Sensor placement in water networks using a population-based ant colony optimization algorithm

Abstract

Water supply networks are of high economical importance. Accidental or deliberate contaminations pose a great threat to such networks and can have wide-ranging implications. Early warning systems can monitor the quality of the water-flow in such systems by means of sensors distributed in the network and report potential contaminations to minimize harm. Sensor placement in water networks usually addresses several objectives and depends on the specific network. Here a population-based ant colony optimization algorithm called - WSP-PACO - for sensor placement in water networks is proposed. The performance of the algorithm was tested on two realistic water networks under several test conditions. These solutions were compared to solutions of previous studies on these networks. The results suggest that WSP-PACO is highly suitable for solving the sensor placement problem in water networks. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.