阅读说明：本技术 控制从至少两个单独输入管线到供水网络扇区的供水的控制系统和方法 (Control system and method for controlling water supply from at least two separate input lines to a water supply network sector ) 是由 卡斯滕·斯科乌莫塞·卡勒瑟 T·N·延森 阿卜杜勒-萨塔尔·哈桑 于 2019-06-21 设计创作，主要内容包括：本公开涉及一种用于控制从至少两个单独输入管线(3i-k)到供水网络的扇区(1)的供水的控制系统(15),其中控制系统(15)配置为连续、定期或偶尔地接收指示通过每个输入管线(3i-k)的水输入流量(q<Sub>i-k</Sub>)的输入流量信息,其中控制系统(15)配置为接收指示输入管线(3i-k)的至少第一个(3i)中的输入压力(p<Sub>i</Sub>)的输入压力信息,其中控制系统(15)配置为连续、定期或偶尔接收指示由供水网络扇区(1)内至少一个压力传感器(7m,n)确定的至少一个压力值(p<Sub>cri,m,n</Sub>)的扇区压力信息,其中控制系统(15)配置为通过基于来自所有输入管线(3i-k)的输入流量信息和基于扇区压力信息控制第一输入管线(3i)处的至少第一压力调节系统(13i)来控制输入压力(p<Sub>i</Sub>)。(The present disclosure relates to a control system (15) for controlling a water supply from at least two separate input lines (3i-k) to a sector (1) of a water supply network, wherein the control system (15) is configured to continuously, periodically or occasionally receive an indication of a water input flow (q) through each input line (3i-k) i‑k ) Wherein the control system (15) is configured to receive an input pressure (p) indicative of at least a first one (3i) of the input lines (3i-k) i ) Wherein the control system (15) is configured to continuously, periodically or occasionally receive an indication of at least one pressure value (p) determined by at least one pressure sensor (7m, n) within the water supply network sector (1) cri,m,n ) Wherein the control system (15) is configured to control the pressure of the air flow by being based on pressure information from all of the sectorsInput flow information of the input lines (3i-k) and controlling the input pressure (p) based on the sector pressure information by controlling at least a first pressure regulating system (13i) at the first input line (3i) i )。)

1. A control system (15) for controlling water supply from at least two separate input lines (3i-k) to a sector (1) of a water supply network, wherein the control system (15) is configured to continuously, periodically or occasionally receive an input flow (q) indicative of water through each input line (3i-k)_i-k) Wherein the control system (15) is configured to receive an input pressure (p) indicative of an input pressure in at least a first one (3i) of the input lines (3i-k)_i) Wherein the control system (15) is configured to continuously, periodically or occasionally receive an input signal indicative of at least one pressure value (p) determined by at least one pressure sensor (7m, n) within a sector (1) of the water supply network_cri，m，n) Wherein the control system (15) is configured to control the input pressure (p) by controlling at least a first pressure regulating system (13i) at a first input line (3i) based on input flow information from all input lines (3i-k) and based on sector pressure information_i)。

2. The control system (15) according to claim 1, wherein the control system (15) is configured to gradually and/or stepwise reduce the input pressure up to at least one pressure value (p) determined by at least one pressure sensor (7m) within the sector (1)_cri，m) Has dropped to the required minimum sector pressure (r).

3. The control system (15) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control system (15) is configured to determine the weight factor (w) according to the associated weight factor (w) of each input pipeline (3i-k)_i-k) To control the input flow (q) through each input line (3i-k)_i-k) Contribution to the total input flow (Q) of all input lines (3i-k) to obtain a desired input flow (Q)_i-k) Mixing ofAnd (6) mixing.

4. The control system (15) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control system (15) is configured to continuously, periodically or occasionally receive an indication of the input pressure (p) in each input line (3i-k)_i-k) Wherein the control system is configured to control the input pressure (p) in each input line (3i-k) by controlling the pressure regulation system (13i-k) in each input line (3i-k) based on the input flow information and the input pressure information from all input lines (3i-k) and based on the sector pressure information_i-k)。

5. The control system (15) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control system (15) comprises a first input control module (21i) for controlling a first pressure regulation system (13i), wherein the first input control module (21i) is configured to receive input flow information from all input lines (3i-k) and to receive a set of parameters [ A, B [ ]]A set of parameters for setting the input pressure at the first input line (3i) to p_set＝Aw²Q²+ B, where Q is the total input flow of all input lines (3i-k) and w is a weighting factor of the flow contribution of the first input line (3i) to the total input flow (Q) of all input lines (3 i-k).

6. The control system (15) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control system (15) comprises an input control module (21i-k) for each input line (3i-k) for controlling the associated pressure regulation system (13i-k) at each input line (3i-k), wherein each input control module (21i-k) is configured to receive input flow information from all input lines (3i-k) and to receive a parameter set [ a ], (a)_i，B_i]A set of parameters for inputting the input pressure (p) at the ith of the pipeline (3i-k)_i) Is set as p_set，i＝A_iw_i ²Q²+B_iWhere Q is the total input of all input lines (3i-k)Flow rate, w_iIs a weighting factor of the flow contribution of the i-th of the input lines (3i-k) to the total input flow (Q) of all input lines (3 i-k).

7. The control system (15) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control system (15) comprises a sector control module (25) for receiving input traffic information and receiving sector pressure information from each input pipeline (3i-k), wherein the sector control module (25) is further configured to update and provide a parameter set [ A ] accordingly_i，B_i]For feeding an input pressure (p) at the ith of a line (3i-k)_i) Is set as p_set，i＝A_iw_i ²Q²+B_iWhere Q is the total input flow of all input lines (3i-k), w_iIs a weighting factor of the flow contribution of the i-th of the input lines (3i-k) to the total input flow (Q) of all input lines (3 i-k).

8. The control system (15) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the input flow information from each input line (3i-k) comprises an input flow (q) through each input line (3i-k)_i-k) And an expected trend of the total flow (Q) of all input lines (3i-k), preferably in the form of a Kalman filter state vector (X).

9. The control system (15) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control system (15) is configured to control the input pressure (p) by controlling at least the first pressure regulating system (13i) at the first input line (3i) by selectively controlling a Short Term Prediction (STP) or a Long Term Prediction (LTP) based on input flow information from all input lines (3i-k)_i) Wherein the criterion for selecting a Short Term Prediction (STP) or a Long Term Prediction (LTP) is a period of time (D) elapsed since the most recent successful reception of input traffic information from all input pipes (3 i-k).

