Airborne vibration isolation for geophysical exploration. Sensitive airborne instrumentation for geophysical exploration is almost always degraded in sensitivity by the high levels of vibration and acoustic noise in survey aircraft. This project will develop a prototype robust vibration isolator with exceptional isolation across the audio frequency band. The device uses advanced techniques developed for gravitational wave detection. The system will be tested in survey aircraft using both vib ....Airborne vibration isolation for geophysical exploration. Sensitive airborne instrumentation for geophysical exploration is almost always degraded in sensitivity by the high levels of vibration and acoustic noise in survey aircraft. This project will develop a prototype robust vibration isolator with exceptional isolation across the audio frequency band. The device uses advanced techniques developed for gravitational wave detection. The system will be tested in survey aircraft using both vibration sensors and actual survey instrumentation to confirm its effectiveness, robustness and durability.Read moreRead less
Optimising the design and implementation of public transport priority initiatives. This project strengthens national approaches to a pervasive Australian problem, growing traffic congestion deteriorating liveability, environmental health & economic performance of the cities where most Australians live. Public transport can address these issues but most is provided by buses which are caught up in traffic congestion. This project improves approaches for traffic priority design to improve the eff ....Optimising the design and implementation of public transport priority initiatives. This project strengthens national approaches to a pervasive Australian problem, growing traffic congestion deteriorating liveability, environmental health & economic performance of the cities where most Australians live. Public transport can address these issues but most is provided by buses which are caught up in traffic congestion. This project improves approaches for traffic priority design to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of on-road public transport. It optimises the design of individual and groups of priority treatments and will generate diagnostic tools to better target priority treatments. Findings will better focus Australia's approach to increasingly challenging transport futures.Read moreRead less
High Strength Steel Protection Bollards. Terrorist attacks cost Australians much human grief and millions of dollars. Prevention of an attack is paramount. Passive road bollards are commonly used to stop a vehicle approaching and/or entering security sensitive infrastructure. Thin-walled tubes are used to manufacture such bollards. However there is a lack of knowledge about their behaviour, and in particular high strength alloy steel bollards, when subjected to impact loads. The investigators wi ....High Strength Steel Protection Bollards. Terrorist attacks cost Australians much human grief and millions of dollars. Prevention of an attack is paramount. Passive road bollards are commonly used to stop a vehicle approaching and/or entering security sensitive infrastructure. Thin-walled tubes are used to manufacture such bollards. However there is a lack of knowledge about their behaviour, and in particular high strength alloy steel bollards, when subjected to impact loads. The investigators will apply their extensive knowledge in thin-walled tubular structures to establish the most economical means of designing high strength bollards. This knowledge will be transferred into design standards and Australia's limited defence resources.Read moreRead less
Could porous pavements be a part of the urban water solution? With water demand in Australia approaching, and sometimes exceeding, limits of sustainability, there is a pressing need to find alternative water sources. At the same time, urban stormwater pollution remains a major environmental threat. These problems are particularly difficult in urban areas, due to space constraints. This project will test and refine porous pavement technology, which could help solve the 'urban water problem'. R ....Could porous pavements be a part of the urban water solution? With water demand in Australia approaching, and sometimes exceeding, limits of sustainability, there is a pressing need to find alternative water sources. At the same time, urban stormwater pollution remains a major environmental threat. These problems are particularly difficult in urban areas, due to space constraints. This project will test and refine porous pavement technology, which could help solve the 'urban water problem'. Replacing impervious areas with porous pavements will allow urban stormwater to be treated and harvested for re-use. Waterways will be protected from pollution, and the vast quantity of urban stormwater generated (similar to the total reticulated water supplied in Australia) can be harvested to sustain cities.Read moreRead less
Development of hot-mix asphalt layer thickness design for longer-life asphalt pavements. This project will bring about an advance in pavement analysis and design, based on a more realistic approach to design inputs, analysis and design. The contribution of the project outcomes to knowledge in the field will be extremely important and a move away from empiricism will benefit pavement building industries world-wide.
