Demand-weighted edge betweenness centrality for identifying critical pipes in water distribution networks

Munthali, Rodger Millar and Gao, Jinliang and Wu, Wenyan and Cao, Huizhe and Yu, Jingyang and Qi, Shihua (2026) Demand-weighted edge betweenness centrality for identifying critical pipes in water distribution networks. AQUA — Water Infrastructure, Ecosystems and Society. ISSN 2709-8028

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Abstract

Graphical abstract summarising the DWEBC workflow: a WDN is converted to a weighted graph; EPANET hydraulic outputs and demand data are used to compute DWEBC; and high-ranking pipes support resilience screening, maintenance prioritisation, and digital-twin decision-making.

Water distribution networks (WDNs) support urban resilience by delivering potable water under highly variable demands and hydraulic conditions. Traditional graph-theoretic centrality measures identify critical pipes based solely on topology, overlooking the spatial heterogeneity of nodal demands that drives service loss priorities. This study proposes demand-weighted edge betweenness centrality (DWEBC), a hydraulically informed extension of EBC in which pipe length, head loss, and target-node demand are embedded into the edge-weight function, thereby aligning shortest-path computations with the hydraulic relevance of the paths. Three weighting schemes – global constant, time-varying nodal, and time-varying nodal and pipe-specific scaling – are formulated. The algorithm is demonstrated on a small laboratory-scale Kaina network, Exnet, d-town, and d-town benchmark networks and validated on Net3, where DWEBC, in particular the time-varying nodal and pipe-specific variant, distinctly ranks pipes that serve major demand corridors. This offers a rapid screening tool for maintenance prioritisation, emergency and capital planning, and resilience assessment. Computational performance outruns several approaches by orders of magnitude, enabling routine re-analysis under shifting demand scenarios. It can be easily scaled, and it can make use of real-time flow telemetry to enable dynamic and hybrid frameworks, such as Digital Twin, to enable real-time and realistic network performance analysis and control.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.2166/aqua.2026.234
Dates:	Date Event 14 September 2026 Accepted 12 October 2026 Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords:	demand-weighted edge betweenness centrality (DWEBC), graph theory, hydraulic criticality, network resilience
Subjects:	CAH10 - engineering and technology > CAH10-01 - engineering > CAH10-01-01 - engineering (non-specific)
Divisions:	Architecture, Built Environment, Computing and Engineering > Engineering
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	22 Oct 2026 12:13
Last Modified:	22 Oct 2026 12:13
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/17277

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