HYDRA

HYDRA will be

a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose pressurized-flow research infrastructure within the Laboratory of Applied Hydraulics (LoAH) of NTUA to support the analysis, development, and testing of smart water technologies, including, but not limited to, soft- and hard-sensor technologies.

The current and future services of urban water infrastructures face a range of challenges including aging infrastructure, non-revenue water, climate stresses, contamination, cyber-physical threats and the continuous need for sustainable and resilient management practices, which requires innovative approaches and state of art technologies, in both hardware and software terms.

The project will pay particular emphasis to creating communication channels and interacting with national and worldwide networks of water-related laboratories since it recognizes the added value of building and running HYDRA in a cooperative and competitive environment rather than in a vacuum.

The modular, multipurpose, and expandable nature of HYDRA is an important feature that is closely linked to the sustainability and long-term operation of infrastructure.

In addition to scientific and curiosity-driven experimental applications, HYDRA will be able to meet market and policy-driven demands for the development, testing, and demonstration of cutting-edge smart water technologies in a controlled laboratory setting. This will enable a wider range of stakeholders and end users, including supply utilities, water energy infrastructure agencies, and technology developers.

As the first infrastructure of this kind in Greece and one of the few in Europe, HYDRA has the potential to greatly expand the current market, academic, and research opportunities for a variety of stakeholders.

In addition to supporting NTUA's academic and scientific objectives, HYDRA can serve as the foundation for national and international collaborations between LoAH and comparable laboratories in both academic and research contexts, including calls financed by the EU.

HYDRA wants to be a first-of-its-kind "Living Lab" where: a) NTUA's undergraduate, graduate, and lifelong learning modules can be supported by practical experiences for young engineers; b) innovative models and algorithms for water systems (e.g., based on machine learning and soft-sensors techniques) as well as digital services and applications c) new hardware and software solutions (such as third-party smart meters and/or water quality sensors) can be assessed and benchmarked to make them appropriate for real-world situations and guarantee the HYDRA infrastructure's financial viability.

The HYDRA

Approach

A Modular and Customisable Experimental Facility for Developing and Testing Smart Water Technologies

HYDRA will be

The HYDRA

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