## The set of solutions to nomination validation in passive gas transportation networks with a generalized flow formula

Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-15151
• In this paper we give an analytical description on the structure of solutions to the gas nomination validation problem in gas transportation networks. These networks are assumed to contain no active devices, only certain hypothetical pipelines, where the flow of gas is modeled by a generalized version of the quadratic Weymouth's equation. The purpose of considering generalized flow formulas is to be able to adapt our results to various gas network optimization problems involving gas flow formulas beyond Weymouth's equation. Such formulas can appear in leaves of branch and bound trees, or they can stem from discretization and linearization carried out at active devices. We call a balanced supply-demand vector a nomination, and the passive nomination validation problem is to decide whether there exist pressures at the nodes generating a given nomination. We prove that in our setup the pressure square vectors generating a given nomination form a one-dimensional connected and continuous curve in the pressure square space, and this curve is a line for the classical Weymouth's equation. We also present a visual approach for the easy comprehension of how this solution curve arises; we give a short investigation of the set of feasible nominations; and finally we give a proof that the nomination validation problem in gas networks with active devices is NP-complete.

$Rev: 13581$