Unlocking self-healing bio-concrete through multiscale modelling. Self-healing bio-concrete, which uses bacteria as means to repair cracks, has the potential to revolutionise the construction industry and reduce the infrastructure repair and maintenance cost by billions of dollars annually. To unlock this, we need to understand the bacterial self-healing mechanisms for effective control of the performance. This project will develop a multiscale framework to describe the competing mechanisms betw ....Unlocking self-healing bio-concrete through multiscale modelling. Self-healing bio-concrete, which uses bacteria as means to repair cracks, has the potential to revolutionise the construction industry and reduce the infrastructure repair and maintenance cost by billions of dollars annually. To unlock this, we need to understand the bacterial self-healing mechanisms for effective control of the performance. This project will develop a multiscale framework to describe the competing mechanisms between crack widening and healing at the macro-scale, incorporated with key information of substances diffusion and bio-cementation at the meso- and micro-scales. This will enable to optimise the self-healing of bio-concrete via design–test–learn approach and enhance the durability of structures under sustained loads.Read moreRead less
Break the deadlock in corrosion research to prevent infrastructure collapse. Corrosion destroys one-quarter of the world’s annual steel production and costs the Australian economy $30 billion each year. This project targets a crucial missing link in understanding the structure and dynamics of the atomic lattices of corroded steel and the degradation of its mechanical strength. By combining advanced electrochemical and mechanical measurements with dynamics simulation of atomic lattices of corrode ....Break the deadlock in corrosion research to prevent infrastructure collapse. Corrosion destroys one-quarter of the world’s annual steel production and costs the Australian economy $30 billion each year. This project targets a crucial missing link in understanding the structure and dynamics of the atomic lattices of corroded steel and the degradation of its mechanical strength. By combining advanced electrochemical and mechanical measurements with dynamics simulation of atomic lattices of corroded steel, this project will produce the first concerted picture of corrosion induced strength degradation with a particular focus on real industrial conditions. This promises to guide the ongoing diagnosis of corrosion damages to steel, effectively preventing the collapse of corroded infrastructure.Read moreRead less