Asset Management

The WaterSYSTEMS Research Group is the world leader in the development of a range of numerical techniques for inverse transient analysis as it applies to pipeline condition assessment and was one of the first groups to validate the techniques through laboratory experimental work.

Over the last 15 years we have developed a number of new techniques using transients (or water hammer) for condition assessment of water distribution systems including:

• condition assessment of the interior of pipes (cement mortar lining spalling, corrosion)
• the detection of closed valves, leaking valves and blockages
• leakage detection
• pipe roughness calibration in pipe networks.

The new techniques include the:

• inverse transient technique
• the transient damping method
• frequency domain techniques
• wave timing techniques
• coded transients.

Our overall aim is to develop non-invasive, cost effective techniques for assessing the condition of pipes to enable water utilities to efficiently manage their assets. The research has been underpinned by fundamental investigation of water hammer modelling involving unsteady friction, column separation, alternative formulation schemes and unsteady minor losses.

Since 1998 the WaterSYSTEMS Research Group has received more than $2M in Australian Research Council funding. This success has been enhanced by long established, extremely productive international collaborations.  The research has produced over 40 refereed journal and conference papers, in respected journals such as the Journal of Hydraulic Engineering and  Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management of the American Society of Civil Engineering. The quality of the research has been recognised through a number of awards, including the Lorenz G. Straub Award in 2003 for the best hydraulics PhD thesis internationally and the "GN Alexander Medal" in 2008 awarded for the best paper in  Hydrology and Water Resources published in an Institution of Engineers,  Australia publication in the preceding 18 months.

Case studies of some of our research impacts are the following:
  Detecting Faults in Water Pipelines, (download PDF here).

Research Team

Professor Angus Simpson's interests lie in: multi-objective optimisation of water distribution, accounting for use, greenhouse gas emissions, reliability and risk simulation modelling of water disctibution systems optimisation of water distribution system design and operation using genetic algorithms condition assessment of pips, using transients

Professor Martin Lambert has over 20 years of experience in water engineering research and has won a number of awards and research grants in that time, as well as acting as Chair for major international conferences. His main areas of research in asset management include: leak detection and pipe condition assessment in water distribution systems using transient analysis techniques detection and localisation of cross-connections in dual reticulation systems detection and control of biofilms.

Dr Aaron Zecchin's main research interests are: hydraulic signal processing for detection and identification of hydraulic systems. fluid transient modelling in hydraulic systems. application and analysis of evolutionary algorithms applied to engineering design problems.

Dr Kim Young-il  is an ARC Senior Research Associate who main interests lie in transient analysis of water and gas pipelines.