Barriers for cost - effective rock fall hazard mitigation. Rock fall barriers are used throughout Australia to protect its extensive road and rail networks. These networks are vital links in the nation's infrastructure and underpin its economic prosperity and development. There are thousands of cuttings on Australia' transport networks, many of which have the potential to be affected by rock falls. These events can take lives and severely disrupt the performance of our transport infrastructure. ....Barriers for cost - effective rock fall hazard mitigation. Rock fall barriers are used throughout Australia to protect its extensive road and rail networks. These networks are vital links in the nation's infrastructure and underpin its economic prosperity and development. There are thousands of cuttings on Australia' transport networks, many of which have the potential to be affected by rock falls. These events can take lives and severely disrupt the performance of our transport infrastructure. This project will develop new cost-effective methods for designing against rock fall events using a combination of advanced testing and computer modelling.Read moreRead less
New design guidelines and simplified analysis methods for geosynthetic reinforced pile-supported embankments. There is a growing demand in Australia for efficient technologies for soft soils due to increasing infrastructure development on marginal land characterized by soft ground. One such technology that is becoming popular is geosynthetic reinforced pile-supported embankment as it requires less land, construction time and maintenance. The outcomes of this research will lead to cost-effective ....New design guidelines and simplified analysis methods for geosynthetic reinforced pile-supported embankments. There is a growing demand in Australia for efficient technologies for soft soils due to increasing infrastructure development on marginal land characterized by soft ground. One such technology that is becoming popular is geosynthetic reinforced pile-supported embankment as it requires less land, construction time and maintenance. The outcomes of this research will lead to cost-effective and reliable infrastructure design of benefit to the many future infrastructure projects, totalling billions of dollars, planned for Australia. This project will therefore contribute significantly to the sustainability of our environment and increase the international competitiveness and export potential of the Australian construction industry.Read moreRead less
Study of Coupled Water-Gas-Sediment (three-phase) Flows through Jointed and Stratified Rock. Coupled Water-Gas-Sediment Flows through Rock Joints project outcomes are expected to surpass the current knowledge on ground/slope stability and water inundation, enhance engineering solutions of the associated problems and provide vital improvements to public safety. The research team will publish the research outcomes through peer-reviewed journals and conferences, nationally and internationally, rais ....Study of Coupled Water-Gas-Sediment (three-phase) Flows through Jointed and Stratified Rock. Coupled Water-Gas-Sediment Flows through Rock Joints project outcomes are expected to surpass the current knowledge on ground/slope stability and water inundation, enhance engineering solutions of the associated problems and provide vital improvements to public safety. The research team will publish the research outcomes through peer-reviewed journals and conferences, nationally and internationally, raising Australia’s scientific profile within the civil engineering and mining community. The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and Institution of Engineers seminars will be organised to promote discussion with the practitioners while the Australian geotechnical community will gain expertise through the PhD program. Read moreRead less
An integrated approach to modelling granular materials in a pavement system. The Australian transportation system consists of some 900,000 km of paved roads valued in excess of 300 billion dollars. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each year on maintenance. About 90% of these paved roads are constructed with granular base and sub-base materials. This project will develop an accurate constitutive model for granular materials and a numerical method that are essential in predicting the life ....An integrated approach to modelling granular materials in a pavement system. The Australian transportation system consists of some 900,000 km of paved roads valued in excess of 300 billion dollars. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each year on maintenance. About 90% of these paved roads are constructed with granular base and sub-base materials. This project will develop an accurate constitutive model for granular materials and a numerical method that are essential in predicting the life-long performance of pavements. The project will lead to improved pavement design procedures, which, together with the research training offered through the conduct of the work, will result in cost-effective and highly reliable pavement designs.Read moreRead less
Enhanced Analysis and Structural Design of Pavements - Virtual Laboratory for Advanced Pavement Design. The proposed research will lead to improved pavement engineering procedures, which will reduce the maintenance costs for future pavement projects, and will result in cost-effective and more reliable design of new pavements.
