Head-Drop Method for the Modeling of Pressure Reducing Valves and Variable Speed Pumps in Water Distribution Networks

This paper presents the head-drop method for the modeling of pressure regulation devices in the steady-state simulation of water distribution networks (WDNs). The method is based on addition of device-associated head drops to the source term of pipe energy-balance equations. Head drops and device statuses (active, open, and closed) are updated during the iterations of WDN resolution based on the values of pipe water discharge and of head at pipe end nodes. The proposed method is easily implementable in any WDN resolution algorithm for both local and remote regulation of pressure reducing valves (PRVs) and variable speed pumps (VSPs). The application to four case studies proved the efficiency and robustness of the method, which will be implemented in the hydraulic engine of Smart Water Network Protection and Partitioning (SWANP) software.