Calibrating Water Distribution Network Models

Abstract

Calibration of water distribution network models is necessary in predicting their behavior under different loading conditions or in planning their expansions. Of the several data used in calibration, the predicted nodal demands and the pipe resistance coefficients are the least reliable. The model user usually adjusts the pipe resistance coefficients and/or the nodal demands by trial‐and‐error procedure and achieves calibration by making the predicted nodal pressures reasonably agree with the observed nodal pressures. A systematic iterative calibration procedure that decides the required adjustments in the nodal demands and pipe resistance coefficients is developed in this paper. The procedure is also illustrated through an example network.