An automatic scheduling method for product pipelines based on depth first search method

The key to guarantee the safe operation of product pipelines lies in scheduling with hydraulic calculation. So far, product pipeline scheduling optimization has been researched abundantly, but few of them take into consideration the hydraulic calculation. To deal with single-source multiple-terminal pipelines, an automatic product pipeline scheduling model was established based on constraints of flow rate, batch and pressure. Then, it was solved by means of depth first search method, to work out quickly a scheduling plan which meets the field requirements. The model can conduct hydraulic calculation on each pipe segment while tracking the location of each batch head, and figure out the energy consumption along the pipeline in the scheduling period. Finally, this model was applied to a certain product pipeline and consequently a practical scheduling plan was worked out. It is demonstrated that this method is characterized by fast calculation, small deviation between the scheduling plan and the market requirement, and strong practicability and universality.