Non-contact Integrity Assessment of Façade Panels of High-rise Buildings. Disintegration of the external façade (with tiles, plates, etc.) of high-rise buildings presents a great challenge and a threat to community. This project develops fundamental knowledge and algorithms that underpin the deployment of a new technique for fast and automated quantitative integrity assessment of façade units of high-rise buildings, integrating mechanisms of directional acoustic waves, vibro-acoustics of façade ....Non-contact Integrity Assessment of Façade Panels of High-rise Buildings. Disintegration of the external façade (with tiles, plates, etc.) of high-rise buildings presents a great challenge and a threat to community. This project develops fundamental knowledge and algorithms that underpin the deployment of a new technique for fast and automated quantitative integrity assessment of façade units of high-rise buildings, integrating mechanisms of directional acoustic waves, vibro-acoustics of façade tiles or panels, laser sensing technology, deep learning algorithms and drone technology. Outcomes of this project are critical for implementing the new technology for enhanced safety to community and the development of new procedures for driving down maintenance costs of the external façade of high-rise buildings.Read moreRead less
Functionally graded modelling of geopolymer and Portland cement concretes. This project aims to investigate why geopolymer concretes crack less than the Portland cement concretes. Carbon emissions from Portland cement is second only to fossil fuels. Geopolymer may emit less carbon dioxide than Portland cement concrete because it bleeds less and has higher creep. The project will test this hypothesis on geopolymer and Portland cement concretes, and emulate its findings in all types of concretes. ....Functionally graded modelling of geopolymer and Portland cement concretes. This project aims to investigate why geopolymer concretes crack less than the Portland cement concretes. Carbon emissions from Portland cement is second only to fossil fuels. Geopolymer may emit less carbon dioxide than Portland cement concrete because it bleeds less and has higher creep. The project will test this hypothesis on geopolymer and Portland cement concretes, and emulate its findings in all types of concretes. The project intends to create a specific market for geopolymer by developing a crack-free pavement and floors technology, while understanding cracking in concrete will reduce cracking issues.Read moreRead less
Modelling complex learning spaces. The growing use of digital tools and resources means that students' learning activities are no longer tied to unique physical places. Their work is distributed across increasingly complex mixtures of physical and digital spaces, which both shape and are shaped by students' activity. This project aims to identify productive ways of modelling the characteristics and uses of complex learning spaces in higher education. Evidence and models generated by the project ....Modelling complex learning spaces. The growing use of digital tools and resources means that students' learning activities are no longer tied to unique physical places. Their work is distributed across increasingly complex mixtures of physical and digital spaces, which both shape and are shaped by students' activity. This project aims to identify productive ways of modelling the characteristics and uses of complex learning spaces in higher education. Evidence and models generated by the project aim to strengthen the logic connecting the use, management and design of learning spaces. A better understanding of the relations between pedagogy, activity and space will improve the work of architects and other designers, campus managers, university teachers and students themselves.Read moreRead less
Modelling and testing corroding reinforced concrete structures. The project aims to develop models and methods to enable the early detection of active steel corrosion. Most of Australia’s critical infrastructure is located on or near the coast in high saline conditions and is exposed to a high risk of reinforcing steel corrosion. Our ability to design and monitor such structures is crucial. The first part of the project aims to develop an innovative finite element model to improve the prediction ....Modelling and testing corroding reinforced concrete structures. The project aims to develop models and methods to enable the early detection of active steel corrosion. Most of Australia’s critical infrastructure is located on or near the coast in high saline conditions and is exposed to a high risk of reinforcing steel corrosion. Our ability to design and monitor such structures is crucial. The first part of the project aims to develop an innovative finite element model to improve the prediction of both active steel reinforcement corrosion and the time to concrete cracking in a chloride environment. It then plans to develop a non-destructive method, combining ultrasonic waves-based technology and acoustic emission, to detect active steel corrosion before any damage is visible on the structure.Read moreRead less
Integrity analysis of advanced composites after lightning strike. Lightning strike presents a great threat to various engineered structures made of fibre-reinforced polymer composites. This project aims to develop fundamentals for a framework of integrity analysis for such composites after lightning strike. This involves mechanistic models for coupled electrical-thermal-mechanical analysis and experimental characterisation, addressing intensive resistant-heat generation, pyrolysis of matrices an ....Integrity analysis of advanced composites after lightning strike. Lightning strike presents a great threat to various engineered structures made of fibre-reinforced polymer composites. This project aims to develop fundamentals for a framework of integrity analysis for such composites after lightning strike. This involves mechanistic models for coupled electrical-thermal-mechanical analysis and experimental characterisation, addressing intensive resistant-heat generation, pyrolysis of matrices and ablation of fibres, pore gas explosion, shock stresses and prediction of residual strength. The expected outcomes of the project are critical for the development of procedures for enhanced structural integrity assessment, driving down maintenance costs and extending the life-span of engineered composite structures.Read moreRead less
AI Assisted Probabilistic Structural Health Monitoring with Uncertain Data. This project aims to develop an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted probabilistic structural health monitoring approach for civil engineering structures. The developed approach applies novel deep learning techniques with a large amount of data measured from uncertain and complex environment, for reliable structural condition monitoring and performance prediction. This project expects to make a step change in d ....AI Assisted Probabilistic Structural Health Monitoring with Uncertain Data. This project aims to develop an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted probabilistic structural health monitoring approach for civil engineering structures. The developed approach applies novel deep learning techniques with a large amount of data measured from uncertain and complex environment, for reliable structural condition monitoring and performance prediction. This project expects to make a step change in data mining and interpretation. Expected outcomes of the project include novel AI assisted approaches to conduct probabilistic structural condition monitoring with sensitive features and future structural performance prediction. This will provide significant benefits to infrastructure asset owners to reduce maintenance costs.Read moreRead less