Optimal Maintenance‐Related Decision Making for Deteriorating Water Distribution Systems: 1. Semi‐Markovian Model for a Water Main

An optimal maintenance-related decision-making problem is investigated in this paper for deteriorating water distribution systems. A semi-Markovian model is developed to capture the dynamic evolution of the failure mode of a deteriorating main pipe, thus facilitating the determination of the optimal replacement/repair decision at various deteriorating stages. An example problem is solved to demonstrate the proposed methodology and to show the trade-off between the system's availability and the expected maintenance cost.