10. A control system (15) according to claim 9, wherein the Short Term Prediction (STP) is based on applying a kalman filter-like recursive filter to the input flow information from all input pipelines (3 i-k).

11. A control system (15) according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the Long Term Prediction (LTP) is based on applying a fourier transform to the input flow information from all input pipelines (3i-k) and recursively updating a truncated fourier series to approximate the expected periodic long term behavior.

12. A method for controlling a water supply from at least two separate input lines (3i-k) to a sector (1) of a water supply network, the method comprising the steps of:

continuously, periodically or occasionally receiving an indication of the water input flow (q) through each input line (3i-k)_i-k) The input traffic information of (a) the traffic information,

continuously, periodically or occasionally receiving an indication of an input pressure (p) in at least a first one (3i) of the input lines (3i-k)_i) The input pressure information of (a) is,

continuously, periodically or occasionally receiving a signal indicative of at least one pressure value (p) determined by at least one pressure sensor (7m, n) within a sector (1) of a water supply network_cri，m，n) The sector pressure information of (a) the sector pressure information,

the input pressure is controlled by controlling at least a first pressure regulating system (13i) at the first input line (3i) based on input flow information from all input lines (3i-k) and based on sector pressure information.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of: reducing the input pressure (p) gradually and/or stepwise_i) Up to at least one pressure value (p) determined by at least one pressure sensor (7m) within said sector (1)_cri，m) Has dropped to the required minimum sector pressure (r).

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, further comprising the step of: according to each outputThe associated weight factors (w) of the incoming lines (3i-k) control the incoming flow (q) through each incoming line (3i-k)_i-k) Contribution to the total input flow (Q) of all input lines (3i-k) to obtain a desired input flow (Q)_i-k) And (4) mixing.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 or 14, further comprising the step of:

continuously, periodically or occasionally receiving an indication of the input pressure (p) in each input line (3i-k)_i-k) Input pressure information of, and

the input pressure in each input line (3i-k) is controlled by controlling a pressure regulation system (13i-k) at each input line (3i-k) based on input flow information and input pressure information from all input lines (3i-k) and based on sector pressure information.

16. Method according to any of claims 12-15, further comprising the step of locally controlling the first pressure regulating system (3i), wherein input flow information and parameter sets [ a, B ] from all input lines (3i-k) are received]And the input pressure (p) at the first input line (3i)_i) Is set as p_set＝Aw²Q²+ B, where Q is the total input flow of all input lines (3i-k) and w is a weighting factor of the flow contribution of the first input line (3i) to the total input flow (Q) of all input lines (3 i-k).

17. The method according to any of the preceding claims 12 to 16, further comprising the step of locally controlling the associated pressure regulating system (13i-k) at each input line (3i-k), wherein input flow information and parameter sets [ a ] from all input lines (3i-k) are received_i，B_i]And inputting the input pressure (p) at the ith of the pipeline (3i-k)_i) Is set as p_set，i＝A_iw_i ²Q²+B_iWhere Q is the total input flow of all input lines (3i-k), w_iIs the ith pair of input lines (3i-k)A weighting factor for the flow contribution of the total input flow (Q) of the partial input lines (3 i-k).

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, further comprising the step of:

remotely updating and providing parameter sets [ A ]_i，B_i]And an

Inputting the input pressure (p) at the ith of the pipeline (3i-k)_i) Is set as p_set，i＝A_iw_i ²Q²+B_iWhere Q is the total input flow of all input lines (3i-k), w_iIs a weighting factor of the flow contribution of the i-th of the input lines (3i-k) to the total input flow (Q) of all input lines (3 i-k).

19. The method according to any of claims 12 to 15, wherein the input flow information of each input pipeline (3i-k) comprises an input flow (q) through each input pipeline (3i-k)_i-k) And an expected trend of the total flow (Q) of all input lines (3i-k), preferably in the form of a Kalman filter state vector (X).

20. A method according to any of claims 12-19, wherein the step of controlling the input pressure by controlling at least a first pressure regulating system (13i) at the first input line (3i) comprises: selecting a Short Term Prediction (STP) or a Long Term Prediction (LTP) of the input traffic information from all input pipes (3i-k), wherein a criterion for selecting the Short Term Prediction (STP) or the Long Term Prediction (LTP) is a period of time (D) elapsed since the input traffic information from all input pipes (3i-k) was last successfully received.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the Short Term Prediction (STP) is based on applying a kalman filter-like recursive filter to the input traffic information from all input pipelines (3 i-k).

22. The method of claim 20 or 21, wherein the Long Term Prediction (LTP) is based on applying a fourier transform to input traffic information from all input pipelines (3i-k) and recursively updating a truncated fourier series to approximate the expected periodic long term behavior.

23. A water supply system for supplying water from at least two separate input lines (3i-k) into a sector (1) of a water supply network, the water supply system comprising a control system (15) according to claims 1 to 12 and/or being configured to be controlled according to a method of claims 12 to 22, wherein the water supply system further comprises a pressure regulating system (13i-k) at each input line (3i-k), wherein each pressure regulating system (13i-k) is configured to continuously, periodically or occasionally provide an indication of an input flow (q) through the associated input line (3i-k)_i-k) And wherein the at least one pressure regulating system (13i-k) is configured to continuously, periodically or occasionally provide an indication of the pressure (P) at the associated input line (3i-k)_i-k) The input pressure information of (1).

24. A water supply system according to claim 23, wherein at least one pressure regulating system (13i-k) comprises a pump station and/or a pressure regulating valve.

25. A water supply system according to claim 23 or 24, wherein at least one pressure regulating system (13i-k) comprises a pressure sensor (9 i-k).

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a control system and method for controlling water supply from at least two separate input lines into a sector (sector) of a water supply network, thereby controlling the water supply system. For example, the water supply network may be installed in a large building or a building aggregation site (e.g., a city, village, town, industrial district, community, or neighborhood (quarter)). A sector of a water supply network may be referred to as a zoned metering area (DMA) or a Pressure Management Area (PMA).

