“Modelización física del sistema de distribución de agua potable de la comunidad de Rumihurco del cantón Azogues, provincia del Cañar.”

Abstract

A drinking water supply system comprises elements of catchment, conduction, storage, and distribution; its design is based on mathematical models that rule its construction. However, once established in the field, the hydraulic parameters vary concerning the design, generating inconveniences in its study and analysis. Because of this, physical modeling must be conducted, allowing for the simulation of its behavior under real situations. As it is known, a calibrated physical model is a tool that facilitates the analysis of a real prototype from its construction and implementation using the laws of similarity. Based on this, a physical model of the community of Rumihurco supply network was designed with its respective scales, thus complying with these similarities for a correct representation, allowing to observe its proper operation, mainly according to the specifications of “The urban standard for drinking water design”. In addition, three scenarios were applied to the calibrated model; in the first one, a change in the hydraulic load of the tank was proposed, keeping the rest of the parameters in accordance with the calibration, obtaining a loss of pressure in all the nodes. For the other two scenarios, changes were made in the demands of specific nodes, thus increasing the pressures, except for the pipes near the distribution tank, which remained similar to the calibrated model.