Abstract. This paper discusses development of an easy-to-use, all-in-one model for designing optimal water distribution networks. The model combines different optimization techniques into a single package in which a user can easily choose what optimizer to use and can compare results of different optimizers to gain confidence on the performances of the models. At present, three optimization techniques are included in the model: linear programming (LP), genetic algorithm (GA), and a heuristic one by one reduction method (OBORM) which was previously developed by the authors. The optimizers were tested on a number of benchmark problems and performed very well in terms of finding optimal or near-optimal solutions with a reasonable computation effort. The results indicate that the model effectively addresses the issues of complexity and limited performance trust associated with previous models and thus can be used for practical purposes.
Solution of Water Distribution Networks Design with Evolutionary Optimization Techniques