Background

Generally, water supply companies provide water to homes and industries through a water supply network distributed in a DMA or PMA. Typically, water is supplied to each DMA or PMA by at least one water supply source (e.g., a pumping station). However, in order to provide uninterrupted service and/or redundancy of required water mixing from more than one water supply source, water is typically supplied to the DMA or PMA by at least two or more water supply sources (e.g., several pumping stations). Given that no water tower is used as an elevated water supply, it is a challenge to ensure that the required pressure can be obtained at all extraction points (e.g., joints) within the DMA or PMA at any time and at any flow demand, as well as to ensure that the required flow mixing from the different water supplies is obtained.

It is known to define a fixed pressure profile for one water supply source to meet expected demands during the day and night. For example, the fixed pressure curve may be a constant daytime pressure and a constant nighttime pressure. The fixed pressure curve above the desired minimum is typically chosen in a conservative manner to ensure that pressures greater than the minimum pressure are always available at all extraction points within the DMA or PMA. Other sources of water supply may contribute only a fixed share of the flow.

A disadvantage of this known solution is that the pressure is always higher than it actually has to be, which results in more water loss due to leakage and consumes more pumping energy than necessary.

Disclosure of Invention

In contrast to known systems, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a control system and method for controlling water supply into a sector of a water supply network from at least two separate input lines, ensuring that a desired pressure is available at all extraction points within a DMA or PMA at any time and at any flow demand, with less leakage and less energy consumption, while establishing a desired mix of flows from the different input lines.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a control system for controlling water supply from at least two separate input lines into a sector of a water supply network, wherein the control system is configured to continuously, periodically or occasionally (sporadically) receive input flow information indicative of a water input flow through each input line, wherein the control system is configured to continuously, periodically or occasionally receive input pressure information indicative of the input pressure in the at least one input line, wherein the control system is configured to continuously, periodically or occasionally receive sector pressure information indicative of at least one pressure value determined by at least one pressure sensor within a sector of the water supply network, wherein the control system is configured to control the input pressure by controlling at least a first pressure regulation system at a first input line based on input flow information from all input lines and based on sector pressure information.

For example, the at least one pressure regulating system may be a pump station with one or more pumps and/or a valve station with one or more Pressure Reducing Valves (PRV). Preferably, the at least one pressure sensor within the sector may be located at the position of the lowest pressure expected within the sector, i.e. at one or more critical points at the highest height and/or the farthest distance from the input line. At least one pressure sensor may be referred to as a critical pressure sensor because the pressure at other locations in the sector may always be equal to or higher than the critical pressure measured by the critical pressure sensor. The communication of pressure and/or flow information may be wireless, through electrical wires and/or through fiberglass connections. The flow information input into the line may be based on flow meter measurements, and/or in the case of a pressure regulated system having one or more pumps, flow indicators such as power consumed or current drawn by the pump. With respect to the first input line, the control system processes the flow information and sector pressure information from all input lines to establish a particular input pressure at the first input line. With respect to the other input lines, the control system may process the flow information and sector pressure information from all of the input lines to establish a particular input flow at each other input line or to establish a particular input pressure at each other input line.

Optionally, the control system may be configured to gradually and/or stepwise reduce the input pressure until the lowest of the at least one pressure values determined by the at least one pressure sensor within the sector has fallen to the required minimum sector pressure. Thus, the lowest critical pressure may be considered most critical to ensure the required minimum sector pressure available at all extraction points (e.g., junctions) within the sector at any time and at any flow demand. The control system allows for gradual and/or gradual optimization in leakage and energy consumption, rather than providing a fixed pressure curve above a desired minimum, which is typically chosen in a conservative manner, while establishing the desired flow mixing from the different input lines and providing sufficient sector pressure.

Optionally, the control system may be configured to control the contribution of the input flow through each input line to the total input flow of all input lines according to the associated weight factor of each input line to obtain the desired input flow mix. The term "weighting factor" is understood to be a dimensionless fraction of the contribution of a certain input pipe to the total input flow. Thus, the sum of all weighting factors for all input pipelines is equal to 1. For example, in the case of a system with three input lines, where one input line would contribute twice the flow of the other two, the weighting factor w for the first input line₁May be 0.5, second input pipeline weight factor w₂And a weighting factor w for the third input pipeline₃May each be 0.25, where w₁+w₂+w₃0.5+0.25+0.25 is 1. The weighting factors may be predetermined and/or programmable parameters.

Optionally, according to a first embodiment, the control system is configured to control the input pressure by controlling only the first pressure regulating system at the first input line based on the input flow information from all input lines and based on the sector pressure information. In this first embodiment, the control system treats the first input line differently than the other input lines because the first input line is pressure controlled and the other input lines are flow controlled according to a flow reference. Which of the input lines is considered the first input line (i.e., which is the pressure controlled input line) may be a selectable parameter of the control system. The input line designated to provide the highest flow rate may be the preferred choice to obtain robust control, but in principle any input line may be the first input line (pressure controlled input line). Thus, the first embodiment may be referred to as asymmetric. The term "asymmetric" does not mean that the flow contribution of the input lines or the pressure at all input lines must be different, but it means that the control method and control system applied to the first pressure regulating system is different compared to the other pressure regulating systems at the other input lines.

Optionally, according to a second embodiment, the control system may be configured to continuously, periodically or occasionally receive input pressure information indicative of the input pressure in each input line, wherein the control system is configured to control the input pressure by controlling the pressure regulating system in each input line based on the input flow information and the input pressure information from all input lines and the sector pressure information. In this second embodiment, the control system can handle all input lines by pressure controlling them. Thus, the second embodiment may be referred to as symmetrical. The term "symmetrical" does not mean that the flow contribution of the input lines or the pressure at all input lines is the same, but means that the pressure control method and control system applied to all pressure regulating systems in different input lines is the same.

Optionally, according to any embodiment, the control system may comprise a first input control module for controlling the first pressure regulation system, wherein the first input control module is configured to receive inputs from all input linesIngress traffic information and parameter set [ A, B ]]A set of parameters for setting the input pressure at the first input line to p_set＝Aw²Q²+ B, where Q is the total input flow for all input lines and w is a weighting factor for the flow contribution of the first input line to the total input flow for all input lines. The first input control module may be referred to as a "local input controller" at the first input pipeline. The pressure control method applied by the local input controller may be referred to as "curve control", in which a set of parameters [ A, B ]]And defining a q curve and a p curve. It should be noted that parameter set [ A, B]May vary with time and may therefore be represented as [ A (t), B (t)]. The first input control module may be independent of the stable signal connections to the other control modules to enable local control of the first pressure regulation system. For example, the first input control module may be located on or at a pump assembly of the first pressure regulation system.

