CALIBRATING HYDRAULIC NETWORK MODELS

Although calibration should always be included in any hydraulic analys is, it is often neglected or done haphazardly. As a result, inappropri ate data may be used or data errors may be overlooked, so the resultin g hydraulic model is of limited value. The novice may see calibrating a hydraulic network model as a task as daunting as climbing Mt. Everes t. This article presents a seven-step method for use in calibrating a hydraulic network model. The last and most difficult step is microleve l calibration, which involves the adjustment of demand loadings and pi pe roughnesses until computed and observed field pressures or flow rat es are within reasonable agreement for various levels and extremes of demand, pumping, and storage. Various explicit calibration algorithms have reduced the need for trial-and-error procedures and have improved the reliability of the resulting calibration. There remains Little ju stification for failing to develop good calibrated network models prio r to network analysis.