Design and analysis of optimized water distribution network at BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

Abstract

Water is one of the most vital resources for human beings and therefore the water supply network is one of the most important aspects of the well-being of a community. The worth of a water supply network is to provide safe drinking water to its community in sufficient quantity, with bare-minimum quality standard, and at satisfactory pressure head with achieving economy constraint. The aim of this study is to design and analyze the water supply distribution network and to optimize the network. In the proposed network, after designing, the head loss is minimized and consequently, the cost incurred in supplying will be reduced. The study area is Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, Pilani campus. In the recent times, the population of the campus has increased which has led to higher demand and consequently higher head loss. With the increasing population, and the existing network becoming obsolete after design period, there is a need for modification in the network to maintain its use and sustainability in the longer run and this study will be helpful as its objective is to propose economical and efficient water supply distribution network and the results of this study can be incorporated directly thereby saving Time, Money and Effort. The scope of this study is not limited to study area and the principles behind this study will become the basis for the other distribution networks. The result of the study confirms that optimization of pipe network not only depends on the head losses but also on other factors like period of usage of pumps to meet the demand thereby affecting the cost incurred. The study will help water supply engineers and other consultants of the study area to use this proposed network and results for future modification required in the network of any area.