The behaviour and design of innovative connections to promote the reduction and reuse of structural steel in steel-concrete composite buildings. This proposal will study the behaviour of innovative connections to promote the reduction and reuse of structural steel in steel-concrete framed buildings. Steel is one of the most recycled materials on earth, however it is the reduction and reuse rather than recycling which can provide significant benefits to building construction. Economic and techni ....The behaviour and design of innovative connections to promote the reduction and reuse of structural steel in steel-concrete composite buildings. This proposal will study the behaviour of innovative connections to promote the reduction and reuse of structural steel in steel-concrete framed buildings. Steel is one of the most recycled materials on earth, however it is the reduction and reuse rather than recycling which can provide significant benefits to building construction. Economic and technical issues have impeded the widespread application of the reuse of steel. These technical impediments can be addressed through the development of connections that promote dismantling of structures at the end of a building's life. This project will address this issue by developing innovative structural connections through experimental and analytical studies and design code provisions.Read moreRead less
Risk Assessment and Mitigation of Blast Damage to Structural Systems. The cost of providing blast-resistant protective measures to potentially hundreds or thousands of existing buildings is immense and beyond the resources of government and society. The decision-making framework proposed herein provides a means to allocate funds to those buildings shown to have high risk of damage in the event of bomb blast. This will enable existing risks to be quantified and compared in a rational and consiste ....Risk Assessment and Mitigation of Blast Damage to Structural Systems. The cost of providing blast-resistant protective measures to potentially hundreds or thousands of existing buildings is immense and beyond the resources of government and society. The decision-making framework proposed herein provides a means to allocate funds to those buildings shown to have high risk of damage in the event of bomb blast. This will enable existing risks to be quantified and compared in a rational and consistent manner, thus ensuring that risk mitigation is maximised given expenditure of limited resources. Public safety will be governed by the extent and effectiveness of building protective measures. Lives will be saved, likelihood and extent of injury reduced and social and economic disruption minimised.Read moreRead less
Stochastic Modelling of Structural Facade Damage and Occupant Safety Risks Due to Explosive Blast Loading. The cost of providing blast protective measures to built infrastructure is immense and providing protective measures to potentially hundreds or thousands of existing buildings is immense and beyond the resources of government and society. The risk-based decision-making framework proposed herein allows damage and casualty risks to be quantified and compared in a rational and consistent manne ....Stochastic Modelling of Structural Facade Damage and Occupant Safety Risks Due to Explosive Blast Loading. The cost of providing blast protective measures to built infrastructure is immense and providing protective measures to potentially hundreds or thousands of existing buildings is immense and beyond the resources of government and society. The risk-based decision-making framework proposed herein allows damage and casualty risks to be quantified and compared in a rational and consistent manner, thus ensuring that risk mitigation is maximised given expenditure of limited resources. Clearly, maximising risk mitigation across a range of high risk buildings will minimise building damage, loss of life, business disruption and other economic and social impacts in the event of a severe bomb blast. Read moreRead less
Earthquake protection of masonry buildings using fibre reinforced polymer strengthening. The importance of this research is highlighted, both nationally and internationally, by the work of the insurance industry which reported that the economic risk posed by a moderate earthquake in any of the capital cities in Australia is of the order of billions of dollars (Blong, 1993). For example, a 'design magnitude' earthquake in Sydney is predicted to cause, just in domestic construction, over $10 bill ....Earthquake protection of masonry buildings using fibre reinforced polymer strengthening. The importance of this research is highlighted, both nationally and internationally, by the work of the insurance industry which reported that the economic risk posed by a moderate earthquake in any of the capital cities in Australia is of the order of billions of dollars (Blong, 1993). For example, a 'design magnitude' earthquake in Sydney is predicted to cause, just in domestic construction, over $10 billion damage and more than 5000 deaths. Most of this damage would be associated with unreinforced masonry construction such as low-rise apartment buildings. The damage bill for the entire built environment (with business interruption costs) could easily be an order of magnitude greater.Read moreRead less
Behaviour and innovative design of drive-in steel storage racks. Drive-in steel storage racks offer the most space-effective solution to storage needs. They have become increasingly sought after as population growth concentrates in the main Australian metropolitan areas, which is pushing up the cost of land and storage. However, the high failure rate of drive-in racking systems is costly to society, as they cause disruptions to our production and supply cycles, and lead to increased costs to Aus ....Behaviour and innovative design of drive-in steel storage racks. Drive-in steel storage racks offer the most space-effective solution to storage needs. They have become increasingly sought after as population growth concentrates in the main Australian metropolitan areas, which is pushing up the cost of land and storage. However, the high failure rate of drive-in racking systems is costly to society, as they cause disruptions to our production and supply cycles, and lead to increased costs to Australian industry and the consumer of the final product. There are great national benefits to be gained from developing innovative drive-in storage systems which have minimum risk of structural failure. Such systems will also enhance the international competitiveness of the Australian rack manufacturing industry.Read moreRead less
