  There exist many criteria for the optimal design of water distribution
networks. One of the most common criteria is to design the optimal cost water
distribution network while satisfying the hydraulic design constraints. This
study was carried out to propose a novel computational method named
Spanning-Tree Matrix Approach that can model large-scale tree-shaped water
distribution networks. A case study was tested to demonstrate the use of the
Spanning-Tree Matrix Approach model coupled with the Honey-Bee Mating
Optimization algorithm to find the combination of pipe diameters that minimizes
the cost of the network. The results show that the Spanning-Tree Matrix
Approach is successful in modeling a tree-shaped water distribution network of
any size. Moreover, proposed Spanning-Tree Matrix Approach has the flexibility
to be adapted to any desirable governing equation or design criteria being
imposed, and the element of simplicity to output desired constraint evaluations
into a modern stochastic optimization algorithm (i.e., Genetic Algorithm,
Simulated Annealing, Ant-Colony Optimization, Honey-Bee Mating Optimization,
etc.) for the network optimization purpose.
