Extending EPANET capabilities with Add-In Tools

[EN] EPANET is probably the most widespread model for water distribution network (WDN). More than twenty years after its appearance, it has become a global reference both for hydraulic and quality analysis of water networks. In 2000, EPANET 2 appears, which includes as most important computational feature a new Toolkit. This toolkit was a library of functions allowing the modification of network data and reading results without access to the appropriate files. Over time, the use of this library has been the communication protocol for every application developers who use the method propose by Todini and Pilati to analyze the behavior of WDN. This library also provides interface tools that allow the execution of a simulation from an external application, as long as the network characteristics had been previously defined. This paper presents a change in the original EPANET model, including a new menu in the graphical user interface (GUI). This menu allows users to set up a personal collection of Add-In tools, which use both project data and simulation results. These tools can be customized and allows to extend the analysis capability of EPANET. All of them can access EPANET functions through the Toolkit and were developed by the authors during the Spanish translation of EPANET, taking into account the homologous Add-in tools developed for SWMM model. As an example of the operation and capabilities of this new menu, several applications integrated as EPANET add-in tools are presented. These tools perform tasks such as importing data network from both CAD and GIS systems, the design of WDNs using genetic algorithms, automatic assignment of initial water quality to network nodes; the skeletonization of a network or optimization of pumping schedule in the network in order to achieve a minimum energy cost.Iglesias Rey, PL.; Martínez-Solano, FJ.; Ribelles-Aguilar, J. (2017). Extending EPANET capabilities with Add-In Tools. Procedia Engineering. 186:626-634. doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2017.03.279S62663418

Energy optimization of supplied flows from multiple pumping stations in water distributions networks

[EN] One of the most important concerns within the field of urban hydraulic engineers is the right management of water resources. When there is more than one water source, there is a question that must be answered: How much water should be provided by each water source according to the demand curve of the network? This work proposes a methodology that solves this question. It involves an energy analysis of the water network based on the concept of the setpoint curve. The setpoint curve gives, for every supplied flow, the minimum head needed to satisfy pressure requirements in the network. In this sense, the setpoint curve of every source relates two variables: supplied flow and minimum required head. Energy consumption in every source is evaluated by means of the product of these two variables. Then flow distribution among sources is optimized and minimum heads are obtained from the setpoint curve. The optimization process has been validated in two different ways. On one hand, a discrete method has been used, where a predefined combination of flow distributions are evaluated. On the other hand, the solution is found by means of Hooke-Jeeves and Nelder-Mead optimization algorithms. To apply these methods EPANET and its Toolkit has been applied to the mathematical model of the network. The optimization process can be applied to networks models with and without leakages. Finally, the methodology is applied to two cases, one academic network and real network where maximum flow limitations of every source were also taken into account.León Celi, CF.; Iglesias Rey, PL.; Martínez-Solano, FJ. (2017). Energy optimization of supplied flows from multiple pumping stations in water distributions networks. Procedia Engineering. 186:93-100. doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2017.03.214S9310018

BBLAWN: A combined use of best management practices and an optimization model based on a pseudo-genetic algorithm

[EN] The paper presents a solution to the problem of the Battle of Background Leakage Assessment for Water Networks (BBLAWN) using a methodology that combines the use of Best Management Practices (BMPs) and an optimization model based on a Pseudo- Genetic Algorithm (PGA) as described in [1]. In a first stage, an analysis of marginal costs of pipes whose replacement would be potentially recommended was performed. Next, a network topological analysis to study the pipes that could potentially be closed in order to facilitate pressure control was done. Furthermore, a methodology for studying branched areas was also developed, determining possible location for pressure reducing valves (PRV). A significant reduction in the number of decision variables was obtained and a specific optimization model was developed.This work was supported by the project DPI2009-13674 (OPERAGUA) of the Dirección General de Investigación y Gestión del Plan Nacional de I + D + I del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain.Iglesias Rey, PL.; Martínez-Solano, FJ.; Mora Melia, D.; Martinez Solano, PD. (2014). BBLAWN: A combined use of best management practices and an optimization model based on a pseudo-genetic algorithm. Procedia Engineering. 89:29-36. doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2014.11.156S29368

Using the set point concept to allow water distribution system skeletonization preserving water quality constraints

[EN] Water distribution networks were included in the catalogue of critical infrastructures by different institutions as the European Council. One of the vulnerabilities of a water distribution networks consists of the contamination due to accidental or provoked events. Therefore, it is increasingly common to develop water quality models which allow the study of these threats. Many hydraulic models use algorithms with a high computational cost. Therefore, any strategy to accelerate these algorithms is an important contribution to the problem. This paper proposes a method to simplify branched areas of the network without losing information regarding water quality.This article has been possible inside the actions developed by the researchers of UPV involved in the project “Mejora de las técnicas de llenado y operación de redes de abastecimiento de agua (OPERAGUA)”. The number reference of the project is DPI2009-13674.Martínez-Solano, FJ.; Iglesias Rey, PL.; Mora Meliá, D.; Fuertes Miquel, VS. (2014). Using the set point concept to allow water distribution system skeletonization preserving water quality constraints. Procedia Engineering. 2014(89):213-219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.11.179S21321920148

Characterization of modular deposits for urban drainage networks using CFD techniques

[EN] The growing urban development of population centers in much of the world joined with the significant effects of climate change are causing an increasingly important and recurring increase of the damage caused by flooding. Much of the drainage networks of cities were designed for precipitation characteristics and return periods that have proved to be insufficient with the lapse of time. Therefore, solutions need to be addressed both to reduce runoff generated flows as to control circulating ones through the rainwater drainage networks. All these flow control rain technologies are commonly known as SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage), term that encompasses a multitude of solutions to control runoff although many of them require significant costs that make them practically unviable. Therefore, not only should focus on reducing runoff input to the network but also in the flow control techniques development. The idea is to design strategies to reduce flow rain peaks and maximize the capacity of existing networks. The use of detention and storm tanks for flood control is a solution increasingly used as an alternative one to control increased rainfall caused by climate change [1]. Nature and execution of storm tanks can be very diverse, from conventional way based on concrete structures to the most innovative ones in which modular structures are employed to improve the construction speed if many modular units are required at the same time that minimizing urban supply disruption is achieved. Currently, a wide range of modular structures exists on the market with both, different geometries and sizes. In this study the Aquacell brand supplied by Mexichem-PAVCO in Colombia shown in Fig. 1 has been chosen for the development of this study.S849218

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Search for new physics in events with opposite-sign leptons, jets, and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model (BSM) in final states with a pair of opposite-sign isolated leptons accompanied by jets and missing transverse energy. The search uses LHC data recorded at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 5 inverse femtobarns. Two complementary search strategies are employed. The first probes models with a specific dilepton production mechanism that leads to a characteristic kinematic edge in the dilepton mass distribution. The second strategy probes models of dilepton production with heavy, colored objects that decay to final states including invisible particles, leading to very large hadronic activity and missing transverse energy. No evidence for an event yield in excess of the standard model expectations is found. Upper limits on the BSM contributions to the signal regions are deduced from the results, which are used to exclude a region of the parameter space of the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Additional information related to detector efficiencies and response is provided to allow testing specific models of BSM physics not considered in this paper.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO