A control-oriented hybrid linear model for water transport in sewer networks is proposed as a suitable framework for the computation of real-time controllers for the minimization of flooding in presence of heavy-rain events. The model is based on individual network elements (sewers, gates, weirs and tanks) and does not rely on topological simplifications, thus providing a better description of the hydrological and hydraulic phenomena than in similar works. Using a generic form of a hybrid linear model, a simple matrix-based procedure for the formulation and solution of an optimal control problem is also presented. This procedure is applied to the sewer network model for the case study of a part of the Barcelona sewer network in a receding horizon control strategy, showing the effectiveness of the proposed control approach.

Peer Reviewed