Optimisation of operations of a water distribution system for reduced power usage
- Authors: Bagirov, Adil , Ugon, Julien , Barton, Andrew , Briggs, Steven
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 9th National Conference on Hydraulics in Water Engineering: Hydraulics 2008, Darwin, Northern Territory : 22nd-26th September 2008
- Full Text: false
- Description: There are many improvements to operation that can be made to a water distribution system once it has been constructed and placed in ground. Pipes and associated storages and pumps are typically designed to meet average peak daily demands, offer some capacity for growth, and also allow for some deterioration of performance over time. However, the 'as constructed' performance of the pipeline is invariably different to what was designed on paper, and this is particularly so for anything other than design flows, such as during times of water restrictions when there are significantly reduced flows. Because of this, there remain significant benefits to owners and operators for the adaptive and global optimisation of such systems. The present paper uses the Ouyen subsystem of the Northern Mallee Pipeline, in Victoria, as a case study for the development of an optimisation model. This has been done with the intent of using this model to reduce costs and provide better service to customers on this system. The Ouyen subsystem consists of 1600 km of trunk and distribution pipeline servicing an area of 456,000 Ha. The system includes 2 fixed speed pumps diverting water from the Murray River at Liparoo into two 150 ML balancing storages at Ouyen, 4 variable speed pumps feeding water from the balancing storages into the pipeline system, 2 variable speed pressure booster pumps and 5 town balancing storages. When considering all these components of the system, power consumption becomes an important part of the overall operation. The present paper considers a global optimisation model to minimise power consumption while maintaining reasonable performance of the system. The main components of the model are described including the network structure and the costs functions associated with the system. The final model presents the cost functions associated with the pump scheduling, including the penalties descriptions associated with maintaining appropriate storages levels and pressure bounds within the water distribution network.
- Description: 2003006758
Reliability analysis of block sliding in large brown coal open cuts
- Authors: Xue, Jianfeng , Tolooiyan, Ali
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: The 2012 World Congress on Advances in Civil, Environmental, and Materials Research (ACEM'12) p. 1578-1587
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
Application of design structure matrix in project management
- Authors: Gunawan, Indra , Singh, Darius
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Management of Technology
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
Social impacts of water restrictions : Householders in the Ballarat water supply system
- Authors: Harman, Jessie , Lynch, David , McEachern, Steven
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at Water Down Under Conference 2008, Adelaide, South Australia : 14th-17th April 2008 p. 2028-2041
- Full Text: false
- Description: In this paper, researchers investigate the social impact of water restrictions on households in the Ballarat and District Water Supply System. They present a general framework for evaluating the social impact of water restrictions which centres on perceptions of economic circumstances, health and well-being and community character and cohesion. Using qualitative and quantitative research methods, researchers confirm that existing water restrictions are indeed having an impact, although the extent of that impact varies along key dimensions. Researchers also identify underlying drivers of attitudes towards water restrictions, namely the direct impact of water restrictions on the household, and beliefs regarding the equitable application of restrictions across the community. The research findings are significant at a number of levels. At the local level, they provide water resource practitioners and policy makers with systematic data on which to base future water resource decisions and the communication messages and support strategies that accompany such decisions. More broadly, the findings shed light on an issue of critical national importance and they contribute to our theoretical knowledge of its impacts and complexities, and strategies for measurement.
- Description: 2003006302
ROI engine : return on investment model for the implementation of maintenance best practices
- Authors: Maffre, Julien , Probst, Rob , Gunawan, Indra , Neitzert, Thomas
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Proceedings of the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP) Annual Conference
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
Fatigue experiments on CFRP repaired welded thin-walled RHSTO-RHS cross-beam connection
- Authors: Xiao, Zhigang , Zhao, Xiao , Mashiri, Fidelis
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Proceedings of the Tenth International Symposium on Structural Engineering for Young Experts (ISSEYE-10) p. 971-978
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Cracked thin-walled rectangular hollow section (RHS)-to-RHS cross-beam connections are repaired with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites and constant amplitude fatigue experiments are conducted on them. A pilot test is first conducted on a square hollow section (SHS)-to-SHS T-connection to explore an effective method of applying CFRP. Due to the “peel off” effect at the corner region of the SHS-to-SHS specimen, early debonding appears in the pilot test which only results in a small increase in fatigue life. Circumferential or transverse restraining CFRP patches are added in the RHS-to-RHS cross-beam specimens which prevent early debonding successfully and lead to significant increase in fatigue life.