Optionally, according to a first embodiment, the control system may comprise an input control module i ≠ 1 for each other input line for controlling the associated pressure regulation system at each other input line, wherein each input control module i ≠ 1 is configured to receive input flow information from all input lines for setting the input flow at the ith input line to q_set,i＝w_i ²Q²Where Q is the total input flow for all input lines, w_iIs a weighting factor of the flow contribution of the ith input line to the total input flow of all input lines. Thus, the other input lines that are not under pressure control as the first input line are flow controlled by a "local input controller" at each other input line. The local input control modules at the other input lines may be the same as the first input control module, but may have different settings defined by the control system. For example, the control system may be configured to be able to change the settings in such a way that another input line may be used as the pressure control input line. For example, if another water mix is desired, another input line may be designated to contribute the highest flow to the fanAn input line in the zone. This input line would be the preferred choice for the first input line for pressure control. The control system may include a switching function for switching the control mode of the local input control module between pressure control and flow control, respectively. Each local input control module may be configured to receive sector pressure information so as to be able to function as a first input pipeline. The control system may include a local input control module with or without an overall (overrating) sector control module. The local input control modules may simply exchange traffic information directly with each other and/or through the overall sector control module. The overall sector control module may be implemented in a cloud, a network-connected remote computer system, or integrated in one or more local input control modules. Most preferably, the first embodiment is used without an overall sector control module, since only minimal data exchange is required between local input control modules to directly exchange traffic information.

Optionally, according to a second embodiment, the control system may comprise an input control module i for each input line for controlling the associated pressure regulation system at each input line, wherein each input control module i is configured to receive input flow information and a parameter set [ a ] from all input lines_i，B_i]A set of parameters for setting the input pressure at the ith input line to p_set,i＝A_iw_i ²Q²+B_iWhere Q is the total input flow for all input lines, w_iIs a weighting factor for the flow contribution of the ith input line to the total input flow of all input lines. It should be noted that parameter set [ A ]_i，B_i]May change over time and may therefore be denoted as [ A ]_i(t)，B_i(t)]. Thus, all input lines are pressure controlled as the first input line through a "local input controller" at each input line. The local input control module may be the same as the first input control module and may have the same settings. In contrast to the first asymmetric first embodiment, the symmetric second embodiment allows to optimize eachIndividual profile control of the individual input pipelines, but requires slightly more data exchange.

Optionally, and most preferably in combination with the second embodiment, the control system may comprise a sector control module for receiving input flow information and sector pressure information from each input pipeline, wherein the sector control module is further configured to update and provide parameter set [ a ] accordingly_i，B_i]For setting the input pressure at the ith input line to p_set,i＝A_iw_i ²Q²+B_iWhere Q is the total input flow for all input lines, w_iIs a weighting factor for the flow contribution of the ith input line to the total input flow of all input lines. The sector control module may be referred to as "global," "overall," or "sector-wide," because it may act as a communication hub between local input control modules, and may update and provide a set of q, p curve parameters [ A ] for each input pipeline i_i，B_i]To perform sector-wide optimization. It should be noted that parameter set [ A ]_i，B_i]May change over time and may therefore be denoted as [ A ]_i(t)，B_i(t)]. The overall sector control module may receive sector pressure information directly from critical pressure sensors within the sectors. If the global sector control module is not used, there is no need to provide sector pressure information to the local first control module as in the first embodiment.

Alternatively, the input flow information from each input line may include the expected trend of the input flow through each input line and the total flow for all input lines, preferably in the form of a kalman filter state vector. The trend information allows some prediction of future flow so that the control system does not rely on continuous connections. If for some reason the control system does not have a signal connection for receiving current flow information from one or more input lines, the control system can "guess" the flow based on the trend information. Thus, the control system is less susceptible to network instability. The trend information also provides an opportunity to conserve bandwidth by receiving traffic information non-continuously, but periodically or occasionally. The kalman filter state vector may provide a very efficient way to exchange data sets of flow information including linear trend information.

Optionally, the control system may be configured to control the input pressure by controlling at least the first pressure regulating system at the first input line selectively based on a short term prediction or a long term prediction of input flow information from all input lines, wherein the criterion for selecting the short term prediction or the long term prediction is a period of time that has elapsed since the input flow information from all input lines was last successfully received. Short-term prediction may be a preferred choice for the control system to bridge a relatively short period of time (e.g., a few minutes) between data sets. Long-term prediction may be an exceptional choice in case of a connection interruption for a longer period of time (e.g. several days).

Alternatively, the short-term prediction may be based on applying a recursive filter like a kalman filter to the input flow information from all input pipelines. The recursive filter may enable linear extrapolation for a relatively short period of time that has elapsed since the input flow information from all input lines was last successfully received.

Alternatively, long-term prediction may be based on applying a fourier transform to the input flow information from all input pipelines, and recursively updating a truncated fourier series to approximate the expected periodic long-term behavior. Since the flow demand curve can be expected to repeat periodically over several days with a one-day periodicity, the truncated fourier series can give a rough approximation of this periodic long-term behavior.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure and similar to the above-described control system, there is provided a method for controlling water supply from at least two separate input lines to a sector of a water supply network, the method comprising the steps of:

-continuously, periodically or occasionally receiving input flow information indicative of the water input flow through each input line,

-continuously, periodically or occasionally receiving input pressure information indicative of the input pressure in at least one input line,

-continuously, periodically or occasionally receiving sector pressure information indicative of at least one pressure value determined by at least one pressure sensor within a sector of the water supply network,

-controlling the input pressure by controlling at least a first pressure regulating system at the first input line based on the input flow information from all input lines and based on the sector pressure information.

Optionally, the method may further comprise the step of gradually and/or stepwise reducing the input pressure until the lowest of the at least one pressure values determined by the at least one pressure sensor within the sector has fallen to the required minimum sector pressure.

Optionally, the method may further comprise the step of controlling the contribution of the input flow through each input line to the total input flow of all input lines according to the associated weight factor of each input line to obtain a desired input flow mix.

Optionally, the method may further comprise the steps of:

-continuously, periodically or occasionally receiving input pressure information indicative of the input pressure in each input line, and

-controlling the input pressure in each input line by controlling the pressure regulating system in each input line based on input flow information and input pressure information from all input lines and sector pressure information.

