Geology

Mathematics

Computer science

Distribution (mathematics)

Environmental science

Remote sensing

Mathematical analysis

Water Resources Research

The network connectivity structure of water distribution systems (WDSs) represents the domain where hydraulic processes occur, driving the emerging behavior of such systems, for example with respect to robustness and vulnerability. In complex network theory (CNT), a common way of classifying the network structure and connectivity is the association of the nodal degree distribution to specific probability distribution models, and during the last decades, researchers classified many real networks using the Poisson or Pareto distributions. In spite of the fact that degree‐based network classification could play a crucial role to assess WDS vulnerability, this task is not easy because the network structure of WDSs is strongly constrained by spatial characteristics of the environment where they are constructed. The consequence of these spatial constraints is that the nodal degree spans very small ranges in WDSs hindering a reliable classification by the standard approach based on the nodal degree distribution. Thi...

Network structure classification and features of water distribution systems