Clustering for Analysis of Water Distribution Systems

Simplification methodologies for complex water distribution systems (WDS) are essential for better understanding water distribution system behavior. Such methodologies have substantially improved the management and operation of water distribution systems. WDS are complex structures that may consist of thousands to tens of thousands of elements, which makes their optimal management and operation a very large-scale and complex problem. With the objective of improving the network properties, this work uses mathematical methods drawn from graph theory to represent the water distribution system as a directed graph mimicking the original WDS topology and hydraulic properties. The digraph representation uses graph theory algorithms to identify the unique behaviors on the basis of cluster analysis that distinguishes the specific understandings of WDS. The simulation was performed on two case studies, showing results that were very similar to the results that were predicted theoretically.