Darren Broad

PhD Candidate - part-time

Contact Information

Email: dbroad@civeng.adelaide.edu.au
Phone: +61 8 8303 6139
Room: Engineering North Building, N223

Research Interests

Reliability and Water Quality in Water Distribution Systems;
Evolutionary Algorithms (Ant Colony Optimisation and Genetic Algorithms); and
Metamodelling of Water Distribution Systems.

Research Project

Decision Support System to Maintain Water Quality

This project will build on the vast research field of optimisation of water distribution systems. While numerous papers exist in the literature on this topic, design of real water distribution systems in industry rarely utilises optimisation algorithms. This can be attributed to two main factors. Firstly, the use of optimisation algorithms have not been made into user-friendly programs and require expert knowledge of the algorithms in order to use them. Secondly, optimisation in the past has had too narrow a focus of minimising cost at the expense of ensuring adequate reliability and water quality. Advances in computer power mean that optimisation can now have a broader scope and incorporate more of the complexities of water distribution systems. Therefore, the aims of this project are to develop methods in optimising the design of water distribution systems that incorporates both reliability and water quality, and to develop it into a user-friendly decision support system framework. This PhD forms part of a project funded by the CRC for Water Quality and Treatment.

Supervisor(s)

Professor Graeme Dandy - School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Adelaide

Professor Holger Maier - School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Adelaide

Dr John Nixon - United Water International

Academic Qualifications

Currently Undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Adelaide 1998 - 2002 Bachelor of Engineering (Civil and Environmental) at the University of Adelaide, Awarded First-Class Honours

1998 - 2001 Bachelor of Science (Applied Mathematics) at the University of Adelaide

Professional Experience

2001 - 2002 United Water (Environmental Management Department), Adelaide, South Australia
2000 City of Salisbury (Environment Section), South Australia

Prizes and Awards

2003 CRC for Water Quality & Treatment Postgraduate Scholarship Supplement
2003 Australian Postgraduate Award
2002 Dean's Merit List Certificate of Achievement, University of Adelaide
2001 Dean's Merit List Certificate of Achievement, University of Adelaide
2000 United Water Prize (subject award for Environmental Engineering and Design III at the University of Adelaide)

Publications

Broad D.R., Dandy G.C., Maier H.R., and Nixon J.B. (2006) Improving metamodel-based optimisation of water distribution systems with local search.IEEE World Congress of Computational Intelligence,July 16-21, Vancouver, Canada, Proceedings on DVD.

Broad, D. R., Maier, H. R., Dandy, G. C. and Nixon, J. B. (2006). " Optimal Design of Water Distribution Systems including Water Quality and System Uncertainty."8thAnnual Symposium on Water Distribution Systems Analysis,27-30 August 2006, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, Proceedings on CD-ROM.

Broad, D. R., Dandy, G. C., and Maier, H. R. (2005). "Water distribution system optimization using metamodels."Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management-Asce, 131(3), 172-180.

Broad, D. R., Maier, H. R., Dandy, G. C. and Nixon, J. B. (2005). "Estimating Risk Measures for Water Distribution Systems using Metamodels."EWRI World Water and Environmental Resources Congress, 15-19 May 2005, Anchorage, Alaska, USA, Proceedings on CD-ROM.

Broad, D. R., Dandy, G. C., and Maier, H. R. (2004). "A Metamodeling Approach to Water Distribution System Optimisation."EWRI World Water and Environmental Resources Congress, 27 June - 1 July 2004, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, Proceedings on CD-ROM..

Broad, D. R. (2004). "Incorporating Water Quality and Reliability into the Optimisation of Water Distribution Systems."Fourth Postgraduate Student Conference of the CRC for Water Quality and Treatment, 14-16 April 2004, Noosa, Queensland, pp 181-187.

Current Employment

Optimatics, Ph +61 8 8379 7353