Online Model Predictive Control of Municipal Water Distribution Networks

Optimal operation of municipal Water Distribution Networks (WDNs) is based on optimizing one or more performance metrics while meeting consumer demands and satisfying supply side and storage constraints. This can be achieved by implementing advanced control schemes such as Model Predictive Control (MPC). With the alarming decrease in fresh water supplies, the primary focus of online control strategies should be to conserve water. A novel control strategy that can handle both water sufficient and deficient cases is proposed for WDNs with storage facilities. Performance of the developed model based online control strategy is tested by numerical simulations of an illustrative WDN. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.