Introduction
Insight is eWater’s multiple-objective optimisation decision support framework. This framework allows for more efficient evaluation of planning options than the traditional manual trial and error approach that is often use. In other words, the main aim of Insight is to optimise decision rules for all scenarios. The optimisation tool enables a more thorough examination of potential planning scenarios and the resulting trade-offs between desired outcomes.
Insight allows you to define which parameters (called decision variables) must be considered in the optimisation framework. Decisions variables and can be thought of as management levers that can be pulled to affect the outcome. For example, you may be unsure of what the operating rules for a new desalination plant should be used to meet the objective of minimising cost, or what the optimal operating rules are for transferring water between storages to meet supply security objectives and minimising environmental impacts. By creating decision variables for these operating rules, the optimiser will try hundreds or thousands of different operating rules based on these decision variables and determine how the rules perform against a set of specified objectives.
Configuring Insight
Pre-requisites for installing Insight
- Latest version of Source. This must be correctly installed prior to running Insight;
- Microsoft .NET framework v4 (or higher); and
- Microsoft C++ 2010 x86 redistributable package
The Insight interface
Figure 1 shows the user interface for Insight, allowing you to load projects and work with objectives and variables.
Running a project using the Insight user interface
Create a model and save it in Source.
Note the following when creating a model in Source:
- Each project must consist of one scenario only;
- Use the Function manager to define global expressions in your Source model for both objectives and decision variables. When using the Function manager, note that decision variables need to be a scalar value and the objectives need to be set up so the last value of the global expression gives the objective value. Objectives also need to be setup as though the aims are to minimise the objective value. And depending upon the optimisation problem at hand, you may wish to consider simplifying the Source project in order to reduce optimisation run times or to better address the optimisation question;
Open Insight and click Browse (as shown in Figure 1) to choose the directory containing the project(s);
Click Load to load all the objective functions that were created in the loaded projects;