Water losses analysis based on FEFLOW FEM simulation and EPANET hydraulic modelling

Abstract

Water losses occur in every water distribution system (WDS) and are one of the most onerous problems for water distribution network's exploiters. Water losses can cause not only financial and operating costs but also negative ecological and social issues. Therefore, there is a great need to individually assess the water losses level in every WDS. The aim of this paper is to analyse water losses in a selected water supply system group, serving approx. 5 000 inhabitants. The water losses analysis was performed on the basis of Finite Element Method simulation in FEFLOW v.5.3 software and numerical hydraulic modelling in EPANET software. The water outflow from a distribution pipeline was simulated for variable conditions: Different pipe diameters and dynamic time-varying pressure values. The obtained results enabled to present differences in approaches to including water losses level into WDS models.