Calibrating hydraulic network models

Abstract

To a novice, careful calibration of a hydraulic network model may be as daunting a task as climbing Mt. Everest. Although calibration should always be included in any hydraulic analysis, it is often neglected or done haphazardly. As a result, inappropriate data may be used or data errors may be overlooked, so the resulting hydraulic model is of limited value. The novice may see calibrating a hydraulic network model as a task as daunting as climbing Mt. Everest. This article presents a seven‐step method for use in calibrating a hydraulic network model. The last and most difficult step is microlevel calibration, which involves the adjustment of demand loadings and pipe roughnesses until computed and observed field pressures or flow rates are within reasonable agreement for various levels and extremes of demand, pumping, and storage. Various explicit calibration algorithms have reduced the need for trial‐and‐error procedures and have improved the reliability of the resulting calibration. There remains little justification for failing to develop good calibrated network models prior to network analysis.