Optimum Design of Water Conveyance Systems by Ant Colony Optimization Algorithms

Water conveyance systems (wcss) are costly infrastructures in terms of materials,construction, maintenance and energy requirements. much attention has been given to theapplication of optimization methods to minimize the costs associated with such infrastructures.historically, traditional optimization techniques have been used, such as linear and non-linearprogramming. in this paper, application ofant colony optimization (aco) algorithm in the designofa water supply pipeline system is presented. ant colony optimization algorithms, which are basedon foraging behavior ofants, is successfully applied to optimize this problem. a computer model isdeveloped that can receive pumping stations at any possible or predefined locations and optimizetheir specifications. as any direct search method, the mothel is highly sensitive to setup parameters,hence fine tuning ofthe parameters is recommended.