Ductile FRP retrofit of concrete frames subject to static and earthquake loading. Australia needs to spend at least $500 million annually on the repair and upgrading of concrete structures alone just to maintain our existing civil infrastructure. Furthermore, it has been estimated that more than 500 deaths and $10 billion damage will be caused by a moderate earthquake in Sydney or Melbourne. Most of this damage will be due to the collapse of buildings. This research will develop a new form of ....Ductile FRP retrofit of concrete frames subject to static and earthquake loading. Australia needs to spend at least $500 million annually on the repair and upgrading of concrete structures alone just to maintain our existing civil infrastructure. Furthermore, it has been estimated that more than 500 deaths and $10 billion damage will be caused by a moderate earthquake in Sydney or Melbourne. Most of this damage will be due to the collapse of buildings. This research will develop a new form of ductile plating that will reduce the cost of retrofitting concrete bridges and buildings. This project will also help train two PhD students and one Research Associate and further enhance the existing collaboration between Australia and Italy.Read moreRead less
A unified reinforced concrete model for flexure and shear. The catastrophic Minnesota River Bridge collapse in the USA in 2007 highlighted the importance of accurately assessing, maintaining, upgrading and prolonging the design life of our aging infrastructure. The problem, which is just as severe in Australia, is further exacerbated by increasing man-made (terrorist) hazards and natural hazards such as earthquake, tsunami, flood and bushfire. Reinforced concrete and composite steel-concrete st ....A unified reinforced concrete model for flexure and shear. The catastrophic Minnesota River Bridge collapse in the USA in 2007 highlighted the importance of accurately assessing, maintaining, upgrading and prolonging the design life of our aging infrastructure. The problem, which is just as severe in Australia, is further exacerbated by increasing man-made (terrorist) hazards and natural hazards such as earthquake, tsunami, flood and bushfire. Reinforced concrete and composite steel-concrete structures comprise a very large part of Australia's bridge and building infrastructure. This project will provide a safe and more economical tool for engineers to both extend the working-life of existing infrastructure and design new infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Development of design and analysis methods for blast-resistant window structures. More than 80 per cent of casualties in explosion events are caused by glass shards from fractured windows. This project aims to develop design guidelines for blast-resistant windows, develop numerical methods to predict window failure and fragmentation, and investigate the effectiveness of various window-strengthening measures for life and property protection.
A bio-inspired lightweight composite system for blast and impact protection. This project aims to develop a lightweight armour system that protects structural elements from extreme loads. Every day around the world, accidental and deliberate loads cost billions of dollars in damage and loss of life. The project’s composite system can concentrate material into areas most needed under impact loads and absorb and mitigate energy under blast. The anticipated outcomes of this project should be direct ....A bio-inspired lightweight composite system for blast and impact protection. This project aims to develop a lightweight armour system that protects structural elements from extreme loads. Every day around the world, accidental and deliberate loads cost billions of dollars in damage and loss of life. The project’s composite system can concentrate material into areas most needed under impact loads and absorb and mitigate energy under blast. The anticipated outcomes of this project should be directly applicable to designing, assessing and strengthening structures, including civilian buildings, defence structures, bridges and offshore and industrial facilities.Read moreRead less
Displacement-based earthquake design of unreinforced masonry walls in two-way bending. Current design of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings for earthquake loading is based on checking that the strength of walls and connections exceeds the earthquake-induced inertia forces. Conservative estimates of wall bending strength are used to account for the wide variability in the quality of masonry construction. This project proposes to develop a new "displacement-based" design methodology for URM wa ....Displacement-based earthquake design of unreinforced masonry walls in two-way bending. Current design of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings for earthquake loading is based on checking that the strength of walls and connections exceeds the earthquake-induced inertia forces. Conservative estimates of wall bending strength are used to account for the wide variability in the quality of masonry construction. This project proposes to develop a new "displacement-based" design methodology for URM walls which is less conservative and more direct, reliable and easier to apply the the force-based method. Hence, this method offers substantical cost savings over current techniques for the assessment of the seismic vulnerability of URM walls in buildings.Read moreRead less