKACM via the link in this recordGreenhouses (GH) are used to shield the crops from excessive cold or heat. They are used for growing certain types of cultivations during the year round. The aim of this study is to design a greenhouse using solar-powered technology to produce a Zero-Liquid-Discharge (ZLD) by using Solar Stills and adding condensers to dehumidify the excess vapoured water. This allows to have small-scale plants to reduce the cost of water treatment while increasing its sustainability. Computational fluid dynamics was used to find the best locations for the dehumidifiers in the GH and design the necessary ventilation. This can help to plan ahead and evaluate the optimal amount of produced water for different sizes of greenhouse before they are constructed physically.British Council - EgyptScience & Technology Development Fund (STDF), Egyp

A novel stand-alone solar-powered agriculture greenhouse-desalination system; increasing sustainability and efficiency of greenhouses

This is the author accepted manuscript.The countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are suffering from the scarcity of freshwater resources. With the economic development and population growth, planning the additional water supplies is critical for this region. Desalination of saline water is, therefore, considered as a strategic alternative water resources and technology to be adopted in MENA region. On the other hand, open field agriculture in such conditions is not economical particularly with high ambient temperature and solar intensity. Agriculture Greenhouses (GH) present a suitable alternative for different plants growth for the region’s desert. In most cases GHs can reduce about 90% of irrigating water demand compared open field. With the available high solar energy, integration of solar – GH – desalination presents a real challenge and is the field of newly funded N-M R&D proposal. This paper presents an integration of solar energy, agriculture GH and suitable desalination processes targeting the development and pilot testing of a novel stand-alone system that grows its energy and irrigation water demand.British CouncilScience & Technology Development Fund (STDF), Egyp

Strategic planning of the integrated urban wastewater system using adaptation pathways (article)

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordThe dataset associated with this article is located in ORE at: https://doi.org/10.24378/exe.2443Emerging threats such as climate change and urbanisation pose an unprecedented challenge to integrated management of urban wastewater systems, which are expected to function in a reliable, resilient and sustainable manner regardless of future conditions. Traditional long term planning is rather limited in developing no-regret strategies that avoid maladaptive lock-ins in the near term and allow for flexibility in the long term. In this study, a novel adaptation pathways approach for urban wastewater management is developed in order to explore the compliance and adaptability potential of intervention strategies in a long term operational period, accounting for different future scenarios and multiple performance objectives in terms of reliability, resilience and sustainability. This multi-criteria multi-scenario approach implements a regret-based method to assess the relative performance of two types of adaptation strategies: (I) standalone strategies (i.e. green or grey strategies only); and (II) hybrid strategies (i.e. combined green and grey strategies). A number of adaptation thresholds (i.e. the points at which the current strategy can no longer meet defined objectives) are defined to identify compliant domains (i.e. periods of time in a future scenario when the performance of a strategy can meet the targets). The results obtained from a case study illustrate the trade-off between adapting to short term pressures and addressing long term challenges. Green strategies show the highest performance in simultaneously meeting near and long term needs, while grey strategies are found less adaptable to changing circumstances. In contrast, hybrid strategies are effective in delivering both short term compliance and long term adaptability. It is also shown that the proposed adaption pathways method can contribute to the identification of adaptation strategies that are developed as future conditions unfold, allowing for more flexibility and avoiding long term commitment to strategies that may cause maladaptation. This provides insights into the near term and long term planning of ensuring the reliability, resilience and sustainability of integrated urban drainage systems.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

Decarbonisation using hybrid energy solution: case study of Zagazig, Egypt

This is the final version. Available on open access from the publisher via the DOI in this record.In this study, an analysis is carried out to determine the optimal application of multiple renewable energy resources, namely wind and solar, to provide electricity requirements for green smart cities and environments. This was done to determine the potential of renewable energy to provide clean, economically viable energy for the case study of Zagazig, located at 30◦340 N 31◦300 E in the North East of Egypt. The relevant data surrounding the production of energy were collected, including the meteorological data from NASA, and specifications regarding renewable resources including solar panels, wind turbines, and storage batteries. Then a hybrid model was constructed consisting of Photovoltaics (PV) panels, wind turbines, a converter, and storage batteries. Once the model was constructed, meteorological data were added alongside average daily demand and cost of electricity per kWh. The optimal solution for Zagazig consisted of 181,000 kW of solar panels feeding directly into the grid. This system had the lowest Net Present Cost (NPC) of the simulations run of US$1,361,029,000 and a net reduction of 156,355 tonnes of CO2 per year.British CouncilScience, Technology, and Innovation Funding Authority (STIFA) of Egyp