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Browsing IPS - ESTB - SEG - Artigos científicos by Author "Caetano, João"
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- Computational Tools for Supporting the Operation and Management of Water Distribution Systems towards Digital TransformationPublication . Carriço, Nelson; Ferreira, Bruno; Antunes, André; Caetano, João; Covas, DídiaThis paper presents a set of computational tools specially developed for supporting the operation and management of water distribution systems towards digital transformation of water services. These tools were developed in the scope of two R&D projects carried out in Portugal, DECIdE and WISDom, during 2018–2022. The DECIdE project focused on the development of tools for importing cadastral and operational data, as well as on the three operational tools for supporting the performance assessment: the first allows the calculation of different key performance indicators, both at a global and sectorial level, which is an annual requirement of the water regulator, and the other two allow the calculation of the water and the energy balances and a set of complementary indices. The WISDom project aimed at the implementation of applications that directly address specific water utility needs, namely, the flow rate data processing, the optimal location of pressure sensors, the identification of critical areas in the distribution network for pipe burst location, and the prioritization of pipes for rehabilitation. Implemented tools are useful to support water utilities in the daily operation and management of their systems, being a step forward towards digital transformation of the water sector.
- Lessons learnt from the application of MCDA sorting methods to pipe network rehabilitation prioritizationPublication . Caetano, João; Carriço, Nelson; Covas, DídiaMost water distribution networks were built a few decades ago, showing symptoms of deterioration. Additionally, current renewal rates are insufficient to overcome pipe networks’ continuous ageing process. The development of methodologies for assisting the definition of pipe rehabilitation, including which pipes, and when and what financial amounts to allocate to this activity, are of the utmost importance. These methodologies typically have to attend to several points of view, for which multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques may be used. The current paper demonstrates and discusses the application of two MCDA techniques—the ELECTRE TRI-C and FlowSort—to a real water distribution network. Both techniques allowed assigning every single pipe to a predefined priority category, although the ELECTRE TRI-C proved to be more effective. These approaches imply that the planning of investment needs is carried out based on individual pipes, but these approaches are not consistent with the actual rehabilitation projects. A clustering technique called affinity propagation, together with cost functions, were applied to define and quantify homogeneous rehabilitation units. Even so, the methodology did not prove to be rigorous enough for the selection of pipes to be rehabilitated. On the other hand, it proved effective to estimate annual budgets for rehabilitation.
- Método multicritério aplicado ao planeamento de reabilitação em redes de distribuição de águaPublication . Caetano, João; Carriço, Nelson; Covas, DídiaO presente artigo tem como objetivo a aplicação de um método multicritério de apoio à decisão a um caso de estudo para a definição de condutas candidatas a intervenção de reabilitação. Para tal, escolheu-se o ELECTRE TRI-B, da família dos métodos ELimination Et Choix Traduisant la REalité (ELECTRE), dado que permite uma razoável flexibilidade na priorização de investimentos em reabilitação, comportando desvios, face às disponibilidades financeiras e planos orçamentais, e atendendo a distintos critérios e métricas de avaliação. O caso de estudo permitiu identificar as dificuldades encontradas na aplicação deste método, sendo realizadas considerações relativas ao estabelecimento dos parâmetros estruturais do método e à análise das preferências dos decisores, sendo estes aspetos críticos e condicionantes para os resultados finais. Outra constatação importante é o impacto da escassez ou inexistência de informação organizada e disponível, que impossibilita o estabelecimento de métricas abrangentes. O desenvolvimento de uma metodologia generalista de apoio à decisão com base no método ELECTRE TRI-B é um processo complexo.
- A novel methodology for pipe grouping and rehabilitation interventions scheduling in water distribution networksPublication . Caetano, João; Carriço, Nelson; Figueira, José Rui; Covas, DídiaThe establishment of effective medium and long-term rehabilitation strategies is essential to counter the continuous process of deterioration of the water distribution networks. A novel methodology to support pipe rehabilitation planning, including the establishment and scheduling of interventions in the medium and long-term using the graph theory, is developed, and demonstrated using a real case study. This methodology is divided into two main phases: the first is the definition of rehabilitation pipe groups according to the available budget and pipes connectivity and the second is the scheduling of these groups over time according to relevant criteria. This approach allows a clearer correspondence between the financial amounts to be annually invested in rehabilitation and a grouping of single pipes to be rehabilitated. Results demonstrate that the methodology allows a better and advanced planning of interventions when compared with the current traditional approaches applied by water utilities.