Development of an adaptive statistical model for oceanic flooding hazards along the East Australian coast. Planning of invaluable coastal infrastructure and housing is critical to the economic and social well-being of Australian communities. Devastating flooding along coasts and estuaries in Australia frequently occurred before 1980, but has been less common since. However, the risks are clear and enormous as demonstrated in recent disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami ....Development of an adaptive statistical model for oceanic flooding hazards along the East Australian coast. Planning of invaluable coastal infrastructure and housing is critical to the economic and social well-being of Australian communities. Devastating flooding along coasts and estuaries in Australia frequently occurred before 1980, but has been less common since. However, the risks are clear and enormous as demonstrated in recent disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Climate change makes flood predictions even more difficult. This project will develop a new adaptive model which accounts for both the present and future climate and also regional variability. The research will be in collaboration with the NSW Dept of Climate Change to enable rapid government action to improve community trust in flood protection. Read moreRead less
Time-dependent dynamic, creep and shrinkage response of curved structural members. This project concerns curved structural members, such as bridge beams, that are subjected to dynamic excitation and to concrete shrinkage and creep. Hitherto, unified formulations for the structural behaviour of these members have not been properly developed. The proposal seeks to build on a previous ARC DP of the investigator that produces significant results for static loading, by developing a sophisticated meth ....Time-dependent dynamic, creep and shrinkage response of curved structural members. This project concerns curved structural members, such as bridge beams, that are subjected to dynamic excitation and to concrete shrinkage and creep. Hitherto, unified formulations for the structural behaviour of these members have not been properly developed. The proposal seeks to build on a previous ARC DP of the investigator that produces significant results for static loading, by developing a sophisticated methodology to handle non-static dynamic loading and for shrinkage and creep. It will develop advanced mathematical tools to enable the safe and efficient design of a multiplicity of structures that is of benefit to on and offshore Australian technology.Read moreRead less
Topological Optimization of Load-carrying Structural Systems with Repetitive Geometrical Patterns. Periodic structures are increasingly used in the design of the structural systems or sub-systems of buildings, bridges, aircraft, motor vehicles etc. The duplication of identical or similar modules significantly reduces the production cost and greatly simplifies the assembly process. In many cases periodic structures are also selected for their distinctive aesthetic appeal. The proposed research wi ....Topological Optimization of Load-carrying Structural Systems with Repetitive Geometrical Patterns. Periodic structures are increasingly used in the design of the structural systems or sub-systems of buildings, bridges, aircraft, motor vehicles etc. The duplication of identical or similar modules significantly reduces the production cost and greatly simplifies the assembly process. In many cases periodic structures are also selected for their distinctive aesthetic appeal. The proposed research will develop advanced techniques for the optimal design of such structures. The new design tool will enable Australian engineers and architects to create innovative and efficient structural systems for a wide range of applications and to become involved in high profile international projects. Read moreRead less
Development of a Local Spectral Method for the Computations of Thin-Walled Structures. This project will benefit Aust. society by providing a powerful tool for improving the safe and cost effective design of structures under extreme conditions (high frequency vibration, complicating supporting conditions). The method has the potential to be further developed to provide solutions to unsolved problems in acoustic wave transport, short electromagnetic wave propagation etc. The research training of ....Development of a Local Spectral Method for the Computations of Thin-Walled Structures. This project will benefit Aust. society by providing a powerful tool for improving the safe and cost effective design of structures under extreme conditions (high frequency vibration, complicating supporting conditions). The method has the potential to be further developed to provide solutions to unsolved problems in acoustic wave transport, short electromagnetic wave propagation etc. The research training of the project will help to keep Australia to be at the forefront in this research field and the published research findings will promote the reputation of Australian researchers in the field of computational engineering. The international collaboration will be strengthened between the Investigator's team and his colleagues in US. Read moreRead less
Properties and Characterisation of Magneto-Rheological Materials under Rotating Magnetic Field Excitation. Through the proposed theoretical and experimental studies, new electro-magneto-mechanical phenomena of the MR materials under various vectorial magnetisations will be observed. Based on the in-depth understanding of the complex vectorial magneto-rheological mechanisms, an accurate coupled model will be developed for design and analysis of novel dampers. These outcomes will greatly enhance t ....Properties and Characterisation of Magneto-Rheological Materials under Rotating Magnetic Field Excitation. Through the proposed theoretical and experimental studies, new electro-magneto-mechanical phenomena of the MR materials under various vectorial magnetisations will be observed. Based on the in-depth understanding of the complex vectorial magneto-rheological mechanisms, an accurate coupled model will be developed for design and analysis of novel dampers. These outcomes will greatly enhance the design capacity of Australian industry in smart structures, i.e. using novel dampers to reduce harmful vibrations and protect people in vehicles, buildings, and bridges. This will help Australians to live in a safer and healthier environment, and could save billions of dollars per year nationwide for treatment, recovery, and insurance claims.Read moreRead less
