Diverting Waste and Drinking Water into the Right Channels

Siemens has developed a software for controlling and simulating the flow of waste water in sewage systems. As reported in the research magazine "Pictures of the Future", the engineers created the Siwa Plan Sewer program by combining their expertise in process engineering for hydraulics with mathematical optimization and simulation methods for the first time.

In existing sewage systems, this software can help optimize the flow of waste water. The objective is to make full use of existing storage systems such as rain spillway basins whenever possible. This is how Siwa Plan Sewer prevents sections of a sewage system from overflowing during thunderstorms. It’s difficult to simulate the flow of water in sewage systems because the flow characteristics are constantly changing. Small pipes empty into larger ones, and these in turn branch off or converge. As a result, individual sections of a system can quickly overflow. To prevent this, Siwa Plan Sewer is fed with all available data, including information on pipe diameters, the maximum possible flow and the size of the storage reservoir. To compute which areas still have unused capacities, the software uses additional information, such as data on current precipitation levels and the fill level of individual sewage sections. If there is surplus capacity, the water is systematically channeled through the sewage system.

The sewage control system is the latest addition to the Siwa Plan module family. Using sophisticated algorithms, these water and waste water applications help utilities operate their sewage systems while improving the systems’ safety, availability and profitability. The Siwa Plan Sim program allows operators to simulate various scenarios on the realistic user interface. If the user makes an error, the software simulates the consequences, such as increased pressure or a leak in the system. Another program, Siwa Plan Train, was used to train technicians responsible for the maintenance of a 180-kilometer drinking water pipeline in the United Arab Emirates.

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	Siemens Publication - Pictures of the future
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