HYDROLEAKS2.0

Descripció del projecte

HYDROLEAKS2.0

The HYDROLEAKS2.0 project is an experimental development activity based on the need of water distribution networks management entities to improve the control of their installations. It arises from the data and results obtained in the previous HYDROELAKS project and is based on the collaboration between technology-based companies that offer different solutions in the field of digitization, entities managing water distribution networks and clusters. HYDROELAKS2.0 proposes the development of new artificial intelligence tools to calculate leakage to water operators, using high temporal and spatial resolution models that take into account both real and apparent leakage. As a final result, the project proposes to generate a Digital Clone or Digital Twin of a supply network and to undertake new solutions that, through the use of AI, allow the detection of leaks. The results are managed through a digital platform, which already represents an important operational and economic improvement for water cycle companies, and a reduction in the management efforts of the networks. All this will be a first step that will open the door to new developments in future phases of the project.

In later phases, the project will focus on a solution oriented to a preventive maintenance, new algorithms for the operational management of water networks and leaks or the economic forecasting of investments, again based on AI solutions. The main objective of the present project is, therefore, to calculate with high resolution and frequency the actual, baseline and incremental flows from the combination of different digital tools. In this sense, the objectives derived from this broader general objective are:

• To have reliable observed data, which implies having processes that detect and correct analogue data (including the absence of data), at the sensor level (edge validation) and at the database level (database validation).
• Have processes in place to detect the presence of network boundaries and the most accurate and automatic localization possible. Certain processes may or may not require a previous hydraulic model (data-driven vs. model based), so that a subset of these processes can be applied to other supply networks that do not yet have a calibrated model.

This project will mean an improvement in the management of water distribution networks for the operating entities participating in the project, with the possibility of being replicated and scaled according to the needs of other managing entities. This improvement will result in a better cost of service for subscribers, in a reduction of water losses, with the consequent improvement in terms of sustainability and finally in the improvement of the operation and maintenance of infrastructures of the network management companies.