Fatigue testing of subsea pipeline steel connections under combined actions
- Authors: Liu, Huihua , Zhao, Xiao , Xiao, Zhigang
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Incorporating Sustainable Practice in Mechanics of Structures and Materials - Proceedings of the 21st Australian Conf. on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials p. 649-654
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper describes a set of experimental tests of subsea pipeline steel connections under combined forces: one set of force is fatigue load, which is the simulation of the variation caused by currents or waves flowing across pipelines; another set of force is hoop force, which is constant tension force introduced by internal and external pressures. The steel connections are made of two steel plates joined together by single-sided girth welds. One central notch is machined on the weld toe. The specimens under combined forces are compared with those subjected to fatigue loads alone. It is found that the hoop force could affect the fatigue life of subset pipeline steel connections and also reduce the initiation angle of the crack propagation.
Tests on CFRP repaired welded thin-walled cross-beam connections
- Authors: Xiao, Zhigang , Zhao, Xiao , Tong, L.
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on FRP Composites in Civil Engineering (CICE 2010) p. 903-906
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Cracked cross-beam connections made of thin-walled rectangular hollow sections (RHS) are repaired with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites and constant amplitude fatigue experiments are conducted on the repaired specimens. In the previous pilot test on a T-connection of square hollow sections (SHS), early debonding happened in the corner region due to peeling effect. In this study, circumferential or transverse restraining CFRP patches are applied in the corner region which prevent early debonding and lead to significant increase in fatigue life. Furthermore, the addition of strengthening steel plates has further increased the flexural stiffness and fatigue life of the cracked specimens.
Refined plasticity model for concrete stress-strain relationship part I : Prediction of peak stress and residual stress
- Authors: Piscesa, Bambang , Attard, Mario , Samani, Ali Khajeh
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 23rd Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials (ACMSM23) p. 149-154
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: A refined plasticity model for concrete stress-strain relationships is proposed. The proposed failure surface has the ability to evolve its form based on empirical formulation in which being extracted from the experimental results via the frictional driver parameter (). Two main features are highlighted in this paper such as the peak stress prediction and residual stress prediction of the proposed model. In this paper the comparison of proposed models with experimental results weighted on uniaxial-triaxial compression in axial direction. In the next part of the research a non-associative flow rule in which has an inclusion of size effect to be applied in the constitutive driver is proposed and experimental comparison in both axial and lateral direction is discussed.
- Description: A refined plasticity model for concrete stress-strain relationships is proposed. The proposed failure surface has the ability to evolve its form based on empirical formulation in which being extracted from the experimental results via the frictional driver parameter (
Numerical modelling of laboratory tests on desiccation cracking
- Authors: Amarasiri, Aruna , Kodikara, Jayantha , Costa, Susanga
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 1st Int. Symp. on Computational Geomechanics (COMGEO I ) p. 302-310
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
Mixed mode Elasto-plastic model for the fracture analysis of glass using the combined finite-discrete element method
- Authors: Chen, Xiao Dong , Chan, Andrew , Yang, J.
