3 research outputs found
Performance Assessment of Water Network Infrastructure
In the fifth report of the drinking water infrastructure (2013), the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) had stated that a total of 384.2 billion, which is 64.4% of this investment, is required for the transmission and distribution segments of the water infrastructure. Thus, it is essential that the water infrastructure functions properly to ensure the continuous supply of healthy water with the required pressure. The deterioration of water distribution networks leads to impaired water quality, increased leakage and breakage rate, and reduced hydraulic capacity. The development of inspection, maintenance, and rehabilitation plans is crucial to reduce the failure risk of deteriorated infrastructures. The performance indices of water distribution networks and their components help municipalities plan inspection and avoid crises due to pipe failures and breaks.
The main purpose of this research is to assess the performance index of water distribution networks by integrating the performance indices of its components (pipelines and accessories). The water distribution network is divided into three hierarchal levels: components, segments, and distribution network or sub-network. To assess the performance indices of water distribution network components, the critical factors affecting them were identified and studied. Three main groups of factors were identified, namely, physical, environmental and operational. Each of the three main groups is in turn sub-divided into a list of sub-factors. The Fuzzy Analytical Network Process (FANP) method was used to obtain the relative weights of the identified factors and sub-factors. These weights were used along with the effect values gathered from the experts to assess the performance index of the various components in the network. The performance indices of the segments were then assessed based on the components that make the segment. The performance indices of various segments were aggregated to obtain the sub-network or network performance using reliability analysis. Network performance could be utilized to prioritize the rehabilitation of components and segments and to construct comprehensive intervention plans for the entire network or sub-network. An Excel-Matlab® interface was developed to implement the developed models that perform the above mentioned procedure.
The resulting performance index, which represents the condition of the water distribution network, helps municipalities to minimize the number of scheduled maintenance activities and to predict the performance of the distribution network. This reduces health hazards and maintains the water supply safe, sustainable, and cost-effective
Integrated performance assessment model for water distribution networks
The American infrastructure report card in 2013 rated the US water system infrastructure with grade of ‘D’. The Canadian infrastructure report card in 2012 stated that around 15.4% of Canada’s water infrastructure has a condition of fair to very poor. Thus, there is a critical need to develop efficient inspection, maintenance and rehabilitation plans for water distribution networks. However, such plans require an assessment tool to evaluate the performance and condition of water distribution networks. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated performance assessment model for water distribution networks. Two modules were developed to assess the performance of water pipelines and accessories, respectively. A third module was developed to assess the performance of water segments that includes pipelines and accessories. Moreover, a fourth module was built to assess the performance of each sub-network and the entire network based on the segments’ connection type using a reliability-based approach. To assess the performance of the water distribution network, the critical factors affecting its pipelines and accessories were identified and studied. The fuzzy analytic network process technique was used to obtain the importance weights of the identified factors.Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) for this research project under Award No. QNRF-NPRP 4-529-2-193.Scopu
Multi-Criteria Decision Making Models for Water Pipelines
The deterioration of water pipelines leads to impaired water quality, increased breakage rate, and reduced hydraulic capacity. The planning of maintenance programs for water pipelines is essential to minimize health and safety concerns and ensure an adequate supply of water in a safe, cost-effective, reliable, and sustainable manner. It is essential to assess the performance of water pipelines to assist municipalities in planning inspection and rehabilitation programs for their pipelines. Several models have been developed to assess the condition or performance of water pipelines based on several affecting factors. However, none of them considered the interdependency relationships between the factors. Moreover, some models did not account for the factors' weights uncertainty. This paper presents the development of performance assessment models for water pipelines. The models consider three groups of factors affecting water pipeline performance, namely, physical, environmental, and operational. The models were developed using data collected from questionnaire surveys distributed among water pipeline experts in Qatar. The factors' weights were calculated using four different methods, namely, analytic hierarchy process (AHP), fuzzy AHP (FAHP), analytic network process (ANP), and fuzzy ANP (FANP). The results showed that the FANP is the most accurate method since it incorporates the interdependency and uncertainty into the decision making process.Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) for this research project under Award No. QNRF-NPRP 4-529-2-193.Scopu