OPTIMAL-DESIGN OF METER PLACEMENT IN WATER DISTRIBUTION-SYSTEMS

With the help of meter measuring systems, state estimation of water distribution systems can show not only the hydraulic properties of all system components, but it can also provide an estimate of errors to enhance engineers' confidence in the results. The number of meters as well as their topological distribution in networks strongly influences the accuracy of the estimates. The meter placement problem is formulated such that it results in a multi-objective optimization by seeking the best solution in terms of estimation accuracy and metering cost. A method employing a dynamic analysis of the covariance matrix of state variables and the decision-trees technique has been developed for the design of an optimal meter placement for state estimation of water distribution systems. The conjugate gradient technique is used to solve the non-linear least-squares problem of state estimation. Two test examples are presented to assist in the explanation of the algorithm.