Optionally, the method may further comprise the step of locally (locally) controlling the first pressure regulation system, wherein input flow information and parameter sets [ a, B ] from all input lines are received]And setting the input pressure at the first input line to p_set＝Aw²Q²+ B, where Q is the total input flow for all input lines and w is a weighting factor for the flow contribution of the first input line to the total input flow for all input lines.

Optionally, the method may further comprise the step of locally controlling the associated pressure regulation system i at each input line, wherein reception is from allInput flow information and parameter set [ A ] for an input pipeline_i，B_i]And setting the input pressure at the ith input line to p_set,i＝A_iw_i ²Q²+B_iWhere Q is the total input flow for all input lines, w_iIs a weighting factor for the flow contribution of the ith input line to the total input flow of all input lines.

Optionally, the method may further comprise the steps of:

-remotely updating and providing parameter sets [ a ]_i，B_i]And an

-setting the input pressure at the ith input line to p_set,i＝A_iw_i ²Q²+B_iWhere Q is the total input flow for all input lines, w_iIs a weighting factor for the flow contribution of the ith input line to the total input flow of all input lines.

Alternatively, the input flow information from each input line may include the expected trend of the input flow through each input line and the total flow for all input lines, preferably in the form of a kalman filter state vector.

Optionally, the step of controlling the input pressure by controlling at least a first pressure regulation system at the first input line may comprise selecting a short term prediction or a long term prediction of the input flow information from all input lines, wherein the criterion for selecting the short term prediction or the long term prediction is a period of time that has elapsed since the input flow information from all input lines was last successfully received.

Alternatively, the short-term prediction may be based on applying a recursive filter like a kalman filter to the input flow information from all input pipelines.

Alternatively, long-term prediction may be based on applying a fourier transform to the input flow information from all input pipelines, and recursively updating a truncated fourier series to approximate the expected periodic long-term behavior.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a water supply system for supplying water from at least two separate input lines into a sector of a water supply network, the water supply system comprising a control system as described above and/or being configured to be controlled according to a method as described above, wherein the water supply system further comprises a pressure regulating system at each input line, wherein each pressure regulating system is configured to continuously, periodically or occasionally provide input flow information indicative of the input flow of water through the associated input line, and wherein at least one pressure regulating system is configured to continuously, periodically or occasionally provide input pressure information indicative of the pressure at the associated input line.

Optionally, the at least one pressure regulating system comprises a pump station and/or a pressure regulating valve.

Optionally, the at least one pressure regulating system comprises a pressure sensor.

The control system and method described above may be implemented in the form of compiled or uncompiled software code stored on at least one computer readable medium having instructions for performing the method on at least one computer or one or more processors including one or more processors that are part of at least one pressure regulation system and one or more cloud-based system processors. Alternatively or additionally, the method may be performed by software in a cloud-based system, in particular the control system may be implemented in a cloud-based system comprising one or more processors. The control system may be implemented with one or more computers and/or circuits including one or more processors and memory. The one or more processors and data storage (memory) may be at the location of the pressure regulation system, or may be part of the cloud-based system, or may include a processor at the location of the pressure regulation system, and may be part of the cloud-based system, with communication between the features at the pressure regulation system and the cloud-based system.

Drawings

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of a water supply system having a control system according to the present disclosure, wherein the pressure regulation system at the input line includes one or more pumps;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example of a water supply system having a control system according to the present disclosure, wherein the pressure regulation system at the input line includes one or more Pressure Reducing Valves (PRVs);

figure 3 schematically shows an example of a water supply system according to a first embodiment of the control system of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an example of control logic of a first embodiment of a control system according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows a graph of input flow, input pressure and sector pressure over time in a water supply system according to a first embodiment of the control system of the present disclosure;

figure 6 schematically shows an example of a water supply system according to a second embodiment of the control system of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates an example of control logic of a second embodiment of a control system according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates an example of optimization logic of a second embodiment of a control system according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates an example of simplified optimization logic of a second embodiment of a control system according to the present disclosure; and

fig. 10 shows a graph of input flow, input pressure and sector pressure over time in a water supply system according to a second embodiment of the control system of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Figure 1 shows a sector 1 of a water supply system with three input lines 3 i-k. Sector 1 may be a neighborhood of consumers 5, e.g., a town block. There is a sector pressure sensor 7m, n located within the sector 1 for providing sector pressure information. The sector pressure sensors 7m, n are located at critical points within the sector 1 where local and/or global minimum pressures are expected. These critical points may be points that are high or large in height (elevation) from the input pipeline 3 i-k. The sector pressure sensors 7m, n may be referred to as "critical pressure sensors" because they may indicate whether the pressure in the sector 1 is too low. At any other place in the sector 1, the pressure should be higher than at the sector pressure sensor 7m, n.

At each of the three input lines 3i-k there is an input pressure sensor 9i-k and an input flow meter 11i-k arranged downstream of the pressure regulating system 13 i-k. In fig. 1, the pressure regulating systems 13i-k are pump stations or pumps. In FIG. 2, the pressure regulation systems 13i-k are PRV stations or PRVs. Since the input flow meters 11i-k are very expensive, it is beneficial to have no flow meters 11i-k and retrieve flow information from the flow indicators given by the pump (e.g., power consumed or current drawn by the pump in a pump-based pressure regulation system) or from the flow indicators given by the PRV (e.g., Δ p or opening angle of the PRV in a valve-based pressure regulation system). The control system 15 is configured to receive input flow information indicative of the input flow of water through each input line, to receive input pressure information indicative of the input pressure in the associated input line, and to receive sector pressure information indicative of the pressure value determined by the sector pressure sensor 7m, n. The control system 15 may be installed locally at one or more of the pressure regulation systems 13i-k and/or on a remote computer system or cloud-based system. The control system 15 may be connected to the sector pressure sensors 7m, n, the input pressure sensors 9i, j and the flow meters 11i-k wirelessly or by wired signals. The control system 15 receives flow and pressure information via signal connections 17i-k, m. The control system 15 is also in signal connection with the pressure regulating systems 13i-k, either wirelessly or by wire, through signal connections 19i-k to control the input flow through and/or the input pressure at the associated input lines. The signal connections 17i-k, m, 19i-k may be part of a data network. The pressure regulating system 13i-k in the form of a pump (fig. 1) may be speed controlled. The pressure regulating system 13i-k in the form of a PRV (fig. 2) can be controlled in terms of the valve opening angle. Alternatively, the pressure regulation system may be a combination of a pump and a PRV. Alternatively, the pressure regulation system of one input line may comprise a pump, while the other input line may comprise a PRV.

