Barriers for cost - effective rock fall hazard mitigation. Rock fall barriers are used throughout Australia to protect its extensive road and rail networks. These networks are vital links in the nation's infrastructure and underpin its economic prosperity and development. There are thousands of cuttings on Australia' transport networks, many of which have the potential to be affected by rock falls. These events can take lives and severely disrupt the performance of our transport infrastructure. ....Barriers for cost - effective rock fall hazard mitigation. Rock fall barriers are used throughout Australia to protect its extensive road and rail networks. These networks are vital links in the nation's infrastructure and underpin its economic prosperity and development. There are thousands of cuttings on Australia' transport networks, many of which have the potential to be affected by rock falls. These events can take lives and severely disrupt the performance of our transport infrastructure. This project will develop new cost-effective methods for designing against rock fall events using a combination of advanced testing and computer modelling.Read moreRead less
An integrated approach to modelling granular materials in a pavement system. The Australian transportation system consists of some 900,000 km of paved roads valued in excess of 300 billion dollars. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each year on maintenance. About 90% of these paved roads are constructed with granular base and sub-base materials. This project will develop an accurate constitutive model for granular materials and a numerical method that are essential in predicting the life ....An integrated approach to modelling granular materials in a pavement system. The Australian transportation system consists of some 900,000 km of paved roads valued in excess of 300 billion dollars. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each year on maintenance. About 90% of these paved roads are constructed with granular base and sub-base materials. This project will develop an accurate constitutive model for granular materials and a numerical method that are essential in predicting the life-long performance of pavements. The project will lead to improved pavement design procedures, which, together with the research training offered through the conduct of the work, will result in cost-effective and highly reliable pavement designs.Read moreRead less
Sustainable usage of dredged clay materials as land reclamation fills. Millions of cubic metres of dredged materials are removed from river and sea beds every year in dredging projects. It is common to dump a significant portion of the dredged spoils into the sea which can result in serious environmental problems such as deterioration of water quality, damage to aquatic habitats, disruption of ecosystems and dispersion of fine clay particles in seawater. The proposed use of dredged clays as land ....Sustainable usage of dredged clay materials as land reclamation fills. Millions of cubic metres of dredged materials are removed from river and sea beds every year in dredging projects. It is common to dump a significant portion of the dredged spoils into the sea which can result in serious environmental problems such as deterioration of water quality, damage to aquatic habitats, disruption of ecosystems and dispersion of fine clay particles in seawater. The proposed use of dredged clays as land reclamation fill will lead to a substantial reduction in or even eliminate the need for dumping dredged clays into offshore dumping locations. The stabilized dredged clays have great potential if their geotechnical characteristics are adequately understood.Read moreRead less
Foundation remediation using resin injection. The aim of this research project is to explore the application of injected expanded polyurethane resins as a new option for the re-levelling and stabilisation of deflected foundations on reactive clay soils. It will identify the physical and behavioural characteristics of resin-injected reactive clay foundations, in the context of both shallow and deep injection, and will identify any limitations to the applicability of the approach. Based on detaile ....Foundation remediation using resin injection. The aim of this research project is to explore the application of injected expanded polyurethane resins as a new option for the re-levelling and stabilisation of deflected foundations on reactive clay soils. It will identify the physical and behavioural characteristics of resin-injected reactive clay foundations, in the context of both shallow and deep injection, and will identify any limitations to the applicability of the approach. Based on detailed laboratory and field testing, and advanced numerical modelling, the outcome will be the ability to confidently assess various foundation remediation strategies in reactive clay soils, and provide much needed design guidance to the geotechnical profession and building industry.Read moreRead less
Stabilisation of erodible and dispersive soils with natural wood processing by-products. Lignosulfonate is a by-product of paper and wood processing industry, which is an environmentally friendly organic compound with an immense potential for stabilising erodible and dispersive soils when mixed in small quantities. This project will deliver practical design guidelines and specifications for sustainable performance of road and rail embankments that are treated with lignosulfonates. Utilisation of ....Stabilisation of erodible and dispersive soils with natural wood processing by-products. Lignosulfonate is a by-product of paper and wood processing industry, which is an environmentally friendly organic compound with an immense potential for stabilising erodible and dispersive soils when mixed in small quantities. This project will deliver practical design guidelines and specifications for sustainable performance of road and rail embankments that are treated with lignosulfonates. Utilisation of lignosulfonates in soil stabilisation is not only cost-effective, but also has the benefit of eliminating a waste disposal problem. The proposed project will improve industrial competitiveness and Australia's export earnings through increased commercialisation and technology transfer in the region.Read moreRead less
