Utility Network: Part 3: Key Data Model Concepts and Terminologies

In continuation to my earlier post, today let us look at some of the fundamental concepts that Utility Network brings in and how it is going to be so different from the geometric network. The Utility Network Management extension for ArcGIS Pro was released formally last week, and the Utility Network Data Model will be released probably by the end of next week.

To start with, following are the highlights of Utility Network Data Model

1. The network types are classified as the Structural Network that models that support structures, and the Domain Network that will capture the network asset types, which in turn will map to the assets.
2. The structure network corresponds to point (pole), line (casing) and polygon (substation boundary). 
3. The domain network has five feature classes, Device, junction, Assembly, Line and subnetline. Devices and Lines will correspond to the asset types, assemblies will contain the bank features (for example a TransformerBank or a FuseBank which will, in turn, be connected logically to Transformers and Fuses) and Junctions will maintain the connectivity.
4. Every asset in Utility Network has a spatial location. For example, Transformers connected to Transformer Banks are captured spatially which were earlier represented as TransformerUnit records in object tables.
5. In a domain network, the feature classes need not be physically connected in all instances, the assets can be logically connected to each other e.g. associations and containments
6. The connectivity rules and validations are managed by the topology created for each domain network. Error features will be generated whenever there is an issue with the connectivity e.g. connecting a low voltage line to a high voltage primary conductor without a step down transformer will be marked as an error.
7. All the auto-calculations, will be managed by the rules, written to work in arcade and fully extensible to all platform
8. The Utility network has an in-built capability of generating SLD (single line diagrams) and schematics. This is managed by the network diagrams, which provides an interactive way of communicating with the map view e.g. setting the normal position of a valve in the map view will be reflected automatically within the valve modeled in the network diagram.
9. All the components (rules, topology) and the analytics (tracing) can be done across any device and in any platform in the Utility Network environment without the need of any additional development.

An example of the network showing the fundamental difference between Geometric Network and Utility Network is shown below

Now let us look at some of the key terminologies of Utility Network and how they would represent in the map

Containment Associations: Used to map the devices within the structures or assembly features, for example the transformers within a transformer bank or, valves within a Town Border Station. As a rule, only structures and assemblies can act as containments, the devices or assets can only be content of the containers. Associations provide a way to connect different objects without the need of them being physically connected.

Structural Attachment Associations: Used to model the devices and structures where the devices are associated with the structure e.g. transformer on a Power Pole. Structural attachment capabilities are modeled at the asset type level.

Network Associations, show the connectivity between the network elements, for example the individual transformers within a Transformer bank will be a part of the network and connected to the Junction tap in the Primary Conductor, from where they originate.

Some of the commonly used terminologies for the Utility Network are

Assemblies, or the container/aggregation features that represent multiple devices/assets at a single location for example transformer bank can be an assembly and the individual transformers within the transformer bank will be devices related to the assembly. Unlike the geometric network, both Transformer Bank and Transformers will have a spatial location identified in the map. This is a part of Containment Association.

Junctions: Used for more generic point-based connectivity. It will always include a ConnectionPoint AssetGroup but should also contain other non-device points where connectivity needs to be established.

Subnet Line: Part of subnetwork that are connected sub portions of the network. This is represented as single linear feature per each sub-network in the future Utility Network. For electric this will generally be circuits (at various voltage levels) and for water and gas this will be pressure systems, isolation zones, etc.

Terminals: Used to map the connection point on a device. Supports more realistic modeling of devices and adheres to the CIM. 

This is a smart way to represent the incoming and outgoing ports in an equipment without the need to graphically present them in the map.

I will conclude this post with a object level mapping between the current Data Model and the Utility Network Data model. Considering all the examples are from Electric Network, I have chosen Gas Network for the mappingg. This list is not exhaustive, however this will give an idea about how the objects will appear in the future Utility Network landscape and UPDM

........ To be continued