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: CM13: International Conference on Computational Mechanics p. 1-6
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
Stress analyses of free spanning subsea pipelines with finite element method
- Authors: Xiao, Zhigang , Zhao, Xiao
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Proceedings of the Tenth Int. Symp. on Structural Engineering for Young Experts (ISSEYE-10) Vol.1 p. 305-309
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
Modified stress intensity factor equations for semi-elliptical surface cracks in finite thickness and width plates
- Authors: Peng, Yang , Tong, Lewei , Zhao, Xiao , Xiao, Zhigang
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: The Twelfth East Asia-Pacific Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction p. 2601-2608
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Weld defects and severe variation of shape near the welds cause high stress concentration at weld toes or weld roots. This high stress concentration reduces fatigue lives of welded structures. A stress intensity factor (SIF) which includes this effect increases the accuracy of fatigue lives prediction. A magnification factor is commonly used to multiply the SIF of semi-elliptical surface cracks to account for the stress concentration effect in welded connections. Yamada and Hirt model is one of these methods. Comparison between Yamada & Hirt SIF equations and Newman & Raju SIF equations are applied to SIF of semi-elliptical surface cracks. The results suggest that Yamada & Hirt SIF equations are valid when the crack aspect ratio is less than 0.6. New empirical SIF equations are developed based on Yamada & Hirt SIF equations. The newly derived SIF equations are verified by comparing with experimental data.
Formula for SIF of cracked steel plates strengthened with CFRP plate
- Authors: Yu, Qian Qian , Zhao, Xiao , Chen, Tao , Xiao, Zhigang , Gu, Xianglin
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 22nd Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, ACMSM 2012 p. 537-540
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Fatigue loading will lead to crack initiation and crack growth in steel structures where stress concentration exists. Fatigue life of aged steel members can be extended significantly with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) repair. Stress intensity factor (SIF) is a key parameter to calculate the fatigue life and analyze the progress of crack development. There is a lack of knowledge of SIF for cracked steel plate with different degrees of damage strengthened with CFRP. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap. The SIF formula is developed based on the classical SIF solution and James-Anderson method by considering two correction factors, representing the effect of load share effect in composite system and the effect of initial damage degree, respectively. It is demonstrated that the SIF formula proposed in the paper is applicable to SIF estimation of strengthened center cracked steel plate with different degrees of damage.
Lateral strain of confined concrete incorporating size effect
- Authors: Samani, Ali Khajeh , Attard, Mario
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 22nd Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, ACMSM22; Sydney, Australia; 11th-14th December 2012; published in From Materials to Structures: Advancement through Innovation; p. 357-361
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The lateral and axial strain relationship plays an important part in predicting the confinement of confined columns. Measuring lateral strains in compressive experiments proves to be difficult which mean few reliable results are available. A lateral strain versus axial strain model is proposed based on the supposition that the concrete behaves linear elastically in the early stages of loading, nonlinear hardening up to the peak stress after which the inelastic lateral strain vary linearly with the inelastic axial strain. The lateral to axial inelastic strain ratio is shown to be a function of the lateral confinement level and related to the failure mechanism. Moreover, size effect is also discussed from the lateral strain versus axial strain perspective.
Investigation of engineering performance of gravels mixed with additives for unsealed pavement stabilization
- Authors: Huxtable, David , Xue, Jianfeng , Costa, Susanga
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 11th Australia - New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics: Ground Engineering in a Changing World p. 1244-1249
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: A case study was undertaken to assist Central Goldfields Shire Council, Victoria, Australia, in assessing the success of its unsealed road stabilisation program. A section of road was treated in 2009, with different combination of additives (RT20 and Eko-Soil) and then post construction testing was carried out in 2010 to verify the success of the trial. A set of parameters, including California Bearing Ratio (CBR), Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), Maximum Dry Density (MDD), and Optimum moisture content was tested after the setting of the additives. The results indicated that Eko-Soil performed better than Reynolds RT-20 in treating the selected site.
