Ye et al. (2025) Hydrodynamic simulation and multi-objective optimization coupling for efficient decision-making of water transport and distribution in irrigated areas

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural Water Management
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-12-06
• Authors: Xinping Ye, XU Xiang-hui, Yi Ji, Liu Liu, Hongda Lian, Wuyuan Liu, Mo Li
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2025.110055

Research Groups

• School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
• Heilongjiang Province Key Laboratory of Smart Water Network, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
• International Cooperation Joint Laboratory of Health in Cold Region Black Soil Habitat of the Ministry of Education, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
• National Key Laboratory of Smart Farm Technology and System, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
• State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Agricultural Water Resources, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
• Center for Agricultural Water Research in China, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China

Short Summary

This study proposes a multi-objective optimization framework for open-channel flow distribution, coupling hydrodynamic simulation with gate regulation and crop water demand under varying hydrological conditions. Applied to the Chahayang Irrigation District, the framework significantly reduces average flow fluctuations by 35%, enhances distribution efficiency by 22%, and decreases gate adjustments by 28% compared to traditional methods.

Objective

• To develop and validate a multi-objective optimization framework that couples hydrodynamic simulation with gate regulation and crop water demand to enhance resource conservation, flow stability, and operational efficiency in open-channel irrigation systems under varying hydrological conditions.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Chahayang Irrigation District (CID) in Gannan County, Heilongjiang Province, China. The district covers 5.82 × 10^4 hectares, with 43.06 hectares allocated for paddy field irrigation. The study focuses on a primary canal section containing 6 check gates and 16 distribution gates, controlling an irrigated area of 1.38 × 10^4 hectares.
• Temporal Scale: Daily scale for crop water demand simulation; irrigation season (2022 for field measurements); analysis across wet, normal, and dry hydrological years; gate operation cycles and adjustment intervals (e.g., 12 hours, extended to 12.5 hours).

Methodology and Data

• Models used:
  • Hydrodynamic model: One-dimensional Saint-Venant equations (discretized using the Preissmann four-point implicit scheme with off-centering).
  • Gate operation submodel: Hydraulic discharge calculations (orifice flow and weir flow formulas).
  • Irrigation demand submodel: AquaCrop model.
  • Optimization algorithm: NSGA-II (Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II).
  • Decision-making method: TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution).
• Data sources:
  • Field surveys.
  • Irrigation planning reports.
  • Published literature.
  • Field measurements of flow and water levels collected during the 2022 irrigation season in Canals No. 7 and No. 8.
  • Rainfall frequency data for hydrological year classification.

Main Results

• The coupled model demonstrated high accuracy, with R² values for simulated flow and water levels ranging from 0.86 to 0.88 and nRMSE values from 11.42% to 16.13% in validation canals. The AquaCrop model showed good agreement with observed values (R² = 0.81, nRMSE = 13.8%).
• The framework reduced average flow fluctuations by 35% and enhanced distribution efficiency by 22% compared to traditional methods in the Chahayang Irrigation District.
• Gate adjustments were decreased by 28%, and adjustment intervals were extended by 3.5 hours (from approximately 9 hours to 12.5 hours), leading to energy savings of 25-30% for control gates 4-6.
• The main canal's water conveyance duration was reduced by 16 hours, and over 50% of conveyance time was saved in ten branch canals and six laterals.
• A significant positive correlation was found between flow fluctuations (Wave) and total water diversion (Volume). Irrigation Water Use Efficiency (IWUE) exhibited a nonlinear relationship with Wave, suggesting an optimal Wave range of 0.5–0.6 for synergistic improvements.
• Adaptive scheduling strategies were developed for different hydrological years:
  • Wet years: Prioritizes operational stability, delivering 452 mm irrigation volume with 11.3% water-saving efficiency.
  • Normal years: Balances scheduling efficiency and water conservation, achieving 401 mm irrigation volume with a 16.4% water-saving rate.
  • Dry years: Maximizes water conservation, providing 376 mm irrigation volume with a 21.3% water-saving efficiency.
• Under future dry climate trends, flow variability and scheduling frequency are projected to increase by 17.6% and 23.4%, respectively, with a 9.2% decline in efficiency. Conversely, wetter trends could improve efficiency by approximately 6.5%.

Contributions

• Proposes a novel, fully coupled "gate operation–hydraulic response" scheduling mechanism that integrates non-steady hydrodynamic simulation with demand-driven scheduling.
• Overcomes limitations of traditional approaches by addressing the decoupling of hydraulic simulation from gate-cluster control and the reliance on single-objective or single-scenario designs.
• Significantly improves prediction accuracy and operational coordination across canal sections, enhancing the precision of water conveyance scheduling.
• Provides practical strategies and methodological support for intelligent, efficient, and refined irrigation management.
• Develops adaptive scheduling strategies tailored to wet, normal, and dry hydrological years, thereby strengthening the resilience of irrigation districts to varying water availability.

Funding

• National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52479035)
• Key Research and Development Program of Heilongjiang (Grant No. GA23B012)

Citation

@article{Ye2025Hydrodynamic,
  author = {Ye, Xinping and Xiang-hui, XU and Ji, Yi and Liu, Liu and Lian, Hongda and Liu, Wuyuan and Li, Mo},
  title = {Hydrodynamic simulation and multi-objective optimization coupling for efficient decision-making of water transport and distribution in irrigated areas},
  journal = {Agricultural Water Management},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agwat.2025.110055},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2025.110055}
}