Utilizing the Sobol’ Sensitivity Analysis Method to Address the Multi-Objective Operation Model of Reservoirs

Abstract

The operation of reservoirs has significantly influenced the river ecological system. Upholding the ecological integrity of rivers during reservoir operations has been the focus of research over the years. When the Dahuofang reservoir project started, focus moved to ecological goals to address the Biliuhe reservoir’s environmental issues. The water strategy limits usage for various purposes and outlines the diversion route, complicating Biliuhe operations. In this study, to comprehend the effects of individual water level guidelines and their combined influence on these goals, the Sobol’ sensitivity analysis was introduced as an initial measure to tackle the optimization challenge. The results show that removing the insensitive water levels during specific periods of reservoir scheduling lines and beginning with sensitive water levels for local optimization to identify viable solutions, and then moving to wider optimization, significantly enhances the search efficiency, solution quality, and operational speed compared with an exhaustive search without any preceding steps. This sensitivity analysis technique is crucial for fine-tuning multi-objective reservoir operations.