Considering the mutual dependence of pulse duration and intensity in models for generating residential water demand

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of considering the mutual dependence of the pulse duration and intensity inside water demand generation models that operate with a high temporal resolution, i.e., 1 s time step, and at the scale of the individual user. To this end, a Poisson model was developed and applied to a literature case study. The Poisson model was able to represent the two variables or their respective logarithms as dependent variables following a bivariate normal distribution. The results of the new model were analyzed in comparison with the results of a model, in which the pulse intensity and the logarithm of the duration were represented as independent random variables. The analysis showed that taking into account the mutual dependence of the variables leads to improvements, and thus it is recommended. In fact, when it is taken into account, more consistent synthetic water demand pulses can be obtained, which are in better agreement with those measured in terms of overall daily demand volume.