Containment and Reduction of Rework in Transport Mega Projects. Mega transport projects (>$1 billion) are poorly managed during their construction with significant cost and schedule overruns and benefit shortfalls regularly being experienced. Having to perform rework has been identified as a major factor that contributes to these unintended consequences. As there has been limited research that has empirically examined rework causation, an inability to develop effective rework containment and red ....Containment and Reduction of Rework in Transport Mega Projects. Mega transport projects (>$1 billion) are poorly managed during their construction with significant cost and schedule overruns and benefit shortfalls regularly being experienced. Having to perform rework has been identified as a major factor that contributes to these unintended consequences. As there has been limited research that has empirically examined rework causation, an inability to develop effective rework containment and reduction strategies prevails. This research aims to develop a theoretical model that can be used to develop robust containment and reduction strategies to mitigate the adverse economic, productivity and safety consequences that materialize from performing rework during the construction of mega transport projects.Read moreRead less
Asset Intelligence: Maximising Operational Effectiveness for Digital Era . The primary aim of this project is to develop an innovative lifecycle semantic–based decision making approach through asset intelligence so as to maximize the operational effectiveness maintenance, repair and rehabilitation planning of infrastructure assets, such as concrete pavement. The research intends to address an important gap by providing logical formalisms and real-time capability to life-cycle asset information t ....Asset Intelligence: Maximising Operational Effectiveness for Digital Era . The primary aim of this project is to develop an innovative lifecycle semantic–based decision making approach through asset intelligence so as to maximize the operational effectiveness maintenance, repair and rehabilitation planning of infrastructure assets, such as concrete pavement. The research intends to address an important gap by providing logical formalisms and real-time capability to life-cycle asset information through computational intelligence. The expected outcome will be an intelligent asset management platform that provides structured and semantically enriched lifecycle asset information for optimised solutions to help reduce the cost, time and effort in asset information storage and retrieval, and decision-making. Read moreRead less
Bridge performance assessment through advanced sensing and modelling. Bridge performance assessment through advanced sensing and modelling. This project aims to create cyber infrastructure to manage and maintain civil infrastructure, specifically bridges. Current sensor data interpretation approaches are not good at assessing the performance of civil infrastructure or evaluating the reserve capacity; in particular, they do not adequately account for high levels of systematic modelling uncertaint ....Bridge performance assessment through advanced sensing and modelling. Bridge performance assessment through advanced sensing and modelling. This project aims to create cyber infrastructure to manage and maintain civil infrastructure, specifically bridges. Current sensor data interpretation approaches are not good at assessing the performance of civil infrastructure or evaluating the reserve capacity; in particular, they do not adequately account for high levels of systematic modelling uncertainties. This project intends to ease the current scientific data interpretation bottleneck. Expected outcomes are better infrastructure management and maintenance planning, fewer redundant interventions, modified infrastructure and improved future design.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH180100010
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,918,357.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Smart Next Generation Transport Pavements. The ARC Research Hub for Smart Next Generation Transport Pavements aims to make road, airport and dockyard pavements smart, low cost, long-lasting, safe, green and adaptable to future transport demands. Australia’s road network, upon which the nation depends for its economic and social prosperity, is at risk due to increases in passenger and freight load degradation of the road network, and material and expertise scarcity. The Hub w ....ARC Research Hub for Smart Next Generation Transport Pavements. The ARC Research Hub for Smart Next Generation Transport Pavements aims to make road, airport and dockyard pavements smart, low cost, long-lasting, safe, green and adaptable to future transport demands. Australia’s road network, upon which the nation depends for its economic and social prosperity, is at risk due to increases in passenger and freight load degradation of the road network, and material and expertise scarcity. The Hub will deliver new materials and modelling, smart construction, and rehabilitation systems required for future demands, while enhancing road safety and reducing environmental impact.
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Pipeline backfill reimagined to provide in-line corrosion protection. This project aims to innovate new resistive pipeline backfill materials, associated construction methods and numerical techniques to minimise corrosion at network level, considering interference effects among adjacent pipelines. In contrast to only providing mechanical support, this project will envision backfill for in-line corrosion protection by elucidating its role in pipeline corrosion. The expected outcomes are very effe ....Pipeline backfill reimagined to provide in-line corrosion protection. This project aims to innovate new resistive pipeline backfill materials, associated construction methods and numerical techniques to minimise corrosion at network level, considering interference effects among adjacent pipelines. In contrast to only providing mechanical support, this project will envision backfill for in-line corrosion protection by elucidating its role in pipeline corrosion. The expected outcomes are very effective and low-cost approach and tools to provide in-line protection, in contrast to other protection methods that are expensive and not always possible. The project will bring significant economic benefits by addressing corrosion-induced pipe failures for urban centres, where underground space is heavily congested.
