Optimal transient network rehabilitation using multi-objective ant colony optimization algorithm

Abstract

In this paper, the problem of optimal rehabilitation of water distribution networks (WDNs) for both steady and transient state is investigated. Two objectives are considered in this study: minimizing rehabilitation cost by considering pipe size diameters as decision variables and minimizing the transient impacts by minimizing a surge damage potential factor (SDPF). A multi-objective ant colony optimization (MOACO) model is developed to solve this problem. The developed model is verified using the well-known New York City tunnel network. The application is carried out to modify an existing real WDN in New Cairo district designed in steady-state conditions to cope with the transient condition. The advantage of this study is to produce a set of solutions that help decision makers to identify the suitable approach, while evaluating and aggregating the preferences over multiple objective functions.