Computational Design Methods for Clean Water Systems in Remote Communities

提供可靠、清洁的水是我们社会面临的最大工程挑战之一。这对发展中国家和加拿大的偏远地区都是一个挑战。目前，许多偏远社区依赖于从多个来源取水，这些水源往往被细菌和溶解的盐分污染。这些水通常需要净化或淡化，以满足世界卫生组织的标准[1]。*这项提议是一项长期计划的一部分，该计划旨在开发效率更高、成本更低、对不同运行条件具有健壮性的清洁水系统。这里提出的五年研究计划有两个短期重点。第一个重点是开发基于计算机的光伏反渗透系统(PVRO)设计工具，并将这些技术整合到偏远社区的供水系统中。第二个重点是应用设计方法来开发适用于偏远地区的PVRO系统原型。*为偏远社区设计一个全面的水解决方案是一项挑战，因为每个社区都需要一个定制系统，以最好地满足其独特的水需求、水资源和能源。不幸的是，定制设计很昂贵，而且超出了许多这样的社区的承受能力。这项研究计划还将开发基于计算机的设计方法，以帮助配置偏远社区的供水系统。这些方法将使用物理模型来分析不同水源的可用性，如PVRO、蓄水池和水井，并在优化框架中使用它们来确定满足所需系统性能的最低成本系统。*PVRO系统已被开发用于向偏远地区供水。不幸的是，以前的系统降低了效率和高昂的成本，这是因为电池的加入以及可用于社区规模应用的组件的限制，例如能量回收设备。这项研究将使用基于计算机的设计工具来开发一种高效的PVRO系统，该系统通过改变系统操作以匹配可用的太阳能来消除电池。在这种方法中，昂贵的储能被廉价的水储存所取代，以应对太阳能波动。为了实现这一新方法，将开发一种量身定制的能量回收装置和控制系统，以最大限度地提高无电池PVRO系统的水产量。*这项研究将开发物理水系统技术和基于计算机的工具，以帮助为偏远农村社区设计水系统。这些综合供水系统有可能提供非常可靠的清洁饮用水供应，并对7亿多无法获得清洁饮用水的人的生活质量产生积极影响[1]。

Providing reliable, clean water is one of the greatest engineering challenges our society faces. This is a challenge for remote locations both in the developing world and in Canada. Currently, many remote communities rely on drawing water from multiple sources that is often contaminated with bacteria and dissolved salts. This water typically requires purification or desalination, which is lacking in remote communities, to meet World Health Organization standards [1].****This proposal is part of a long-term program to develop clean water systems with higher efficiencies, lower costs, and robustness to variable operating conditions.  The five year research program proposed here has two short-term focuses. The first focus is to develop computer-based design tools for photovoltaic reverse osmosis systems (PVRO) and to integrate these technologies into the water system for a remote community. The second focus is to apply the design methods to develop prototype PVRO systems which are appropriate for remote locations.****Designing an integrated water solution for a remote community is a challenge as each community requires a custom system to best accommodate their own unique water needs, water sources, and energy sources. Unfortunately, custom design is expensive and beyond the reach of many such communities. This research program will develop computer-based design methods to aid in the configuration of water systems for remote communities. These methods will use physical models to analyze availability of different water sources, such as PVRO, cisterns, and wells, and use them in an optimization framework to determine the lowest cost system that meets the desired system performance.****PVRO systems have been developed to provide water to remote locations. Unfortunately, previous systems have reduced efficiency and high costs due to the incorporation of batteries and limitations in components available for community-scale applications, such as energy recovery devices. This research will use the computer-based design tools to develop an efficient PVRO system that eliminates batteries by varying the system operation to match the available solar power. In this approach, expensive energy storage is replaced by inexpensive water storage to deal with solar fluctuations. To enable this approach, a tailored energy recovery device and a control system will be developed to maximize the water production for the batteryless PVRO system.***This research will develop both physical water system technologies and computer-based tools to aid in the design of water systems for remote communities. These integrated water systems have the potential to provide a reliable clean drinking water supply and make a positive impact on the quality of life for more than 700 million people who lack access to clean drinking water [1].