Enhancing the fire and energy ratings of cold-formed steel wall systems. This project intends to develop novel cold-formed light-gauge steel frame (LSF) wall systems with superior fire resistance and energy ratings for use in buildings. LSF systems are increasingly used in homes and offices. The project plans to investigate fundamental thermal, structural and energy performances of LSF walls and their components using experimental and numerical studies. It plans to develop enhanced plasterboards ....Enhancing the fire and energy ratings of cold-formed steel wall systems. This project intends to develop novel cold-formed light-gauge steel frame (LSF) wall systems with superior fire resistance and energy ratings for use in buildings. LSF systems are increasingly used in homes and offices. The project plans to investigate fundamental thermal, structural and energy performances of LSF walls and their components using experimental and numerical studies. It plans to develop enhanced plasterboards, insulations and innovative composite panels using suitable nanomaterials, chemical additives, fillers and phase-change materials and use these with innovative wall configurations to significantly improve the fire and energy performance of LSF walls. The new wall systems may increase occupant comfort and safety, reduce business losses in fires, and lead to low-energy buildings.Read moreRead less
Averting Disaster: New Ways to Assess Bushfire Risk and Building Integrity. This project aims to develop a new method of assessing bushfire risk and building integrity using drone-based advanced technologies and computational fluid dynamics based heat transfer modelling for buildings located in bushfire prone areas. This coupled approach will enable the evaluation of bushfire effects on buildings and provide pre-bushfire condition/risk assessments, and site-specific cost-effective remedial actio ....Averting Disaster: New Ways to Assess Bushfire Risk and Building Integrity. This project aims to develop a new method of assessing bushfire risk and building integrity using drone-based advanced technologies and computational fluid dynamics based heat transfer modelling for buildings located in bushfire prone areas. This coupled approach will enable the evaluation of bushfire effects on buildings and provide pre-bushfire condition/risk assessments, and site-specific cost-effective remedial actions to reduce or eliminate bushfire damage and mitigate the risks pre-bushfire season. The new method will be applied to three selected buildings through which further enhancements and validations can be achieved. This project will showcase how the selected buildings and their components can be made bushfire safe.Read moreRead less
Integrating architectural, mathematical and computing knowledge to capture the dynamics of air in design. This research will bring together architectural, mathematical and computing knowledge to discover effective ways to design buildings and cities that are more responsive to the complex dynamics of air movement and temperature. This knowledge will lead to reduced energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, increased comfort and more usable public space.
Demonstrating the feasibility of designing sustainable buildings using evolutionary systems. The design approach proposed in this research will result in two key areas of national benefit. First, the research will enable Australian built environment design professions to become more competitive in both domestic and international markets. There is a growing demand for environmentally-friendly buildings and the proposed design approach will enable Australian firms to be at the cutting edge of sust ....Demonstrating the feasibility of designing sustainable buildings using evolutionary systems. The design approach proposed in this research will result in two key areas of national benefit. First, the research will enable Australian built environment design professions to become more competitive in both domestic and international markets. There is a growing demand for environmentally-friendly buildings and the proposed design approach will enable Australian firms to be at the cutting edge of sustainable design. Second, the research will enable the Australian built environment to become more sustainable. The proposed approach will enable buildings to be designed that perform well, that are cost effective and that minimise their environmental impact. Read moreRead less
Building A Better Built Environment for Older Australian's Ageing-in-place. Most older Australians prefer to age in place after their retirement. This project aims to understand how the built environment as a comprehensive system supports (or hinders) their ageing-in-place given that the existing Australian built environment fails to meet older Australians' requirements for independent living. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of ageing-friendly communities using Bayesia ....Building A Better Built Environment for Older Australian's Ageing-in-place. Most older Australians prefer to age in place after their retirement. This project aims to understand how the built environment as a comprehensive system supports (or hinders) their ageing-in-place given that the existing Australian built environment fails to meet older Australians' requirements for independent living. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of ageing-friendly communities using Bayesian Network analysis and interactive design charrettes. Expected outcomes include an evidence-based Bayesian network model that determines how the built environment affects independent living in the community and design innovation and guidelines to improve the built environment design for older Australians' ageing-in-place.Read moreRead less