Development of a new technique to improve very soft soils using geogrid wrapped stone columns. Many large Australian infrastructure projects will be developed in regions with inherently poor soil conditions. Port developments, for instance, are by their nature located in river estuaries which are characterised by deep deposits of soft alluvial soils. Many highway projects also traverse low-lying ground or coastal regions with soft soil conditions. This project will develop a novel technique to ....Development of a new technique to improve very soft soils using geogrid wrapped stone columns. Many large Australian infrastructure projects will be developed in regions with inherently poor soil conditions. Port developments, for instance, are by their nature located in river estuaries which are characterised by deep deposits of soft alluvial soils. Many highway projects also traverse low-lying ground or coastal regions with soft soil conditions. This project will develop a novel technique to improve the engineering characteristics of very soft soils (shear strength lower than 15 kPa) by using geogrid wrapped stone columns. The effectiveness of this technique will be investigated in both small scale laboratory tests and field trials.Read moreRead less
Development of design guidelines for recycled plastic material and structural components. It is estimated that by 2010 over 1.2 million tonnes of plastic will be used annually by Australians of which only 3% is currently recycled. Preliminary testing of recycled plastic products has demonstrated their potential usefulness in structural engineering applications. However, the lack of guidelines suitable for advanced applications of recycled plastic is limiting the growth of this technology. This p ....Development of design guidelines for recycled plastic material and structural components. It is estimated that by 2010 over 1.2 million tonnes of plastic will be used annually by Australians of which only 3% is currently recycled. Preliminary testing of recycled plastic products has demonstrated their potential usefulness in structural engineering applications. However, the lack of guidelines suitable for advanced applications of recycled plastic is limiting the growth of this technology. This project aims to develop a set of rational guidelines for the testing, analysis and design of recycled plastic material and structural components that will enable the continued expansion of this technology, significantly reducing waste plastic.Read moreRead less
SCANEM : A Scanning and Inspection Method for Urban Pipeline Systems. Water and sewage utilities are crucial factors limiting economic growth and urban amenity. However many of these facilities are subject to corrosion, fracture and collapse and new strategies are now required to provide a sound basis for systematic remediation and replacement. Suitable strategies involving a structural audit and statistical analysis have been proposed by CSIRO and Tyco Water. However new geophysical inspection ....SCANEM : A Scanning and Inspection Method for Urban Pipeline Systems. Water and sewage utilities are crucial factors limiting economic growth and urban amenity. However many of these facilities are subject to corrosion, fracture and collapse and new strategies are now required to provide a sound basis for systematic remediation and replacement. Suitable strategies involving a structural audit and statistical analysis have been proposed by CSIRO and Tyco Water. However new geophysical inspection methods are now required to provide the key physical parameters relating to pipeline condition. Hopefully the EM inspection tool resulting from this project will provide the industrial partners with a unique capacity to satisfy a major global market.Read moreRead less
Permeable Pavements with Concrete Surface Layers- Experimental and Theoretical Basis for Analysis and Design. Permeable pavements constitute unique and effective means to address important environmental issues and support green, sustainable growth. By capturing stormwater and allowing it to seep into the ground, porous pavements are instrumental in recharging groundwater, reducing stormwater runoff and preventing pollutants from entering the Australian river systems and sea-shores. Other advanta ....Permeable Pavements with Concrete Surface Layers- Experimental and Theoretical Basis for Analysis and Design. Permeable pavements constitute unique and effective means to address important environmental issues and support green, sustainable growth. By capturing stormwater and allowing it to seep into the ground, porous pavements are instrumental in recharging groundwater, reducing stormwater runoff and preventing pollutants from entering the Australian river systems and sea-shores. Other advantages for Australian communities that are associated with the construction of permeable pavement arise from their properties such as acoustic and thermal insulation due to the high void content of the material. Thus, permeable pavements improve on the living conditions in urban areas by reducing noise levels and preventing urban heat island effects.Read moreRead less
Cost-effective integrated engineering and "community partnerships" solution to a latent water policy issue: private dam management and flood safety. Project aims to further develop an engineering model for cost-effective innovative flood safety design/review for private dams in Southeastern Australia and integrate this with community impact assessment. Together, this is a "community partnerships" solution to a significant water policy vacuum on private dam safety and flood policy. Expected outco ....Cost-effective integrated engineering and "community partnerships" solution to a latent water policy issue: private dam management and flood safety. Project aims to further develop an engineering model for cost-effective innovative flood safety design/review for private dams in Southeastern Australia and integrate this with community impact assessment. Together, this is a "community partnerships" solution to a significant water policy vacuum on private dam safety and flood policy. Expected outcomes: improved risk transparency for dam owners and State Government, minimising costs of failures, ie. loss of life, damage to public and private infrastructure and environment; giving owners an affordable and effective design/review procedure to better manage their dams, providing data on community responses and water law reform proposals consonant with international best-practice.Read moreRead less