Optimum Design of Flexible Water Distribution Networks

A method for designing flexible water distribution networks is presented. Flexibility is the extent to and ease with which a distribution network can cope with eventualities for which it was not specifically designed. This paper shows that some flexibility can be achieved by maximizing the entropy of the flows. A sample network is considered and designs for various levels of entropy are examined. Several indices including energy and head loss are used to compare the designs. The results suggest that an entropy constraint can reduce the tendency towards implicitly branched configurations characteristic of cost minimization models. A striking feature of the proposed methodology is its apparent ability to produce resilient designs without a substantial increase in cost. The results further highlight some implications for connectivity-based reliability measures and core tree approaches to layout optimization.