Um modelo de operação de sistemas adutores de abastecimento de água com vistas a minimização dos custos energéticos.

Abstract

In a general way, in the medium and large systems of supplying, the transport of the water since the production centers until the distribution centers feels with the intervention of a great number of station pumps and control valves. The innumerable states that those components can assume, every hour, increases the range of possible combinations of operational rules considerably, turning the administration of the system a quite complex task for the decision-makers. In most of the cases, predominantly heuristic operational politics are adopted, being disrespected the relative criteria to the global optimization of the system, fact that causes great electric power waste. In this work, a computational model to support the taking decision process in order to define the best daily strategy of the bomb and valve stages of a pipeline system, so that it results in the minimization of the expenses with electric power (consumption and demand) and that it is operationally viable as well. The used methodology in the search of operational optimum in 24 hours is based on the stochastic technique of the Simple Genetic Algorithms interlinked to the hydraulic simulator EPANET2, which is responsible for the evaluation of the hydraulic performance of the proposed solutions. The minimization of the mono-objective function, represented by the pumping costs, is treated by the Method of Penalties considering the inherent restrictions of the studied system. The applicability of the proposed methodology was evaluated through simulations applied to the water pipelines system of Marés, which supplies a great part of João Pessoa city in Paraíba State, Brazil, considering several tariff structures of electric power. The work presents results that prove the effectiveness of the model propsed in finding viable operation strategies to be applied to a water pipeline system with multiple stations and reservoirs, even without attending the totality of the physical and operational restrictions which are present in the system. The reduction of the electric consumption reached, it evidences the importance of the model as instrument to improve the energy efficiency of the system.