Modelling and optimized water management of artificial inland waterway systems

A decision support system (DSS) for optimized operational water management of artificial inland waterways is presented. It will be deployed as part of a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system of the Mittellandkanal (MLK), a large canal structure in northern Germany, and relies on experience gained from a similar system. The DSS uses a model predictive controller with a 48 h prediction horizon to calculate optimal pump and discharge strategies that will ensure navigable water levels and at the same time minimize operational costs. The internal process model for the model predictive controller is obtained from a numerical integration of the Saint Venant equations using Godunov's method. The initial state needed for an accurate prediction is estimated using moving horizon state estimation (MHE) or unscented Kalman filtering. Additionally, the state estimation methods are used to estimate non-measurable disturbance inflows, which may have a strong impact on the control performance if not compensated for by the model predictive controller. The optimal control strategy is transformed into discrete-valued pump and discharge jobs that account for technical and operational input constraints. Closed-loop simulations with a high-resolution hydrodynamic numerical model of the MLK illustrate the ability of the control algorithm to adapt to model uncertainties and non-controllable inputs.