Formulation and Optimization of Robust Sensor Placement Problems for Drinking Water Contamination Warning Systems
Publication: Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 15, Issue 4
Abstract
The sensor placement problem in contamination warning system design for municipal water distribution networks involves maximizing the protection level afforded by limited numbers of sensors, typically quantified as the expected impact of a contamination event; the issue of how to mitigate against high-consequence events is either handled implicitly or ignored entirely. Consequently, expected-case sensor placements run the risk of failing to protect against high-consequence 9/11-style attacks. In contrast, robust sensor placements address this concern by focusing strictly on high-consequence events and placing sensors to minimize the impact of these events. We introduce several robust variations of the sensor placement problem, distinguished by how they quantify the potential damage due to high-consequence events. We explore the nature of robust versus expected-case sensor placements on three real-world large-scale distribution networks. We find that robust sensor placements can yield large reductions in the number and magnitude of high-consequence events, with only modest increases in expected impact. The ability to trade-off between robust and expected-case impacts is a key unexplored dimension in contamination warning system design.
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Acknowledgments
Sandia is a multipurpose laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed-Martin Company, for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DOEDE-AC04-94AL85000. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through its Office of Research and Development funded and collaborated in the research described here under Interagency Agreement No. DOEDW8992192801 with the Department of Energy. This research has been subjected to the Agency’s review and has been approved for publication. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Agency, the United States Government, or Sandia Corporation. The writers acknowledge assistance from Harvey Greenberg and Tod Morrison (for model development), in addition to Lee Ann Riesen and Jonathan Berry (for software and algorithm support). The writers would also like to acknowledge the constructive detailed comments from the referees.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 15 • Issue 4 • December 2009
Pages: 330 - 339
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 7, 2007
Accepted: May 13, 2009
Published online: Nov 13, 2009
Published in print: Dec 2009
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