Analysis of Optimal Sensor Placement in Looped Water Distribution Networks Using Different Water Quality Models

Urban looped water distribution systems are highly vulnerable to quality issues. They could be subject contamination events (accidental or deliberate), compromising the inside them and causing damage users’ health. An efficient monitoring system must developed prevent this, supported by a suitable model for assessing quality. Currently, several studies use advective–reactive models analyse quality, neglecting diffusive transport, which is claimed irrelevant in turbulent flows. Although this may true simple systems, such as linear transport pipes, presence of laminar flows significant, especially at night peripheral parts network. In paper, numerical optimisation approach has been compared with results an experimental campaign using three different inputs (EPANET advective model, AZRED diffusion–dispersion equations have implemented, new diffusive–dispersive dynamic conditions random walk method, EPANET-DD). The problem was formulated Monte Carlo method. demonstrated significant difference sensor placement based on model.