Development of a binary model for evaluating water distribution systems by a pressure driven analysis (PDA) approach

Abstract Investigation of Water Distribution Networks (WDNs) is considered a challenging task due to the unpredicted and uncertain conditions in water engineering. When in a WDN, a pipe failure occurs, and shut-off valves to isolate the broken pipe to allow repairing works are activated. In these new conditions, the hydraulic parameters in the network are modified because the topology of the entire system changes. If the head becomes inadequate, the Pressure Driven Analysis (PDA) is the correct approach to evaluate the performance of water networks. Hence, in the present study, the water distribution system was evaluated in pressure-driven conditions for 100 different scenarios and then using a type of neural network called Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) as a stochastic technique. For this purpose, several most notable parameters including the base demand, pressure, and alpha (the percentage of effective supplied flow) were calculated using simulations based on a PDA approach and applied to the water distribution network of Praia a Mare in Southern Italy. In the second stage, the output parameters were used in a developed binary classification model. Finally, the obtained results showed that the GMDH algorithm can be applied as a powerful tool for modeling water distribution networks