Application of the harmony search algorithm to water distribution networks design

The meta-heuristic techniques are optimization methods that allow the search beyond local minimums, which extends in many occasions the search field, and therefore, the capacity to obtain good solutions. The Harmony Search (HS) is a heuristic technique of optimization used for water distribution networks design. Initially, the work displays the results of the HS on a water network studied in the literature (network of Hanoi). The results show the kindness of the method. Also is made a statistical analysis of the obtained solutions. This analysis allows verifying the values of the harmony parameters more suitable for the proposed method. The second part analyzes the influence of harmony parameters in the velocity of the algorithm. The aim is to find the most suitable configuration of the problem, so that good solutions are obtained in the less time.