Mitigating Vehicular Crashes into Masonry Buildings . Around 2000 vehicles crash annually into school, home and shop buildings located at close proximity to heavily trafficked roads in Australia and cause significant distress to occupants of building and vehicle. The impacted walls mostly of masonry, suffer severe damage often with vehicle intrusion into the building. Despite this, the intrusion mechanism is not understood and no effective mitigation strategies exist at present. This project wi ....Mitigating Vehicular Crashes into Masonry Buildings . Around 2000 vehicles crash annually into school, home and shop buildings located at close proximity to heavily trafficked roads in Australia and cause significant distress to occupants of building and vehicle. The impacted walls mostly of masonry, suffer severe damage often with vehicle intrusion into the building. Despite this, the intrusion mechanism is not understood and no effective mitigation strategies exist at present. This project will uncover the mechanics of vehicle intrusions through masonry walls and develop novel mitigation strategies using high energy absorbing auxetic composite render and innovative vibration isolation at wall edges. These innovations will lead to new theories that can save lives in the building and vehicle.Read moreRead less
Lightweight, durable and self-sustainable modular composites buildings. This project aims to establish a modular composites building system that is lightweight, integrated with power supply system and is highly resistant to harsh environments. Buildings today are designed and constructed using conventional craft-based labour-intensive methods and materials. This results in high cost and consequences for quality, safety, resource and environmental impact. By developing the modular building system ....Lightweight, durable and self-sustainable modular composites buildings. This project aims to establish a modular composites building system that is lightweight, integrated with power supply system and is highly resistant to harsh environments. Buildings today are designed and constructed using conventional craft-based labour-intensive methods and materials. This results in high cost and consequences for quality, safety, resource and environmental impact. By developing the modular building system using lightweight and durable fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites and innovative connection methods for fast assembly, the project outcomes can largely lift productivity in construction industry and further provide self-sustainable civil infrastructure not only in urban and rural regions but also in remote areas.Read moreRead less
Safety and robustness of tall timber buildings under extreme dynamic events. This project aims to develop innovative and robust structural connections in tall mass timber buildings by characterising their mechanical behaviour under dynamic loads induced by extreme events like earthquakes or progressive collapse. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the safe, economic, and efficient design of mass timber buildings. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced robustness design ....Safety and robustness of tall timber buildings under extreme dynamic events. This project aims to develop innovative and robust structural connections in tall mass timber buildings by characterising their mechanical behaviour under dynamic loads induced by extreme events like earthquakes or progressive collapse. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the safe, economic, and efficient design of mass timber buildings. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced robustness design guidelines for the engineering community. This should lead to significant benefits, such as contributing to uptake of viable low-cost timber housing solutions in response to population growth and contributing to net zero emissions in Australia by 2050, and transition to safer and resilient infrastructure in urban development.Read moreRead less
Multifunctional Structural Panels for Next-generation Infrastructure. This project aims to develop a multifunctional prefabricated structural panel for current and future infrastructure applications for both land and offshore environments. Prefabrication enables enhanced product control as well as the ability to rapidly construct whole structures or their components. The panels utilise an inner lightweight foam and fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite core with strong outer panels made from ....Multifunctional Structural Panels for Next-generation Infrastructure. This project aims to develop a multifunctional prefabricated structural panel for current and future infrastructure applications for both land and offshore environments. Prefabrication enables enhanced product control as well as the ability to rapidly construct whole structures or their components. The panels utilise an inner lightweight foam and fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite core with strong outer panels made from FRP sheets and high-strength concrete. The expected outcomes include experimental and numerical validation of the system, that will give designers and asset owners the confidence to adopt this new panel. The panel system presents an upward step change in construction technology and built infrastructure performance.Read moreRead less
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