Assimilation of architectural and services design in early design modelling. How can buildings in a climate as varied as Australia's balance the best environmental comfort standards for their human occupants, cost and at the same time meet the urgent imperative of reduced energy consumption and associated carbon emissions? This practice-based research will develop tools to support more informed decision making in the earliest stage of an integral approach to services in the design of buildings. ....Assimilation of architectural and services design in early design modelling. How can buildings in a climate as varied as Australia's balance the best environmental comfort standards for their human occupants, cost and at the same time meet the urgent imperative of reduced energy consumption and associated carbon emissions? This practice-based research will develop tools to support more informed decision making in the earliest stage of an integral approach to services in the design of buildings. It will provide knowledge about designing architecture that is more environmentally responsive, can provide comfortable air in more optimised ways, that consume less energy and do this through promoting smarter use of information in practice.Read moreRead less
Thin-walled Structures Subjected to Impact and Blast Loading. Terrorist attacks have cost Australians much human grief and billions of dollars. Containing the consequences of a blast or impact is crucial to survival and restricting damage to critical civilian/defence infrastructure. Thin-walled structures are used extensively in such infrastructure. There is a lack of knowledge about their behaviour when subjected to impulse and blast loads. The investigators will establish the most economical m ....Thin-walled Structures Subjected to Impact and Blast Loading. Terrorist attacks have cost Australians much human grief and billions of dollars. Containing the consequences of a blast or impact is crucial to survival and restricting damage to critical civilian/defence infrastructure. Thin-walled structures are used extensively in such infrastructure. There is a lack of knowledge about their behaviour when subjected to impulse and blast loads. The investigators will establish the most economical means of designing passive blast protection into thin-walled structures and hence, Australia's critical infrastructure. This knowledge will be transferred into design standards and Australia's limited defence resources.Read moreRead less
Investigation of Geopolymer based Concretes for the Construction of High Fire Risk Infrastructures. Geopolymer concretes are emerging new materials promising superior fire resistance and durability and potentially cheaper than the widely used high strength concretes, which also consume high levels of Portland cements. Production of 1 ton of Portland cement releases 1 ton of green house gases. Further, the 6.5 million tons/year of cement currently produced in Australia is insufficient to meet the ....Investigation of Geopolymer based Concretes for the Construction of High Fire Risk Infrastructures. Geopolymer concretes are emerging new materials promising superior fire resistance and durability and potentially cheaper than the widely used high strength concretes, which also consume high levels of Portland cements. Production of 1 ton of Portland cement releases 1 ton of green house gases. Further, the 6.5 million tons/year of cement currently produced in Australia is insufficient to meet the industry demand. This project investigates the use of fly ash to make geopolymer concrete, without using any Portland cement, to find usage for part of the 11 million tons/year of fly ash produced as a waste from coal power stations in Australia.Read moreRead less
Development of an Alkali Activated Slag based Construction Material for High Fire Risk Infrastructures. This project will develop an alkali-activated slag (AAS) based construction material for tunnel construction. In tunnels, conventional concretes are likely to 'spall' in a hydrocarbon fire accident, possibly resulting in a tunnel collapse. The project is set to develop a spalling-resistant AAS as an alternative to conventional Portland cement, which is responsible for 6.5 million tons of gre ....Development of an Alkali Activated Slag based Construction Material for High Fire Risk Infrastructures. This project will develop an alkali-activated slag (AAS) based construction material for tunnel construction. In tunnels, conventional concretes are likely to 'spall' in a hydrocarbon fire accident, possibly resulting in a tunnel collapse. The project is set to develop a spalling-resistant AAS as an alternative to conventional Portland cement, which is responsible for 6.5 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia per year, whereas AAS is based on slag, an industrial waste product. The project also seeks to provide better understanding of the spalling phenomenon so that the engineers can design fireproofing for conventional concrete tunnels with confidence.Read moreRead less
The durability of geopolymeric products as a function of the nanostructured gel phase. A comprehensive physical, chemical and microscopic analysis will be conducted on a series of geopolymers and Ordinary Portland Cement samples manufactured from 1964 to 2001, with a focus on the characterisation of the nanostructured gel phase. The outcomes include (1) revealing the relationship between the nanostructured gel phase and durability; (2) the discovery of reaction mechanisms in geopolymerisation an ....The durability of geopolymeric products as a function of the nanostructured gel phase. A comprehensive physical, chemical and microscopic analysis will be conducted on a series of geopolymers and Ordinary Portland Cement samples manufactured from 1964 to 2001, with a focus on the characterisation of the nanostructured gel phase. The outcomes include (1) revealing the relationship between the nanostructured gel phase and durability; (2) the discovery of reaction mechanisms in geopolymerisation and formation of OPC; (3) computer modelling of nano-scale assemblies of atoms and molecules that will give desirable properties and durability, and (4) a tailored synthesis of geopolymers with vastly improved mechanical performance and acid, fire and bacterial resistance. This scientific understanding of long term durability will greatly enhance commercial acceptance of geopolymers.Read moreRead less
