Estimation of Chlorine Concentration in Water Distribution Systems Based on a Genetic Algorithm

Abstract

This paper proposes a methodology based on a genetic algorithms (GA) to calibrate the parameters of a chlorine decay model in a water distribution system (WDS). The proposed methodology first contemplates that a GA is implemented using historical measurements of chlorine concentration at some sensed nodes to calibrate the unknown values corresponding to both the bulk and wall reaction coefficients. Once both parameters are estimated, the optimal-fit chlorine decay model is used to predict the decay of chlorine concentration in the water at each node for any concentration input at the pumping station. Then, a second GA-based algorithm is implemented to obtain the minimal chlorine concentration needed at the input to ensure that every node in the system meets the official normativity requirements for free chlorine in a WDS. The proposed methodology performed satisfactorily for a WDS simulated in EPANET with a GA implemented in MATLAB, both for the estimation of the reaction coefficients and the optimization of the required chlorine concentration at the input. Simulation results illustrate the performance of the proposed algorithm.

Modeling the Chlorine Series from the Treatment Plant of Drinking Water in Constanta, Romania

“…Often, the coefficients in such models depend on the loading conditions and are not practical for modeling purposes [ 57 ]. Therefore, other approaches are required [ 17 , 21 ].…”

“…The results prove that the proposed model accurately predicts free chlorine residuals (R 2 = 0.98). Gómez-Coronel et al [ 17 ] reported satisfactory results in the chlorine concentration at the input of a water distribution system simulated in EPANET, with a genetic algorithm implemented in MATLAB. The EPANET MSX software was used to model chlorine decay in Algarve’s drinking water supply systems [ 18 ].…”

Innovative Techniques for Safety, Reliability, and Security in Control Systems

“…Gómez-Coronel et al [11] propose a two-step algorithm to calibrate the parameters of a chlorine decay model in water distribution systems (WDS) based on genetic algorithms (GA). In the first step, the GA employs historical chlorine concentration measurements at some nodes to estimate the unknown values of the bulk and wall reaction coefficients.…”