Identification of a potable water system

A comprehensive procedure to identify a potable water system by data-driven means is proposed. The methodology focuses in a first step on topology identification. Herein, the sensor data is used to establish a directed graph of the underlying system by the means of a coherence-based algorithm and heuristics within a multi-stage strategy. In a second step, the pipe lengths of the water system are identified with the usage of dead time estimates from regularized finite impulse response models. The whole procedure is successfully applied to a simulation model. It is shown that the topology can be correctly identified. The pipe lengths can be determined with sufficient accuracy if heat transfer between supply pipes and return pipes can be neglected. The proposed method can be used to identify the topology and pipe lengths of potable water systems.