A Feasibility Study on Applying the Concept of Removing Odd Nodes to Design of Water Supply Pipe Network

Objectives : In this study, the concept of the Eulerian path, which has already been proposed as a solution to the problem of head loss and residual chlorine reduction caused by complexity of nodes and pipelines, and the non-Euerian path proposed in this study were compared and their feasibility were examined.Methods : The concepts of ‘removal of odd nodes’, ‘removal of 3-intersection nodes’, and ‘removal of zero demand nodes’ were applied to the virtual water supply networks, and the number of cases were analyzed and evaluated from the viewpoint of configuration complexity and hydraulic efficiency. For Euler graph and non-Euler graph water supply networks, each total pipe length, number of removal pipes, pressure head and flow rate were simulated with EPANET2 program.Results and Discussion : As a result of simplifying and designing new output networks for virtual Euler and non-Euler graph, it was revealed that the concept of ‘removing a 3-intersection nodes’ could be the most efficient by removing more pipes. However, in terms of configuring the output network as an Euler graph, the concept of ‘removing odd nodes’ can be considered more reasonable.Conclusion : It is difficult to configuring watersupply network as a perfect Euler graph. Therefore, the application of the concept of removing odd nodes suggested in this study can promote efficient simplification of the network. In addition, it can be thought that the application of this concept can expect efficiency in terms of hydraulics and water quality.