DrainScope: Visual Analytics of Urban Drainage System

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Computer Science
• Urban Planning

Background:

• Urban drainage systems face increasing challenges from extreme rainfall events due to outdated design assumptions.
• Current analysis tools lack integrated capabilities for defect diagnosis, causal analysis, and evaluating improvement strategies.
• Flooding, infrastructure damage, and economic losses highlight the need for advanced diagnostic approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce DrainScope, a novel visual analytics approach for the comprehensive diagnosis and iterative improvement of urban drainage systems.
• To provide tools for identifying defects, understanding their causes, and evaluating potential solutions in an integrated manner.

Main Methods:

• DrainScope utilizes a map view for initial defect observation and a rule-based strategy to extract critical sub-systems.
• A novel drainage-oriented Sankey diagram visualizes internal flow dynamics to reveal defect causes.
• The system supports flexible modification of drainage components and includes a comparison view for iterative evaluation of improvement plans.

Main Results:

• DrainScope enables focused analysis of defects within urban drainage systems.
• The visual analytics approach effectively reveals the causal mechanisms behind system defects.
• Iterative evaluation of improvement plans is facilitated through flexible modification and comparison views.

Conclusions:

• DrainScope represents a significant advancement as the first visual analytics approach for urban drainage system diagnosis and improvement.
• The tool addresses limitations of conventional analysis platforms by offering integrated defect identification, causal analysis, and solution evaluation.
• Case study evaluation and expert feedback confirm DrainScope's utility and effectiveness in addressing real-world urban drainage challenges.