About Scheduler and the Input Options

Step-by-step guide

Energy-saving measures in water supply and distribution systems can be realized in many ways, from field testing and proper maintenance of equipment, to the use of optimal computer control. The InfoWater Pro Scheduler can assist in selecting cost-effective pumping policies to reduce operational costs and provide more reliable operations.

To use the Scheduler properly, set up controls and constraints—in effect, penalty costs. The Scheduler can then determine the least-cost pump, valve, and pipe operation policies to best meet the target hydraulic operational requirements of the system for a given time period, typically 24 hours.

1. Double-click the desired project .aprx file to open ArcGIS Pro.
2. Click the InfoWater Pro tab to open the InfoWater Pro ribbon.
3. In the Project panel, click Initialize.

Start by running a simulation for the current scenario:

4. On the InfoWater Pro ribbon, in the Analysis panel, click Run to open the Run Manager.
5. Click Run to run the simulation and create an output for the current scenario.

Leave the Run Manager open to run an energy simulation for the current scenario:

6. Expand the Simulation Options drop-down and select ENERGY.

7. Next to the drop-down, click Browse (…) to access the ENERGY simulation options.
8. In the Simulation Options dialog box, click the Energy tab.
9. Ensure that Run Energy Management Simulation is enabled.
10. Set the Global Pump Efficiency to 70 percent.
11. Leave the Global Energy Price set to 0.
12. Expand the Global Energy Price Pattern drop-down and select ENERGY_COST.
13. Optionally, click Browse (…) next to the dropdown to view the pattern.
14. Leave the Global Demand Charge set to 0.

15. Click OK to close the Simulation Options dialog box.
16. Click Run to start the simulation and create an output for the Energy simulation.
17. Close the Run Manager.

With the run complete, to review the output of a pump:

18. In this case, from the Model Explorer, select P-140.

Notice the additional output fields related to the energy simulation.

Next, view an Energy Summary table:

19. From the ribbon, View panel, click Report Manager.
20. Click New.
21. In the Output Report/Graph dialog box, click the Tabular Report tab.
22. Choose Energy Summary.

23. Close the Report Manager.

Now, access the Scheduler app:

24. In the ribbon, Project panel, click Apps to open the App Manager.
25. Select Scheduler.
26. Click Run.

27. In the Scheduler, click the View menu and select Input Data.

In the Control Group, pump, valve, or pipe control groups to be used in the optimization analysis are defined. Each control group is identified as having one or more pumps, valves, and pipes. The goal is to determine a single combination of control rules—start and stop times—for all pumps, valves, and pipes within any particular group.

The Scheduler does not optimize set points; only the on and off switches for the pumps within the simulation interval are set. For each of the pump, valve, and pipe control groups, select existing databases or create new ones.

To add a pump group to the Scheduler:

28. Under Control Group, select Pump, and then click New.
29. In the New Pump Group popup, type a name, such as “PUMP_GROUP”.
30. Click OK.

This adds an Information Field to the Pump Information DB Table. With the exception of the Pump IDs field, the values in the Active Group #1 table should automatically populate.

31. Select DB Edit to open the Pump Information DB Table.

In the PUMP_GROUP (Int) column, enter the following values:

32. For pump ID P-100, enter a value of 1.
33. For P-120, enter 1.
34. For P-140, enter 2.
35. For P-160, enter 3.

36. Save and Exit the DB Editor.

Under Constraint, elements being optimized to function with certain operating conditions or penalties can be set. These are essential for the Scheduler to perform successfully. Penalty costs are applied when the specified constraints are violated, such as the maximum flow value for a pump.

To add Tank Level constraints:

37. Select Tank Level.
38. Click Insert Rows.
39. Enter a value of 2.
40. Click OK to populate the table.

Set the following values in order, starting in row 1:

41. In the Tank ID column, enter T5000 and T5004.
42. Set the Min % for both rows to 50.00.
43. Set the Max % for both rows to 80.00.
44. Set the End Level % for both rows to 70.00.
45. Set the Tolerance % to 5.00 and 2.00.

To add Junction Pressure constraints:

46. Select Junction Pressure.
47. Click Insert Rows, and populate the table with 7 rows.

Set the following values in order, starting in row 1:

48. In the Junction ID column, enter J260, J1388, J538, J1348, J716, J48, and J886.
49. In the Min Pressure column, set all 7 values to 20.
50. In the Max Pressure column, set the values to 120.00, 90.00, 110.00, 140.00, 120.00, 120.00, 100.00.

To add Pipe Flow/Velocity constraints:

51. With Pipe Flow/Velocity selected.
52. Click Insert Rows, and populate the table with 4 rows.

Enter the following values in order, starting in row 1:

53. In the Pipe ID column, enter 10685, 9135, 12550, and 8640.
54. Under Max Velocity, set the values to 3.00, 5.00, 6.00, and 2.50.

To set the Weighted Cost Factor values and other options:

55. Click Options.
56. For this example, set the Tank End Level Penalty to 100.
57. Set the Tank Target Level Penalty to 100.
58. Set the Tank Level Penalty to 100.
59. Under Termination Criteria, set the Maximum Trials to 20000.
60. Under Optimization Options, enable PSO: Particle Swarm Optimization.

With the Input Data completely filled in, all required information is present for executing a Scheduler optimization run.