An evolutionary approach for optimal allocation of conduits in electrical installation projects

Abstract

An electrical installation project has several stages: initial analysis, load forecasting, specification of the circuits, lighting project, conduits allocation and protection devices dimensioning, among others. The success of the project is directly related to security, that corresponds to the priority aspect in any installation, and cost. In this context, the cost associated to conduits are very significant, specially in small-size and medium-size residential and commercial installations. Consequently, reduction on the cost related to these elements yield reduction on the total cost of the electrical installation. Hence, this work had the objective of developing techniques to allocate the conduits in an electrical installation project, aiming the minimization of cost. The optimal allocation of conduits is determined using an evolutionary algorithm that, starting from na initial population, evolves to sub-optimal and optimal feasible solutions. The method was tested through different simulations, yielding satisfactory results.