Development of ground thermal conductivity model of multi-layered soils
- Authors: Xue, Jianfeng , Lee, Seung-rae , Yoon, Seok
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 11th Australia - New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics: Ground Engineering in a Changing World p. 638 - 643
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
A boundary element analysis of non-load-carrying cruciform welded joints strengthened with FRP materials
- Authors: Chen, Tao , Zhao, Xiao , Gu, Xianglin , Xiao, Zhigang
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: International Conferences on Advances in Steel Structures 2012 p. 1405 - 1412
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
Measurement of pore water pressure properties of unsaturated brown coal using triaxial test
- Authors: Couling, Catherine Elizaebth , Tolooiyan, Ali , Mackay, Rae , Xue, Jianfeng
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 6th International Conference on Unsaturated Soils, UNSAT 2014 p. 1531-1535
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Skempton's B parameter characterises the effect of fluid compressibility on the time dependent deformation of materials during isotropic loading. The Skempton B-parameter has been determined for a sample of Victorian brown coal for a range of confining pressures, corresponding to the range of conditions which the coal experiences below the ground water table. The relationship between the change in the B-parameter with respect to time and pressure has also been examined. It has been found that a high back pressure (more than 400 kPa) is required in the material to achieve a degree of saturation close to 100+ACU-. The set of data from these tests is able to provide important evidence of the depth and stress dependent behaviour of the coal.
Artificial neural networks for the prediction of the trapping efficiency of a new sewer overflow screening device
- Authors: Phillips, David , Imteaz, Monzur , Aziz, Mubashir , Choudhury, Tanveer
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 19th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation - Sustaining Our Future: Understanding and Living with Uncertainty, MODSIM2011 p. 3476-3482
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Some of the major concerns regarding sewer overflows to receiving water bodies include serious environmental, aesthetic and public health problems. Water management authorities are increasingly receiving public complaints that have led engineers to focus on means of retaining the entrained sewer solids within the sewer system during overflow events. During wet weather conditions, sewer overflows to receiving water bodies raise serious concern to environmental and community health concerns. To address these problems, different types of screening devices are used. Moreover, floatable control is preferred by most of the proposed and existing environmental regulations. This requirement triggers the need to research the different types of screening devices and screenings handling systems to select the most appropriate for a particular installation especially at unmanned locations. In the present study the sewer overflow device consists of a rectangular tank and a sharp crested weir that are followed by series of vertical parallel combs to separate entrained sewer solids from the overflow. The device does not require electrical or mechanical power for the self-cleansing mechanism, enabling the device to work efficiently in unmanned locations. Extensive laboratory investigations are underway to assess the effectiveness of a novel self-cleansing sewer overflow screening device. A series of laboratory tests to determine trapping efficiencies for common sewer solids were conducted for different flow conditions, number of combs layers, spacing of combs and weir crest lengths. Sewer solids from different density materials make sewer flow to analyze in complex Non-Newtonian fluid system with huge computational cost and complicity using physical law based modeling. On the flipside artificial neural model has the capacity to accurately predict the outcome of complex, non-linear physical systems with relatively poorly understood physicochemical processes which makes them highly desirable in the present study. Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) have already been successfully used to simulate flood forecasting in urban drainage system, real time control in combined sewer system, real time water level predictions of sewerage systems covering gauged and un-gauged sites etc. In case of sewer solid capture efficiency: neural network modeling is able to recognize nonlinear input output relations with adapting approach for changing circumstances. In the present study, feed forward artificial neural networks using back propagation algorithms were used, as such networks have been used almost exclusively in environmental modeling. A series of forty seven (47) sets of experimental data were collected to train (calibrate) the ANN model. In addition to these, eight (8) sets of experimental data were collected to validate the trained ANN network to be used in wider prospective of urban drainage conditions. The major areas covered in the ANN modeling include selection of input and output variables, optimization of the model, consideration of different learning algorithms, designing ANN's training & cross training processes and model validation. In the studied case, complex physical characteristics of different sewer solids, together with multi-fluid sewer system with variable flow phenomena makes it difficult to model with physical considerations. In case of sewer solid capture efficiency; artificial neural network modeling is able to learn the complex input-output relations with adapting approach for changing circumstances. Model considered different learning algorithms, diverse hidden layer structure with varied training samples to optimize the network. It is found that the model can successfully predict the experimental results with average absolute percentage errors varying from 4 to 7 percent.