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Next-generation smart water network for performance-driven asset management. This project aims to develop smart water network systems and techniques for continuous monitoring and early detection of structural failure in water distribution systems. Water assets are critical infrastructure, and they consist of a network of buried pipes that are old and deteriorating, with an annual maintenance overhead exceeding $1billion per year in Australia. This project is expected to deliver next-generation s ....Next-generation smart water network for performance-driven asset management. This project aims to develop smart water network systems and techniques for continuous monitoring and early detection of structural failure in water distribution systems. Water assets are critical infrastructure, and they consist of a network of buried pipes that are old and deteriorating, with an annual maintenance overhead exceeding $1billion per year in Australia. This project is expected to deliver next-generation smart water technology that enables continuous assessment of the actual performance of water pipe networks, guide “just in time” pipe replacement and optimise operations. This technology will assist asset managers to make informed decisions, strategically prioritise investment and extend asset life.Read moreRead less
Smart Pipe Condition Assessment in Water Distribution Systems. The project aims to develop an urgently needed smart pipe fault diagnosis, characterisation and prognosis system. Analysis techniques will be used for the detailed mapping of buried pipe condition between access points using micro-sized transient pressure waves. Water assets are critical infrastructure and they consist of a network of pipes that are often old and deteriorating. The annual maintenance cost exceeds $1b per year in Aus ....Smart Pipe Condition Assessment in Water Distribution Systems. The project aims to develop an urgently needed smart pipe fault diagnosis, characterisation and prognosis system. Analysis techniques will be used for the detailed mapping of buried pipe condition between access points using micro-sized transient pressure waves. Water assets are critical infrastructure and they consist of a network of pipes that are often old and deteriorating. The annual maintenance cost exceeds $1b per year in Australia. The outcome will be a next-generation tool that allows water utilities to move from reactive emergency repairs to proactive repair and predictive replacement. This will enable performance-driven asset management, extending asset life and replacing deteriorated high-risk pipe sections in a timely manner.Read moreRead less
Structural Fuses for Safer and More Economical Bridge Construction. This project aims to develop a novel structural system leading to more economical concrete bridge construction by utilising a customised structural fuse. A significant margin of safety is required in structural design to account for accidental over-loading and to reduce the risk of structural collapse. Such a margin leads to more material usage. Incorporation of a fuse into the structure that is triggered upon over-loading will ....Structural Fuses for Safer and More Economical Bridge Construction. This project aims to develop a novel structural system leading to more economical concrete bridge construction by utilising a customised structural fuse. A significant margin of safety is required in structural design to account for accidental over-loading and to reduce the risk of structural collapse. Such a margin leads to more material usage. Incorporation of a fuse into the structure that is triggered upon over-loading will cause a safer failure mode and prohibit further increase of loading, both of which result in a reduced structure without undermining safety. The project is expected to advance structural theory, and also provide significant benefits to the construction industry via cost reduction and more eco-friendly constructions.Read moreRead less
Assessing Water Supply Security in a Nonstationary Environment. About 25% of the global population currently has inadequate access to safe and secure water. This number is expected to rise to 50% by 2050 due to increased populations and reduced river flows. While a visible water crisis (such as the one in Cape Town in 2018) can culminate in the funding of new water supply infrastructure, a planned push for infrastructure augmentation often stalls due to contradictory projections of how much wate ....Assessing Water Supply Security in a Nonstationary Environment. About 25% of the global population currently has inadequate access to safe and secure water. This number is expected to rise to 50% by 2050 due to increased populations and reduced river flows. While a visible water crisis (such as the one in Cape Town in 2018) can culminate in the funding of new water supply infrastructure, a planned push for infrastructure augmentation often stalls due to contradictory projections of how much water will be available in the future. To address this, a novel alternative for assessing water security is proposed. Our approach assesses change using historical information on river flow and water demand, adapting these to form projections that exhibit greater reliability than currently existing alternatives.Read moreRead less
Field Data based Predictive Maintenance and Enhanced Track Design Procedure. Providing improved railroad design and maintenance solutions with accurate and timely assessment of track performance is vital to reduce the disruption of services, excessive maintenance costs and degradation over time. This project aims to develop a predictive maintenance model based on extensive wayside measurements to monitor and predict the nature of track instability. This will also be supplemented by mathematical ....Field Data based Predictive Maintenance and Enhanced Track Design Procedure. Providing improved railroad design and maintenance solutions with accurate and timely assessment of track performance is vital to reduce the disruption of services, excessive maintenance costs and degradation over time. This project aims to develop a predictive maintenance model based on extensive wayside measurements to monitor and predict the nature of track instability. This will also be supplemented by mathematical modelling to corroborate large-scale laboratory observations with past and real-time field monitoring records. This project will deliver tangible strategies and tools to increase track longevity and assist decision-makers in planning and prioritising corrective maintenance to ensure improved safety and passenger comfort.Read moreRead less