New design guidelines and simplified analysis methods for geosynthetic reinforced pile-supported embankments. There is a growing demand in Australia for efficient technologies for soft soils due to increasing infrastructure development on marginal land characterized by soft ground. One such technology that is becoming popular is geosynthetic reinforced pile-supported embankment as it requires less land, construction time and maintenance. The outcomes of this research will lead to cost-effective ....New design guidelines and simplified analysis methods for geosynthetic reinforced pile-supported embankments. There is a growing demand in Australia for efficient technologies for soft soils due to increasing infrastructure development on marginal land characterized by soft ground. One such technology that is becoming popular is geosynthetic reinforced pile-supported embankment as it requires less land, construction time and maintenance. The outcomes of this research will lead to cost-effective and reliable infrastructure design of benefit to the many future infrastructure projects, totalling billions of dollars, planned for Australia. This project will therefore contribute significantly to the sustainability of our environment and increase the international competitiveness and export potential of the Australian construction industry.Read moreRead less
Advancement of Vacuum Pressure Application via Prefabricated Vertical Drains for Stabilising Soft Ground. Coastal Australia is under ever increasing pressure from rapid population growth which requires continual capital investment in civil infrastructure, such as road and rail links and large buildings. Many regions have soft compressible clays that present challenges for infrastructure design and construction. The use of vacuum preloading, together with vertical drains for soft soil stabilisati ....Advancement of Vacuum Pressure Application via Prefabricated Vertical Drains for Stabilising Soft Ground. Coastal Australia is under ever increasing pressure from rapid population growth which requires continual capital investment in civil infrastructure, such as road and rail links and large buildings. Many regions have soft compressible clays that present challenges for infrastructure design and construction. The use of vacuum preloading, together with vertical drains for soft soil stabilisation, can reduce construction and maintenance costs, while the increased soil strength will enhance the stability of infrastructure. This project will deliver design guidelines and specifications of enhanced vacuum consolidation application, as well as improving industrial competitiveness and export earnings through increased technology transfer.Read moreRead less
Enhanced Analysis of Time Dependent Viscous Behaviour of Soft Clay. Often post construction settlements of structures overlying clayey soils have been observed to be more than those predicted, or the predicted rate of settlement is not correct. The main benefit of this research is providing an accurate but simplified approach, which can be used by practicing engineers to predict the post construction settlement of structures in the design phase of construction projects. The community can conside ....Enhanced Analysis of Time Dependent Viscous Behaviour of Soft Clay. Often post construction settlements of structures overlying clayey soils have been observed to be more than those predicted, or the predicted rate of settlement is not correct. The main benefit of this research is providing an accurate but simplified approach, which can be used by practicing engineers to predict the post construction settlement of structures in the design phase of construction projects. The community can considerably benefit from the findings of this project including safer structures, significant reduction in the future maintenance costs and enhancing the performance of bridges, buildings, roads, railways and dams with less cracks and differential settlement.Read moreRead less
Geotechnical characterisation of compacted ground based on passive ambient noise techniques. The proposed research will provide our local construction and mining industries with a much needed fast and low cost technology for geotechnical investigation of very large sites which is currently not available. The project will help steer Australia to the forefront of ambient noise research for geotechnical site investigation, in the characterisation of unsaturated compacted soil and in the determinati ....Geotechnical characterisation of compacted ground based on passive ambient noise techniques. The proposed research will provide our local construction and mining industries with a much needed fast and low cost technology for geotechnical investigation of very large sites which is currently not available. The project will help steer Australia to the forefront of ambient noise research for geotechnical site investigation, in the characterisation of unsaturated compacted soil and in the determination of dynamic site characteristics which are required for seismic risk assessment. Two postgraduate students will benefit from this research by receiving research training at the highest level and it will also pave the way for exporting the technology developed overseas, particularly to our near neighbours in Asia and the Pacific. Read moreRead less
Behaviour of Tunnels in Sedimentary Rocks of the Sydney Basin. The aim of this project is to gain understanding of ground behaviour around tunnels in the Sydney region, how the ground interacts with fibre reinforced shotcrete tunnel linings, and how changes in material performance affect risk to users and the reliability of the tunnel structures. These aims will be met by a combination of field and laboratory experiments and theoretical modelling. The outcome will be a rational and reliable de ....Behaviour of Tunnels in Sedimentary Rocks of the Sydney Basin. The aim of this project is to gain understanding of ground behaviour around tunnels in the Sydney region, how the ground interacts with fibre reinforced shotcrete tunnel linings, and how changes in material performance affect risk to users and the reliability of the tunnel structures. These aims will be met by a combination of field and laboratory experiments and theoretical modelling. The outcome will be a rational and reliable design method for shotcrete lined tunnels in the Sydney basin.Read moreRead less