Fig. 3 to 5 relate to a first embodiment of the control system 15, which is configured to apply pressure-flow control logic. According to the pressure-flow control logic, the first 3i of the input lines 3i-k is pressure controlled, while the other input lines 3j, k are flow controlled (only 3j is shown in FIG. 4 for simplicity). The first input line 3i being the input line designated to contribute the highest input flow into sector 1 is beneficial, but not essential, in view of control stability. The pressure-flow control logic does not require an overall sector control module and therefore the control system 15 may be composed of local input control modules 21i-k at the associated input lines 3 i-k. The local input control modules 21i-k may be installed as the same hardware and/or software and may be switched to a pressure control mode or a flow control mode. The first input control module 21i at the first input line 3i is switched to the pressure control mode, while the other input control modules 21j, k are switched to the flow control mode. The input control modules 21i-k communicate directly with each other via a wireless or wired communication line 22 to exchange input traffic information. Here, the input flow information is exchanged in the form of a kalman filter state vector comprising the input flow through each input pipeline 3i-k and the expected trend in the total flow of all input pipelines. The three input pipeline kalman filter state vector X may be updated, for example, in each local input control module as follows:

thus, the kalman filter state vector X is updated recursively every δ t. Q for each input flow_i-kShown, δ Q represents the change in total input flow for all three input lines. Thus, the weight factor w is dependent on the association of each input pipeline_i-kThe contribution of the input flow through each input line to the total input flow Q is controlled to achieve the desired input flow mix. By multiplying the output sum matrix C_sum(e.g., C)_sum＝[1 1 1 0]) The total flow Q may be extracted from the kalman filter state vector X. Can be implemented by using an output matrix C_i(i.e., C)_i＝[1 0 0 0]，C_j＝[0 1 0 0]And C is_k＝[0 0 1 0]) By applying equation q_i＝C_iX，q_j＝C_jX and q_k＝C_kX may extract a recursively filtered version of each pump flow from the kalman filter state vector X.

The kalman filter state vector X provides a linear short term prediction to bridge the time period that has elapsed since the most recent successful receipt of input flow information from other input pipelines. If the period of time is long (e.g., several days) due to a network failure, the first input control module 21i is configured to control the input pressure by controlling the first pressure regulation system 13i at the first input line 3i based on long-term predictions. The long-term prediction may be based on applying a fourier transform to the input flow information from all input pipelines and recursively updating a truncated fourier series to approximate the expected periodic long-term behavior, as follows:

where γ is a fourier series constant updated based on previous measurements of total flow Q. The period T of the fourier series 2 pi/ω can be expected to be one day, since it is generally expected that the flow demand will repeat in a daily pattern.

Fig. 4 schematically shows how the input control modules 21i-k function according to the first embodiment. The first input control module 21i is switched to pressure-control mode at switch 23 (downward in fig. 4), while the other input control modules 21j, k are switched to flow-control mode at switch 23 (upward in fig. 4). The first input control module 21i receives an input flow q through the first input line 3i from the associated input flow meter 11i via the signal connection 17i_iReceives the local input pressure p at the first input line 3i from the associated input pressure sensor 9i via a signal connection 17i_iAnd by signal connectionReceiving critical sector pressure measurements p from sector pressure sensors 7m, n at 17m_cri,m,n. The first input control module 21i also receives the kalman filter state vector X from the other input control modules 21j, k via the direct communication line 22, updates it according to the Short Term Prediction (STP), and transmits the updated kalman filter state vector X via the direct communication line 22_iReturning to the other input control module 21j, k. The first input control module 21i does not use the updated Kalman filter state vector X_iThe flow contribution is controlled. This is done at the other input control module 21j, k which is switched to flow-control. The flow-control input control module 21j, k may switch between short-term prediction (STP) and long-term prediction (LTP) based on an evaluation of time D, which is the elapsed time since the last successful receipt of the kalman filter state vector X from the other input control module 21j, k over the direct communication line 22. Based on the weight factors of the associated input lines 3j, k, the input control modules 21j, k derive the updated Kalman filter state vector X as described above_j,kExtracts the flow q to be set_set,j,kAnd is transmitted via a communication line 19i-k to the associated pressure regulating system 13j, k in order to establish the flow q to be set via the inlet line 3j, k_set,j,k。

In contrast, the first input control module 21i is coupled to the pressure p at the first input line 3i_iA curve-controlled update is performed. The curve-control (CC) may for example be a quadratic pressure curve, such as:

p_set＝Aw²Q²+B+r

wherein p is_set,iIs the input pressure to be set at the first input line 3i, A and B are curve parameters, Q is the total flow through all input lines, w_iIs a weighting factor of the contribution of the first input flow to the total input flow Q, and r is the minimum pressure to be ensured at the critical sector pressure sensor.

The first input control module 21i applies a function for finding the parameter set [ a, B ] based on the deviation between the critical sector pressure measurement and the required minimum sector pressure r]The algorithm of (1). May be in the time interval [ t + δ t, t + h δt]During this period, the deviation between the required minimum sector pressure r and the critical point measurement is taken into account using the samples { T + δ T, T +2 δ T,.., T + h δ T }, where h is the number of samples over the interval and δ T is the sample time in the interval T. Deviation vector ε_TCan be given by:

wherein p is_cri,n[t]Is the critical sector pressure at the nth critical sector pressure sensor 7n at time t. Note that the required minimum sector pressure r may vary over time and that the pressure sensors 7m, n may be different for different sectors. The minimum function (MIN) is used to ensure that the pressure measurement p is taken in all sectors_cri,m,nAlways there is a (prevail) minimum pressure r at the most critical (i.e. lowest) of (a). Estimating parameter sets [ A, B ] in Parameter Estimation (PE)]In such a way that the most critical sector pressure p of all sector pressure sensors 7m, n is_cri,mThe deviation from the required minimum sector pressure r becomes gradually and/or stepwise zero or minimum. Pressure p to be set_set,iIs transmitted via a communication line 19i to the associated pressure regulating system 13i in order to establish the pressure p to be set at the inlet line 3i_set,i. By being configured to be dependent on a weighting factor w_jAnd w_kFlow-control other input line 3_j,kThe other input of the contribution of control module 21j, k achieves the desired flow mixing.

