2.2 Analytical methodology
In addition to the search criteria, it was necessary to establish an analytical framework that allowed to classify, compare, and evaluate the application of the metamodels across the collected literature. To achieve this, we identified the most relevant aspects of each paper in three broad categories: i) purpose, ii) case study, and iii) metamodel.
Purpose includes general information about the application of the metamodel. It includes the type of network (distribution or drainage) and the application category (e.g., optimisation, real-time) as major grouping categories. In addition, it includes the specific application (e.g., optimisation of operation, real-time for flood prediction) as a more detailed description for each paper.
Case study contains information on the physical water network used for the testing and validation of a developed metamodel. This includes the name or location of the case study, whether it is a real case or a benchmark, and its size, indicated by the number of pipes or by the area. The size attribute is also reported as a categorical value ranging from small (S) to large (L), as shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Categories of network size based on number of pipes or area