Schematic Models for Distribution Systems Design, II Continuum Approach

Abstract

This is the second of two papers dealing with the development and use of schematic models for water distribution systems. The first paper covered methods for step‐wise combination of elements into equivalent ones. Herein, a different and novel approach, which views the system as a nonlinear horizontal continuum, is proposed. An areally distributed conductance, a function of pipe properties and areal density, is the link between a potential function, which is related to the heads and the flow field. The model can be used to obtain the flow field of an existing system for a prescribed potential, or to optimize the conductance of a planned system for a given distribution of demands and specified boundary conditions. The method is demonstrated by a case study, for the city of Jerusalem, Israel.