Optimal Pressure Sensor Deployment for Leak Identification in Water Distribution Networks

Area of Science:

• Water resource management
• Environmental engineering
• Network analysis

Background:

• Pipe leakage in water distribution networks (WDNs) causes significant energy waste and economic losses.
• Pressure sensors are vital for rapid leak detection and minimizing leakage ratios.
• Realistic constraints like budget, sensor location availability, and sensor failure impact deployment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a practical methodology for optimizing pressure sensor deployment in WDNs for effective leak identification.
• To address realistic constraints such as budget limitations, sensor installation site availability, and sensor fault uncertainties.
• To enhance the leak identification capabilities of WDNs by optimizing sensor placement.

Main Methods:

• Developed a methodology to optimize pressure sensor deployment considering budget, location, and sensor failure.
• Utilized detection coverage rate (DCR) and total detection sensitivity (TDS) as evaluation indexes for leak identification ability.
• Employed model simulation to generate leakage events and identify essential sensors for maintaining DCR, with a focus on supplementary sensors for fault tolerance.

Main Results:

• Identified essential sensors to maintain optimal DCR and maximize TDS under identical DCR.
• Demonstrated the ability to determine supplementary sensors that best compensate for lost leak identification ability due to sensor failures within budget constraints.
• Validated the methodology's applicability to real-world projects using the typical WDN Net3.

Conclusions:

• The proposed methodology provides a practical approach for optimizing pressure sensor deployment in WDNs.
• The method effectively balances leak detection performance (DCR and TDS) with realistic project constraints.
• The approach is suitable for real-world WDN leak management and sensor network design.