Fig. 5 shows the result of the control method applied in the control system according to the first embodiment in eight days of operation. The upper diagram shows the individual flow rates q_i-kWherein the flow rate q_jAnd q is_kOverlap each other. The middle diagram shows the respective input pressure p_i-k(during the first two days, the highest input pressure p_iOutside the visible range), the lower graph shows two critical sector pressure measurements p_cri,m,n. Pressure-control was started two days later, during which data was collected to be able to provide both short-term and long-term predictions. In particular, long-term prediction may be accepted from at least two days of data collectionIt is beneficial to. 50% from the first input line 3i (i.e. w)_i0.5) and 25% from each of the other input lines 3j, k (i.e. w)_j,k0.25) is established at the input line 3j, k by the local flow controller 21j, k. The flow mixing is substantially not controlled by the input pressure p at the first input line 3i starting to be controlled two days later_iIn such a way that the critical sector pressure measurement p is made_cri,m,nIs at or near the required minimum sector pressure r. As can be seen from the middle diagram, the input pressure decreases significantly as soon as the pressure-control is started. Thus, the sector pressure p_cri,m,nTo the required minimum sector pressure r and most importantly, since the pressure-control of the first input line 3i starts after two days, the sector pressure fluctuations are much smaller. This saves energy and reduces leakage in the water supply. To test control stability, the pressure control is switched to the second input control module 21 after half a five day while the first input control module 21i is switched to flow control. The switching is hardly visible, which indicates that the control method is stable. Since the second input line 3j is not the largest contributor to the total flow, the fluctuations increase slightly, but the control method is still stable enough for reliable operation. This flexibility improves system reliability.

Fig. 6 to 10 relate to a second embodiment of the control system 15, which is configured to apply pressure-only control logic. It should be noted that for simplicity, only two of the three input lines 3i-k are shown in FIG. 6. The third input line 3k, which is not shown, is similar to the first and second input lines 3i, j. According to the pressure-only control logic, all input lines 3i-k are pressure controlled. Thus, the second embodiment is more symmetrical than the first embodiment with only one pressure controlled input line. In the second embodiment, the input control modules 21i-k do not communicate directly with each other via the communication line 22, but rather communicate via the sector control module 25, which sector control module 25 may be referred to as "global", "overall" or "sector-wide". The sector control module 25 acts as a communication hub between the local input control modules 21i-k, andby updating and providing the set of q, p curve parameters [ A ] for each input pipeline i_i，B_i]To perform sector-wide optimization. The overall sector control module 25 may be implemented in a cloud, network-connected remote computer system, or integrated in one or more local input control modules 21 i-k.

As shown in fig. 6, the sector control module 25 receives sector pressure information from at least one critical sector pressure sensor 7m via signal connection 17 m. Local input control modules 21i-k at input lines 3i-k receive input pressure information and input flow information from local input pressure sensors 9i-k and local flow meters 11i-k, respectively, via signal connections 17 i-k. Each local input control module 21i-k also receives from the sector control module 25 a set of curve controlled parameters A to be applied at the relevant input pipeline 3i-k_i-k，B_i-k]A kalman filter state vector with information about the input flow through each input line 3i-k and the expected trend in the total flow Q of all input lines 3 i-k. The local input control modules 21i-k control the associated pressure regulating systems 13i-k via signal connections 19i-k to establish an input pressure p to be set at the input lines 3i-k_set,i-k. Sector control module 25 optimizes parameter set a in this manner_i-k，B_i-k]The minimum value of the critical sector pressure measurement is gradually and/or gradually decreased to reduce the deviation from the required minimum sector pressure r.

As shown in FIG. 7, the local input control modules 21i-k are based on the optimized parameter set [ A ] received from the sector control module 25_i-k，B_i-k]The input pressure at the associated input line 3i-k is Curve Controlled (CC). The curve control may for example be a quadratic pressure curve, for example:

pset,＝A_iw_i ²Q²+B_i+r

wherein p is_set,iIs the pressure to be set at the ith inlet line 3i, A_iAnd B_iIs a curve parameter, Q is the total flow through all input lines, w_iIs the contribution of the input flow through the ith input line 3i to the total input flow QThe weighting factor of the sum r is the minimum pressure to be ensured at the most critical sector pressure sensor 7 m.

The local input control modules 21i-k use the received Kalman filter state vector X from all other local input control modules 21i-k to make Short Term Predictions (STP) or Long Term Predictions (LTP), respectively, of the pressure to be set at the associated input pipeline 3 i-k. The choice between applying short-term prediction (STP) or long-term prediction (LTP) depends on whether the time period (D) has been short or long, which is the time elapsed since the input flow information (X) from all input lines was last successfully received. The local input control modules 21i-k may use Short Term Prediction (STP) or Long Term Prediction (LTP) to perform Curve Control (CC) for the bridge time without traffic. In one or more subsequent opportunities to again communicate with the sector control module 25, the local input control modules 21i-k send updated Kalman filter state vectors X to the sector control module 25 with respect to the associated input pipeline 3i-k_i-k。

Fig. 8 shows Parameter Estimation (PE) performed by the sector control module 25 in the second embodiment. Sector control module 25 applies to find parameter set [ a ] based on_i，B_i]The algorithm of (1):

-deviation of the critical sector pressure measurement from the required minimum sector pressure r, and

all received Kalman filter state vectors X updated with respect to the associated input pipeline 3i-k_i-k。

May be in the time interval [ t + δ t, t + h δ t]During this period, the deviation between the required minimum sector pressure r and the critical point measurement is taken into account using the samples { T + δ T, T +2 δ T,.., T + h δ T }, where h is the number of samples over the interval and δ T is the sample time in the interval T. Deviation vector ε_TCan be given by:

wherein p is_cri,m[t]Is the critical sector pressure at the mth critical sector pressure sensor 7m at time tForce. Note that the required minimum sector pressure r may vary over time and that the pressure sensors 7m, n may be different for different sectors. The minimum function is used to ensure that there is always a minimum pressure r at the most critical of all sector pressure sensors 7m, n.