High Strength Steel Protection Bollards. Terrorist attacks cost Australians much human grief and millions of dollars. Prevention of an attack is paramount. Passive road bollards are commonly used to stop a vehicle approaching and/or entering security sensitive infrastructure. Thin-walled tubes are used to manufacture such bollards. However there is a lack of knowledge about their behaviour, and in particular high strength alloy steel bollards, when subjected to impact loads. The investigators wi ....High Strength Steel Protection Bollards. Terrorist attacks cost Australians much human grief and millions of dollars. Prevention of an attack is paramount. Passive road bollards are commonly used to stop a vehicle approaching and/or entering security sensitive infrastructure. Thin-walled tubes are used to manufacture such bollards. However there is a lack of knowledge about their behaviour, and in particular high strength alloy steel bollards, when subjected to impact loads. The investigators will apply their extensive knowledge in thin-walled tubular structures to establish the most economical means of designing high strength bollards. This knowledge will be transferred into design standards and Australia's limited defence resources.Read moreRead less
Microstructure-Based Computational Homogenization of Geomaterials. This project seeks to establish a basis for virtual testing of materials. This type of non-destructive testing has numerous applications of obvious benefit to society and will contribute to the continued growth and development of a large number of industries in Australia and worldwide. The methods developed will allow for cheaper, faster, and more accurate testing of materials. The outcomes of the project can find direct applicat ....Microstructure-Based Computational Homogenization of Geomaterials. This project seeks to establish a basis for virtual testing of materials. This type of non-destructive testing has numerous applications of obvious benefit to society and will contribute to the continued growth and development of a large number of industries in Australia and worldwide. The methods developed will allow for cheaper, faster, and more accurate testing of materials. The outcomes of the project can find direct application in civil engineering as well as in environmental, mining and petroleum engineering which together make up a significant portion of the nation's industry.Read moreRead less
A reliability based approach for sustainable management of community buildings. The proposed project will address a major issue of maintaining service delivery and managing risk of failure of infrastructure assets owned by local councils. A working business tool will be developed based on fundamental understanding of behaviour of building infrastructure over a long period of time which will enable 79 local councils in Victoria to optimise their maintenance and capital expenditure with a realisti ....A reliability based approach for sustainable management of community buildings. The proposed project will address a major issue of maintaining service delivery and managing risk of failure of infrastructure assets owned by local councils. A working business tool will be developed based on fundamental understanding of behaviour of building infrastructure over a long period of time which will enable 79 local councils in Victoria to optimise their maintenance and capital expenditure with a realistic understanding of the implications of investment. The national benefit will be a significant improvement of service delivery to community through better design and management of council assets and a significant saving of maintenance cost of councils.Read moreRead less
Response of residential structures to blast vibration. This proposed project combines the expertise and disciplines of residential construction, structural dynamics and blasting technology. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop a rational methodology for assessing the damage potential of ground vibration resulting from blasting on typical Australian residential structures. The project involves field blast vibration measurements, static and dynamic laboratory tests on structural sub-assem ....Response of residential structures to blast vibration. This proposed project combines the expertise and disciplines of residential construction, structural dynamics and blasting technology. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop a rational methodology for assessing the damage potential of ground vibration resulting from blasting on typical Australian residential structures. The project involves field blast vibration measurements, static and dynamic laboratory tests on structural sub-assemblages in a controlled environment, and comprehensive analytical modelling of both loading and response. The outcomes from this research will have direct application to the mining, insurance, construction and defence industries.Read moreRead less
Differentiation not disintegration: Integrating strategies to improve Occupational Health and Safety in the construction industry. Almost ten percent of all injury and death claims in Australia are attributed to construction, creating a significant social and economic burden. Organisational, technological and cultural fragmentation of the supply chain impedes the integration of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) into construction planning and design. The research will effect critical and susta ....Differentiation not disintegration: Integrating strategies to improve Occupational Health and Safety in the construction industry. Almost ten percent of all injury and death claims in Australia are attributed to construction, creating a significant social and economic burden. Organisational, technological and cultural fragmentation of the supply chain impedes the integration of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) into construction planning and design. The research will effect critical and sustainable improvements in construction OHS, through: (i) the engagement of all industry participants in the OHS improvement effort; (ii) the identification of new technologies which can improve OHS; and (iii) the establishment of a unity of purpose regarding OHS among construction industry stakeholders, contributing significantly to a reduction in the social and economic costs of occupational death, injury and illness.Read moreRead less