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH200100010
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,000,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Transformation of Reclaimed Waste Resources to Engineered Materials and Solutions for a Circular Economy. This project aims to create new knowledge to reduce waste going to landfills and transform reclaimed waste into new materials for use in construction and other manufacturing sectors. It integrates multisector input and multidisciplinary academic research to address ten challenging waste streams. Expected outcomes are smart materials, socio-technical change, accelerated t ....ARC Research Hub for Transformation of Reclaimed Waste Resources to Engineered Materials and Solutions for a Circular Economy. This project aims to create new knowledge to reduce waste going to landfills and transform reclaimed waste into new materials for use in construction and other manufacturing sectors. It integrates multisector input and multidisciplinary academic research to address ten challenging waste streams. Expected outcomes are smart materials, socio-technical change, accelerated testing methods, predictive modeling, circular life cycle costing and a trusted evidence base. Outcomes will lead to commercial benefits as well as jobs and a significant contribution to addressing the pressing environmental impacts of waste production, management, and re-use.Read moreRead less
A holistic integrated design approach for building envelopes incorporating sustainability, security and safety. This project aims to develop a highly secure and sustainable facade system for buildings with a significant enhancement over other conventional facades in terms of both protection against extreme loads and life cycle energy performance. The outcome of this project can be used to improve the sustainability and safety of buildings in Australia.
Clogging of Permeable Reactive Barrier when treating Acidic Groundwater. Proper understanding of soil-water interaction is vital for sustainable development of floodplains, and to halt acid mine drainage caused by the oxidation of pyritic soil. Permeable reactive barriers (PRB) offer a cost-effective solution to neutralize acidified groundwater. The project aims to quantify the clogging potential of PRB’s granular medium by coupling geotechnical fundamentals with integrated hydro-bio-geochemical ....Clogging of Permeable Reactive Barrier when treating Acidic Groundwater. Proper understanding of soil-water interaction is vital for sustainable development of floodplains, and to halt acid mine drainage caused by the oxidation of pyritic soil. Permeable reactive barriers (PRB) offer a cost-effective solution to neutralize acidified groundwater. The project aims to quantify the clogging potential of PRB’s granular medium by coupling geotechnical fundamentals with integrated hydro-bio-geochemical processes. Time-dependent clogging will be evaluated through geotechnical laboratory & field testing. Expected outcomes are enhanced PRB design methods and sound geotechnical field monitoring to provide significant industry benefits, such as mine-site rehabilitation, increased productivity and infrastructure longevity.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100428
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Effect of natural seabed on hydrodynamics around cylindrical structures. This project aims to investigate the flow around a circular cylinder, placed near a plane boundary, as a fundamental fluid phenomenon and for applications of designing subsea pipelines. The proposed work will be carried out using a combined approach of physical model testing and numerical study. The effect of the plane boundary on flow transition from 2D to 3D, from sub-critical to critical turbulence regime will be examine ....Effect of natural seabed on hydrodynamics around cylindrical structures. This project aims to investigate the flow around a circular cylinder, placed near a plane boundary, as a fundamental fluid phenomenon and for applications of designing subsea pipelines. The proposed work will be carried out using a combined approach of physical model testing and numerical study. The effect of the plane boundary on flow transition from 2D to 3D, from sub-critical to critical turbulence regime will be examined. The project aims to derive a comprehensive set of force coefficients to predict hydrodynamic forces on pipelines that will improve the design of subsea pipelines. This project could provide significant benefits for the Australian subsea oil and gas industry.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354894
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Innovative risk analysis, assessment, rehabilitation and strengthening of aging critical civil infrastructure. Much essential civil engineering infrastructure such as bridges, buildings, dams, pipelines and pavements was commissioned many decades ago, and sustaining the integrity of this infrastructure in developed nations as it ages is now considered to be a major challenge to the engineering and scientific community. Australia is not spared by the ramifications of its aging civil assets, and ....Innovative risk analysis, assessment, rehabilitation and strengthening of aging critical civil infrastructure. Much essential civil engineering infrastructure such as bridges, buildings, dams, pipelines and pavements was commissioned many decades ago, and sustaining the integrity of this infrastructure in developed nations as it ages is now considered to be a major challenge to the engineering and scientific community. Australia is not spared by the ramifications of its aging civil assets, and identification and rectification procedures that are often ad-hoc now represent a sizeable proportion of the GDP. This Research Network draws together the leading Australian research groups in engineering and applied mechanics in a coordinated program to address this most important cost to the community.Read moreRead less