To achieve the minimum critical sector pressure and desired flow mixing, the sector control module 25 may use the inclusion parameter A from all individual input lines 3i-k_i-kAnd B_i-kParameter vector Θ of_T。

Wherein A is_iAnd B_iIs a parameter for curve control of the ith input line 3 i. The data matrix Σ may be defined by the following equation:

wherein the matrix Σ gives the pressure to be set at the respective input line 3i-k and the parameter vector Θ_TThe relationship between, i.e. p_set(t)＝Σ(t)Θ_TWherein p is_set(t)＝[p_set,i(t)…p_set,k(t)]^TIs the pressure vector to be set at time T in time period T. The parameter vector Θ can be updated using the following recursive update law_T：

Wherein the content of the first and second substances,

is the product of Kronecker (Kronecker), K, M and U_nIs the updated gain matrix, and>0 is a predetermined and/or settable balance factor used to balance the importance between minimum critical sector pressure and flow distribution. Vector theta_TRepresenting the time interval [ t + δ t, t + h δ t]Parameter used in (1), theta_T+1To representWill be in the upcoming time period [ t + (h +1) δ t, t +2h δ t]The parameters used in (1). The term w₁To w_NIs a weighting factor for the combination of flows required for all N input pipelines. The term ε_T，q_i,TAnd Q_TIs from the time interval [ t + δ t, t + h δ t]A vector of measured values of (a). Function g: R^h×R^h→R^hIs a vector function given by:

in the case of the quadratic p, q curves described above, the gain matrix K is given by:

where κ is an updated gain factor greater than zero. For M ∈ RⁿGood choices may be:

for U_i∈RⁿGood choices may be

Where the ith element is 1 and the remaining elements are equal to-1/N-1.

Fig. 9 shows a simplified version of the optimization algorithm applied by the sector control module 25, parameter set a if traffic mixing is considered to be irrelevant_i，B_i]Is based only on the deviation between the critical sector pressure measurement and the required minimum sector pressure r.

Fig. 10 shows the result of the pressure-only control method applied in the ten-day operation of the control system according to the second embodiment. Similar to fig. 5, the upper diagram shows the individual flow rates q_i-kWherein the flow rate q_jAnd q is_kSo similar that they are stacked on top of each otherAnd (4) placing. The middle diagram shows the respective input pressure p_i-kThe lower graph shows two critical sector pressure measurements. Pressure-control was started two days later, during which data was collected to be able to provide both short-term and long-term predictions. In particular, long-term prediction may benefit from data collection of at least two days.

During the first day, the flow rate q_i、q_jAnd q is_kApproximately equal input pressure p_i、p_jAnd p_kEach controlled to be constant. This results in a sector pressure p measured at the critical sector pressure sensor 7m, n due to the variation of the water supply demand during the day_cri,m,nIs fluctuating. Input pressure p_i、p_jAnd p_kIs chosen to be so high in a conservative manner to ensure that the pressure at the critical sector pressure sensor 7m, n is always above the required minimum sector pressure r. Energy is wasted due to the high input pressure and leakage is relatively high due to the high input pressure. Thus, the first day shows an undesirable situation before applying the water supply control method described herein.

In the example shown in FIG. 10, there is 50% (i.e., w) from the first input line 3i_i0.5) and 25% from each of the other input lines 3j, k (i.e. w)_j,k0.25) is mixed at the desired flow rate. During the next day, with the flow q through the other input lines 3j, k_j,kIn contrast, the flow q through the first input line 3i_iSlightly increased. All input pressures p compared to day one_i、p_jAnd p_kAll decrease but remain constant throughout the day. Thus, the sector pressure p measured at the critical sector pressure sensor 7m, n due to the variation in water supply demand during the day_cri,m,nThe fluctuation of (2) still occurs. Energy is wasted due to the high input pressure and leakage is relatively high due to the high input pressure. The following day still shows undesirable conditions before the water supply control method described herein is actually applied.

As can be seen from the middle graph of fig. 10, the water supply control method described herein actually starts two days later. Input pressure p_i、p_jAnd p_kIs no longer constant but is controlled to reduce sector pressure measurement p_cri,m,nIs the most critical (i.e., lowest) fluctuation. In fact, two sector pressure measurements p_cri,m,nAre effectively planarized because they are highly correlated. In principle, the input pressure p can be adjusted_i、p_jAnd p_kReduced to a level such that the lowest sector pressure measurement p is achieved in one step_cri,mImmediately at the required minimum sector pressure r. However, to minimize the impact on the consumer experience, the input pressure p_i、p_jAnd p_kGradually and/or gradually decreased over ten days. Likewise, the desired flow mixing is approached gradually and/or gradually over ten days. It can be seen that an optimal water supply was reached after ten days. Sector pressure measurement p_cri,mIs constant and at the required minimum sector pressure r to ensure that the pressure within the sector is always at a minimum. The desired flow mixing is also established. Input pressure p_i、p_jAnd p_kOptimized to a minimum value in order to save energy and reduce leakage.

In the foregoing description, when integers or elements are mentioned which have known, obvious or foreseeable equivalents, such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth. Reference should be made to the claims for determining the true scope of the present disclosure, which should be construed so as to encompass any such equivalents. The reader will also appreciate that integers or features of the disclosure that are described as optional, preferred, advantageous, convenient or the like are optional and do not limit the scope of the independent claims.

The above embodiments are to be understood as illustrative examples of the disclosure. It is to be understood that any feature described in relation to any one embodiment may be used alone, or in combination with other features described, and may also be used in combination with one or more features of any other of the embodiments, or any combination of any other of the embodiments. While at least one exemplary embodiment has been shown and described, it should be understood that other modifications, substitutions and alternatives are apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and may be made without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein, and this application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specific embodiments discussed herein.

Further, "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps and "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. Furthermore, features or steps described with reference to one of the above exemplary embodiments may also be used in combination with other features or steps of other exemplary embodiments described above. The method steps may be applied in any order or in parallel, or may form part of another method step or a more detailed version. It is to be understood that all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this patent as claimed, since they reasonably and properly fall within the scope of their contribution to the art. Such modifications, substitutions and alternatives can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, which should be determined from the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

List of reference numerals:

1 sector of a Water supply System

3i-k input pipeline

5 consumers

7m, n sector pressure sensor

9i-k input pressure sensor

11i-k input flow meter

13i-k pressure regulation system

15 control system

17i-k, m signal connection

19i-k signal connection

21i-k input control module

22 communication line

23 switch

25 sector control module

r minimum required sector pressure

p_iInput pressure at input line i

q_iThrough the input line iInflow rate

Total input flow of Q through all input lines

w_iWeighting factor of the flow contribution of the input line I to the total flow Q