A new optimization technique called Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) is applied for the least cost design of pipe networks. The rounded search agents of the algorithm were considered to cope with the discrete nature of pipe diameters as the decision variables in the optimization process. In addition, a new performance indicator based on both number of generations and the minimum number of evaluations is proposed to measure the performance of the optimization technique. The algorithm is applied to three pipe networks and the results are compared to that obtained by optimizing the networks using different optimization techniques and proved that WOA is a promising optimization model since it provided the least cost network design when compared to most of the optimization techniques available in the literature. However, the values of the performance indicator suggested that further research is recommended for more refinement of the algorithm for faster convergence towards the optimal solution.

一种称为鲸鱼优化算法（WOA）的新优化技术被应用于管道网络的最低​​成本设计。该算法的圆形搜索代理被认为可以应对管径的离散特性作为优化过程中的决策变量。此外，提出了基于世代数和最小评估数的新性能指标，以衡量优化技术的性能。将该算法应用于三个管道网络，并将结果与​​使用不同优化技术对网络进行优化所获得的结果进行比较，并证明WOA是一种很有前途的优化模型，因为与大多数可用的优化技术相比，它提供了成本最低的网络设计在文学中。然而，