Broad, D.Dandy, G.Maier, H.Nixon, J.Yen, G.2007-07-102007-07-102006IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation, 16-21 July, 2006:pp.710-7170780394879978-0-7803-9487-2http://hdl.handle.net/2440/35884Copyright 2006 IEEEMetamodels can be used to aid in improving the efficiency of computationally expensive optimization algorithms in a variety of applications, including water distribution system (WDS) design and operation. Genetic Algorithm (GA)-based optimization of WDSs is very computationally expensive to optimize a system in a practical amount of time for real-sized problems. A metamodel, of which Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are an example, is a model of a complex simulation model. It can be used in place of the simulation model where repeated use is necessary, such as when carrying out GA optimization. To complement the ANN-GA, six local search algorithms have been developed or applied in this research, with the aim of improving the performance of metamodel-based optimization of WDSs. All algorithms performed well, however, using computational intensity as a criterion with which to evaluate results, the best local search algorithms were Sequential Downward Mutation (SDM) and Maximum Savings Downward Mutation (MSDM).enConference paper002006279610.1109/CEC.2006.16883810002454142010242-s2.0-3454732101551360Dandy, G. [0000-0001-5846-7365]Maier, H. [0000-0002-0277-6887]