Author(s)

Joaquim Sousa & Maria da Conceicao Cunha

Abstract

In spite of twenty years of research efforts, optimal design of looped water distribution systems still remains a challenge. The physical behaviour of a looped network is described by a set of equations, some of them non-linear. Although numerical methods can simulate the hydraulic behaviour of large size looped networks, finding the optimal network design is, even for simple networks, a complex task. If we are to represent reality adequately, this problem must be formulated in combinatorial form defining extremely difficult models, whose resolution in real-world conditions, via classical optimization techniques, is often impossible. However new developments in the field

Keywords