topic Re: Clarification for UN tier type in ArcGIS Utility Network Questions

Clarification for UN tier type

DasheEbra — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 18:56:37 GMT

I am just started with UN and my education was Geography, so I am not expert in Electric, Water, or Gas network business model. I learned some of the components of the electricity network through some resources on the Internet (transformer, fuse, ...), then now I learning UN and I cannot understand or imagine what is the differences between partitioned and hierarchical Tier definition, as Esri said Partitioned for Electric network and Hierarchical for Gas and Water. but I want to know why.?

So I am asking if some one can explain it more clearly with real world examples or photos

Re: Clarification for UN tier type

Spatial_Fabio — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 16:05:18 GMT

Electric Network are partioned because each tier are indipendent and they have their own object (trasmission is totally different from distribution). Look at the scheme, the line are top-down without connection between:

The hierarchical tiers are nested and each tier could be connected. In this case the commodity is recycled and it can loop from different stages

Re: Clarification for UN tier type

RobertKrisher — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 14:41:25 GMT

Esri uses partitioned tiers when the model allows each subnetwork to operate independently of the subnetworks above and below it. This means that each feature belongs to a single subnetwork with no persisted dependency or knowledge of any higher or lower-rank networks, it is only discoverable via outside of upstream/downstream tracing.

Hierarchical networks are used when subnetworks are considered nested. That is to say that one subnetwork will act as a form of "ultimate source" that supplies/receives all the resources in an area (wastewater treatment plant, water wells, gas custody transfer meters). The lower-rank subnetworks then subdivide this higher-level system into smaller and smaller zones based on different criteria (pressure reducers, pumps, compressors, lift stations). The following diagram below shows how water tiers are nested in each other with water sources creating a Water System, pumps/pressure valves providing Water Pressure zones, and system valves allowing a utility to further refine their territory into Water Isolation zones. In a hierarchical network each feature belongs to multiple subnetworks, and as such has multiple subnetwork fields (SystemSubnetworkName, PressuresubnetworkName, IsolationSubnetworkName).

Re: Clarification for UN tier type

DasheEbra — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 15:25:29 GMT

Hi @RobertKrisher thanks for help, could you provide some clarification for me! You mention that there is like a single Water tier group which include 3 Tiers (System, Pressure, and Isolation) which is okay for me. BUT from the following Esri's help screenshot:

I understand that it should be 3 or 4 tier groups:

WaterGathring
WaterTransmission
WaterDistribution
WaterCathodic (I think it's not a must, however).

So as I mentioned above, I'm not utilities expert I don't have the knowledge of how the system or business model flow. But I do some research on Electric industry and how to model it with UN, and I came with that, in electricity we have generation (UN tier1) network which generate the electricity and send it to the Transmission (UN tier2) network and send it to the Distribution (UN tier3) network which provide electricity to the consumers. This is the basic or simple business model and I understand well.

Now If we move to Water industry (I didn't study how the industry works) as I understood from Esri' screenshot above that the water flows between the 3 or 4 tier groups. From gathering to transmission to distribution, Isn't?

Re: Clarification for UN tier type

RobertKrisher — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 16:16:10 GMT

The online help that you mentioned shows how a customer would implement tier groups if they wanted to separate their hierarchical subnetworks into different tier groups. The example you have referenced in the help is for a gas model which is quite different from water.

If you want examples of how to configure the utility network for specific industries I recommend you check out the ArcGIS Solutions gallery. You can find example data models and configurations (called Utility Network Foundations) that you can download and review to answer questions like this. If you have any questions specific to data modelling, I recommend you reach out to the ArcGIS Solutions team as they are actively engaged with customers all over the world in creating these sample models.

Re: Clarification for UN tier type

Oliver_Sandoval_e — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 20:39:46 GMT

Hi Robert,

Do you know of an organization that has implemented a wastewater treatment plant into the Utility Network, not solely the boundary or point representation that currently exists, but all of the assets, pipes, valves, tanks, starting from the end of the collection system to the outflow of the plant?

Thank you for your time!

Best,

Oliver

Re: Clarification for UN tier type

RobertKrisher — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 20:47:16 GMT

Let's pick up this discussion over in main thread where you posted this ... https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-utility-network-questions/treatment-plant/m-p/1275976#M2461