Bed shear stress on beach sediment and coastal structures under wave run-up. The aim of this work is to obtain critical new information about the way waves interact with the coast and the damage they can cause to beaches and coastal protection structures. This new data will provide the basis for improved predictions of coastal erosion and better coastal engineering design in the face of sea-level rise and climate change.
Design and Construction Error Mitigation in Infrastructure Projects. Human errors committed during the design and construction process of infrastructure projects increase costs by as much as 25 per cent. The costs associated with such errors would be significantly higher in the event of an engineering failure and loss of life. This research will develop a model that can be used to mitigate errors and improve the performance and safety of infrastructure projects. A reduction in errors will reduce ....Design and Construction Error Mitigation in Infrastructure Projects. Human errors committed during the design and construction process of infrastructure projects increase costs by as much as 25 per cent. The costs associated with such errors would be significantly higher in the event of an engineering failure and loss of life. This research will develop a model that can be used to mitigate errors and improve the performance and safety of infrastructure projects. A reduction in errors will reduce the financial burden placed on taxpayers for cost overruns experienced as well as improve the profitability of organisations. This will lead to greater investment, and contribution to gross domestic product.Read moreRead less
Hydraulic erosion of granular structures: experiments and computational simulations. Erosion due to hydraulic forces causes vast damage to infrastructure and buildings in Australia and overseas. The project aims to improve the predictability and controllability of flooding related disasters caused by erosion. The project involves experiments as well as cutting edge computer simulations.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100163
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Modelling and simulation of instabilities in unsaturated soils due to wetting. Ground instabilities due to wetting are a critical issue that will be investigated through this project via the development of risk assessment tools. A rational engineering approach and calculation framework will be developed in order to predict failures and facilitate the design of new safer structures.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101489
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$387,220.00
Summary
Micro-mechanical and micro-structural aspects of strength variation in rocks under various loading conditions. Understanding rock failure is of vital interest to researchers and practitioners across a wide range of productive activities, including those of critical importance to the Australian economy such as mining and civil engineering design and contracting. The failure of rocks is a complex function of interactions between pre-existing micro-cracks and loading conditions. This project will d ....Micro-mechanical and micro-structural aspects of strength variation in rocks under various loading conditions. Understanding rock failure is of vital interest to researchers and practitioners across a wide range of productive activities, including those of critical importance to the Australian economy such as mining and civil engineering design and contracting. The failure of rocks is a complex function of interactions between pre-existing micro-cracks and loading conditions. This project will develop a much-needed understanding of the mechanisms leading to rock failure and damage. The project will explore micro and macro-scale mechanisms under both static and cyclic loading conditions. Laboratory testing and micro-analysis will be combined with discrete element modelling to achieve this end.Read moreRead less
Prediction and controlling of pipe failures in buried water and gas pipe systems. Australian Research Council has recognised water as a critical resource that must be protected from wastage. Along with water, the supply of gas to communities through extensive buried pipe networks is an essential service. As the pipe systems age, the pipe failures have increased. These failures lead to loss of valuable commodity and inconvenience and health hazard to public and workers. Effective asset manage ....Prediction and controlling of pipe failures in buried water and gas pipe systems. Australian Research Council has recognised water as a critical resource that must be protected from wastage. Along with water, the supply of gas to communities through extensive buried pipe networks is an essential service. As the pipe systems age, the pipe failures have increased. These failures lead to loss of valuable commodity and inconvenience and health hazard to public and workers. Effective asset management tools are urgently required in predicting and controlling pipe failures. A consortium of water and gas suppliers and a team of researchers from Monash University and CSIRO have joined forces to address this problem so that significant social and economic benefits to Australia can be realised. Read moreRead less
Design Rationale for Gated Canal Estates. This project will provide new knowledge on how to design gated canal estates to maximise their water quality and avoid events leading to the development of poor, and even harmful, water quality. It will document this new knowledge as Engineering Design Guidelines, which can be implemented to minimise adverse water quality impacts. A User Manual will also be developed to document the application of water quality decision support systems for use in designi ....Design Rationale for Gated Canal Estates. This project will provide new knowledge on how to design gated canal estates to maximise their water quality and avoid events leading to the development of poor, and even harmful, water quality. It will document this new knowledge as Engineering Design Guidelines, which can be implemented to minimise adverse water quality impacts. A User Manual will also be developed to document the application of water quality decision support systems for use in designing canal estates. This project will foster technology transfer from the research environment to the private and public sectors, also enabling a student to complete a PhD program.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101512
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Behaviour of novel FRP-timber composite thin-walled structural members. This project aims to investigate the structural behaviour of innovative hybrid Fibre Reinforced Polymer - Timber Composite (FRPTC) sections manufactured from small 'sawlog' timber. These FRPTC sections are made by taking advantage of the orthotropic material properties and, unlike sawn timber, these structures have efficient cross sectional shapes and can be made easily in different sizes to match the requirements. Even thou ....Behaviour of novel FRP-timber composite thin-walled structural members. This project aims to investigate the structural behaviour of innovative hybrid Fibre Reinforced Polymer - Timber Composite (FRPTC) sections manufactured from small 'sawlog' timber. These FRPTC sections are made by taking advantage of the orthotropic material properties and, unlike sawn timber, these structures have efficient cross sectional shapes and can be made easily in different sizes to match the requirements. Even though preliminary studies have shown promising results, behaviour of these FRPTC sections are not yet fully understood. This project aims to investigate the behaviour of these novel FRPTC sections and to develop numerical models to allow wide usage of these sections.Read moreRead less
Behaviour of novel FRP-timber ultralight thin-walled structural members. This project aims to investigate the structural behaviour of innovative hybrid fibre reinforced polymer–timber composite (FRPTC) thin-walled members which could be used as structural members in roof systems, façade systems, floor systems, etc. These FRPTC sections are made by taking advantage of the orthotropic material properties. Unlike sawn timber, these structures have efficient cross-sectional shapes and can be made ea ....Behaviour of novel FRP-timber ultralight thin-walled structural members. This project aims to investigate the structural behaviour of innovative hybrid fibre reinforced polymer–timber composite (FRPTC) thin-walled members which could be used as structural members in roof systems, façade systems, floor systems, etc. These FRPTC sections are made by taking advantage of the orthotropic material properties. Unlike sawn timber, these structures have efficient cross-sectional shapes and can be made easily in different sizes to match the requirements. Preliminary studies have shown promising results, however the behaviour of these novel FRPTC members is not yet fully understood. This project aims to investigate the behaviour of these novel FRPTC thin-walled members, specifically Cee-section members.Read moreRead less
Finite Strain with large rotations: A new hybrid numerical/experimental approach. Deformation up to large strains and rotations is important in rocks, metals, polymers, and biomaterials. Computational mechanics is a standard tool for modelling such deformations. However, in earth sciences, mechanical theories use small-strain formulations or large-strain approaches with classical stress rates. Classical stress rates can lead to incorrect stored energies. This project proposes to test a new large ....Finite Strain with large rotations: A new hybrid numerical/experimental approach. Deformation up to large strains and rotations is important in rocks, metals, polymers, and biomaterials. Computational mechanics is a standard tool for modelling such deformations. However, in earth sciences, mechanical theories use small-strain formulations or large-strain approaches with classical stress rates. Classical stress rates can lead to incorrect stored energies. This project proposes to test a new large-strain theory tailored to rocks experimentally, and to apply it to a pivotal geological problem: shear zone formation. The project will advance our fundamental understanding of the mechanics and energetics of rock deformation and provide a novel tool for the modelling of large deformations.Read moreRead less