Optimization of water distribution networks is a NP-hard problem that researchers have tried to deal with using different formulations and algorithmic approaches. Among these, multi-objective heuristic algorithms are interesting because of their capacity for dealing with separate objectives that allow us to choose a posteriori the best compromise, but one of their main drawbacks is the long time required to obtain good solutions. Parallel processing is the most promising way to reduce the computing time and can make the convergence to adequate solutions faster. This paper intends to investigate the possibility of improving the efficacy and efficiency of an NSGA-II algorithm by parallelization of the optimization process at the same time. Results of different parallel implementations of NSGA-II applied to optimal design of small- and medium-size water distribution networks are presented. Good speed-up can be reached with a global model, hence improving the algorithm efficiency. Unlike the global model, the island model (or the hierarchical parallelization) can also improve its efficacy because it introduces fundamental changes in the algorithm exploration method. Possibilities offered by parallel island models have been investigated showing that some parameter configurations can find better solutions compared with the serial version of the algorithm.
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Research Article|
June 30 2011
Contribution of parallel NSGA-II in optimal design of water distribution networks
Sandro Artina;
Sandro Artina
1DISTART, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, I-40136 Bologna, Italy
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Cristiana Bragalli;
1DISTART, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, I-40136 Bologna, Italy
E-mail: [email protected]
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Giovanni Erbacci;
Giovanni Erbacci
2CINECA, Interuniversity Consortium, Via Magnanelli 6/3, I-40033 Casalecchio di Reno, Bologna, Italy
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Angela Marchi;
Angela Marchi
1DISTART, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, I-40136 Bologna, Italy
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Marzia Rivi
Marzia Rivi
2CINECA, Interuniversity Consortium, Via Magnanelli 6/3, I-40033 Casalecchio di Reno, Bologna, Italy
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Journal of Hydroinformatics (2012) 14 (2): 310–323.
Article history
Received:
January 14 2010
Accepted:
January 24 2011
Citation
Sandro Artina, Cristiana Bragalli, Giovanni Erbacci, Angela Marchi, Marzia Rivi; Contribution of parallel NSGA-II in optimal design of water distribution networks. Journal of Hydroinformatics 1 April 2012; 14 (2): 310–323. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/hydro.2011.014
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