Geotechnical characterisation of compacted ground based on passive ambient noise techniques. The proposed research will provide our local construction and mining industries with a much needed fast and low cost technology for geotechnical investigation of very large sites which is currently not available. The project will help steer Australia to the forefront of ambient noise research for geotechnical site investigation, in the characterisation of unsaturated compacted soil and in the determinati ....Geotechnical characterisation of compacted ground based on passive ambient noise techniques. The proposed research will provide our local construction and mining industries with a much needed fast and low cost technology for geotechnical investigation of very large sites which is currently not available. The project will help steer Australia to the forefront of ambient noise research for geotechnical site investigation, in the characterisation of unsaturated compacted soil and in the determination of dynamic site characteristics which are required for seismic risk assessment. Two postgraduate students will benefit from this research by receiving research training at the highest level and it will also pave the way for exporting the technology developed overseas, particularly to our near neighbours in Asia and the Pacific. Read moreRead less
Deep Penetrating Anchors - a cost effective anchoring solution for mooring oil and gas facilities in deep water. The offshore oil and gas industry is currently directing considerable research efforts towards the development of cost-effective anchoring solutions suitable for mooring floating installations in deep water. This project aims to enhance the limited understanding of the Deep Penetrating Anchor (DPA), which has been identified as having the most potential to meet industry demands as it ....Deep Penetrating Anchors - a cost effective anchoring solution for mooring oil and gas facilities in deep water. The offshore oil and gas industry is currently directing considerable research efforts towards the development of cost-effective anchoring solutions suitable for mooring floating installations in deep water. This project aims to enhance the limited understanding of the Deep Penetrating Anchor (DPA), which has been identified as having the most potential to meet industry demands as it extends the current water depth limit of 2000 metres. Successful completion of this project will result in a DPA experimental database that will not only form the basis for predicting anchor performance, but will also serve as a means of validating robust and versatile design tools that can be used in offshore engineering practice.Read moreRead less
Securing Australian floating wind developments with helical anchors. This project will reduce the cost of offshore floating wind energy by uniting leading academic expertise and innovative industry partners to develop the knowledge and practical tools that will enable the deployment of helical anchors as a cheap and reliable anchoring system for floating wind. Helical anchors are seen as the most promising solution to anchor wind turbines, but their deployment has been limited by uncertainties a ....Securing Australian floating wind developments with helical anchors. This project will reduce the cost of offshore floating wind energy by uniting leading academic expertise and innovative industry partners to develop the knowledge and practical tools that will enable the deployment of helical anchors as a cheap and reliable anchoring system for floating wind. Helical anchors are seen as the most promising solution to anchor wind turbines, but their deployment has been limited by uncertainties associated with the torque and vertical force required for installation in complex seabeds, and their performance under environmental loading. The project will address these specific points through a combination of physical, numerical and analytical modelling, using data and design scenarios provided by industry.
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Optimisation of shallow geothermal systems for Australian schools. This project aims to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by optimising shallow geothermal systems in Australian schools. Shallow geothermal systems use the ground as a heat source and sink for heating and cooling. Their application to schools has the potential to harness energy from untapped resources such as sport grounds, reduce energy consumption by up to 75% and increase comfort and productivity of ....Optimisation of shallow geothermal systems for Australian schools. This project aims to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by optimising shallow geothermal systems in Australian schools. Shallow geothermal systems use the ground as a heat source and sink for heating and cooling. Their application to schools has the potential to harness energy from untapped resources such as sport grounds, reduce energy consumption by up to 75% and increase comfort and productivity of our children at school. An expected outcome of this project is to create a full scale physical model along advanced optimisation models which will allow better understanding of energy efficiency gains, and lead towards improving geothermal design techniques tailored to educational buildings.Read moreRead less
A novel foundation to extend the operation of mobile structures into deeper water. Oil and gas is a key industry in Australia, contributing A$17 billion to the economy. However, with the large accessible reserves in shallower waters becoming exhausted, Australian oil and gas companies require new technologies to extend their capabilities. The research in this proposal addresses this concern, providing an extension of the operational depth range of mobile jack-up platforms from 120 to 200 m. This ....A novel foundation to extend the operation of mobile structures into deeper water. Oil and gas is a key industry in Australia, contributing A$17 billion to the economy. However, with the large accessible reserves in shallower waters becoming exhausted, Australian oil and gas companies require new technologies to extend their capabilities. The research in this proposal addresses this concern, providing an extension of the operational depth range of mobile jack-up platforms from 120 to 200 m. This creates the opportunity to develop the significant number of Australia's smaller gas fields that are currently uneconomical to exploit. The proposed project will contribute to the future competitiveness of Australia's oil and gas industry and ensuring energy supply for the sustained growth of the Australian economy.Read moreRead less