Performance analysis and modelling of circular jets aeration in an open channel using soft computing techniques.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is an important parameter in assessing water quality. The reduction in DO concentration is the result of eutrophication, which degrades the quality of water. Aeration is the best way to enhance the DO concentration. In the current study, the aeration efficiency (E) of various numbers of circular jets in an open channel was experimentally investigated for different channel angle of inclination (θ), discharge (Q), number of jets (J), Froude number (Fr), and hydraulic radius of each jet (HR). The statistical results show that jets from 8 to 64 significantly provide aeration in the open channel. The aeration efficiency and input parameters are modelled into a linear relationship. Additionally, utilizing WEKA software, three soft computing models for predicting aeration efficiency were created with Artificial Neural Network (ANN), M5P, and Random Forest (RF). Performance evaluation results and box plot have shown that ANN is the outperforming model with correlation coefficient (CC) = 0.9823, mean absolute error (MAE) = 0.0098, and root mean square error (RMSE) = 0.0123 during the testing stage. In order to assess the influence of different input factors on the E of jets, a sensitivity analysis was conducted using the most effective model, i.e., ANN. The sensitivity analysis results indicate that the angle of inclination is the most influential input variable in predicting E, followed by discharge and the number of jets.