Chapters authored
Fuzzy Modeling of Urban Water Supply Crisis
The chaotic growth of cities results in numerous problems related to public health and urban environment. One of these problems is the urban water supply system crisis. This research aims to develop a mathematical model for urban water supply crises (UWC) able to deal with the ambiguity of the real available data. The applied methodology comprises the following steps: (i) identifying the influencing factors in UWC; (ii) proposing a conceptual model for the description of UWC; (iii) collecting and simulating the necessary and available data; (iv) optimizing the conceptual model parameters; and (v) verifying the proposed model performance. The results indicate that there are many influencing factors in UWC. The model developed comprises two parts or two sub-models. The first sub-model explains water consumption, and the second sub-model explains water availability. In the first sub-model, the functions are related to the factors that influence water consumption. In the second sub-model, the functions are related to the factors that influence the availability of water. This research also aims to analyze the possibility of applying Fuzzy Logic to deal with the ambiguity of real data. It was concluded that, with the proposed model, the UWC was modeled appropriately. The model proposed can help to predict the impact of actions such as reducing losses, reducing pressure on the water supply network and intermittent supply on the intensity of water crisis cases in cities.
Part of the book: Fuzzy Systems
Analysing the Possibility of Failure of Cascade Dam System and a Case Study from Brazil
A cascade dam system poses more hazards for downstream life and structures, when compared with a single dam located on a river. Therefore, there is a need to develop differentiated procedures to classify and regulate these dams. In the state of Mato Grosso (MT), Brazil, it is common to find multipurpose dams, which can be considered as a cascade, when a dam failure causes adverse effects in downstream dams. The objective of the study is to analyse the possibility of dam failure located in the cascade system operated by the municipality of Várzea Grande, MT by the Associated Potential Damage (APD) classification used throughout the country. In order to do this, the specification namely “Simplified Methodology to Define the Classification Flood Zone of Associated Potential Damage of a Dam” developed by the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering in Portugal (LNEC in Portuguese) was utilised. This specification was adapted by the National Water and Sanitation Agency (ANA in Portuguese) in Brazil. In the case study, there are three dams (Dam 1, Dam 2 and Dam 3) in the cascade system. Dam 1 can cause overtopping problem for Dam 2 and Dam 3. According to APD classification, dams considered for the study are categorised as “high dam”.
Part of the book: Special Topics in Dam Engineering