Development of Intelligent Structures that can Self-evaluate Deterioration. This project aims to transform traditional civil structures into smart structures that can accurately identify current and future structural deterioration conditions and automatically notify the infrastructure management authority for timely maintenance. Civil structures deteriorate over their long life spans. Currently, we have no effective method to identify when deterioration has reached the point where maintenance is ....Development of Intelligent Structures that can Self-evaluate Deterioration. This project aims to transform traditional civil structures into smart structures that can accurately identify current and future structural deterioration conditions and automatically notify the infrastructure management authority for timely maintenance. Civil structures deteriorate over their long life spans. Currently, we have no effective method to identify when deterioration has reached the point where maintenance is required. The project plans to develop innovative structural deterioration evaluation systems using output-only vibration data and versatile optimisation algorithms to enable long-term deterioration assessment and maintenance management even under demanding operating conditions. These could be used with both conventional data acquisition systems and modern monitoring systems with smart wireless sensors. Expected project outcomes will enhance structural safety and maintenance efficiency.Read moreRead less
Development of next generation prestressed concrete bridges using moving force identification. This project will enhance the safety of prestressed concrete bridges which constitute 70 per cent of Australian bridges and hence provide economic benefits. The procedure developed can evaluate the health status of these bridges and the prestressing force which was hitherto difficult to determine, even though it controls bridge load carrying capacity.
Next Generation Bridge Monitoring using Novel Synergic Identification. Over 70% of the bridges in Australia are made of prestressed concrete, yet many do not meet the requirements of current Australian Standards. This project aims to provide a cost-effective system for monitoring bridges in real time along with systems that track the prestressing force and rate of damage for ongoing health assessment and necessary repairs. The use of innovative engineering techniques, solving long standing probl ....Next Generation Bridge Monitoring using Novel Synergic Identification. Over 70% of the bridges in Australia are made of prestressed concrete, yet many do not meet the requirements of current Australian Standards. This project aims to provide a cost-effective system for monitoring bridges in real time along with systems that track the prestressing force and rate of damage for ongoing health assessment and necessary repairs. The use of innovative engineering techniques, solving long standing problems of engineers, will enable the safe operation of bridges, which play a primary role in Australia’s national transport system. Improved methodology for turning tired infrastructure into ‘smart bridges’ will be developed and commissioned first in Australia and then applied internationally.Read moreRead less
Thermal Upheaval Buckling of Functionally Graded Pavement Slabs. Upheaval buckling or blowup of concrete pavements due to high environment temperature is a serious problem in transportation infrastructure which quite often leads to road failure or even traffic hazards. The proposed project presents a combined theoretical, numerical and experimental investigation on the effective enhancement of thermal buckling capacity of pavement slabs with or without initial imperfection by using light and gre ....Thermal Upheaval Buckling of Functionally Graded Pavement Slabs. Upheaval buckling or blowup of concrete pavements due to high environment temperature is a serious problem in transportation infrastructure which quite often leads to road failure or even traffic hazards. The proposed project presents a combined theoretical, numerical and experimental investigation on the effective enhancement of thermal buckling capacity of pavement slabs with or without initial imperfection by using light and green functionally graded concrete materials with reduced usage of plain Portland cements for less carbon dioxide emissions. The research outcomes will contribute significantly to the society by offering a novel environmental friendly pavement solution with greatly improved road safety.Read moreRead less
Developing a smart repair technique towards buckling capacity enhancement for imperfect thin-walled structures. This project will contribute significantly to preventing thin-walled structural members with initial defects from abrupt or progressive buckling failure. The advanced technique developed will offer substantial national benefits, such as improved structural reliability and safety, enhanced structural performance and reduced costs in civil engineering.
Improving road network operations under non-recurrent events. This project aims to develop an innovative approach for improving Road Network Operations (RNO) under non-recurrent events through analysis of big data and images. The outcomes of this project can not only improve the mobility of people, but also provide improved safety outcomes for all users of the transport network. It will help optimise traffic control strategies and traffic designs, reduce the maintenance cost for road infrastruc ....Improving road network operations under non-recurrent events. This project aims to develop an innovative approach for improving Road Network Operations (RNO) under non-recurrent events through analysis of big data and images. The outcomes of this project can not only improve the mobility of people, but also provide improved safety outcomes for all users of the transport network. It will help optimise traffic control strategies and traffic designs, reduce the maintenance cost for road infrastructure and improve quality of life.Read moreRead less
Early-age cracking in concrete structures: mechanisms and control. This project aims to generate a comprehensive set of reliable data to examine all key factors governing the risk of early-age cracking in concrete structures, including a novel concept concerning zero-stress temperature. Expected outcomes include improved models for fundamental concrete properties from very early ages and tensile stresses due to restrained deformation accumulated from early stage, as well as guidelines for effect ....Early-age cracking in concrete structures: mechanisms and control. This project aims to generate a comprehensive set of reliable data to examine all key factors governing the risk of early-age cracking in concrete structures, including a novel concept concerning zero-stress temperature. Expected outcomes include improved models for fundamental concrete properties from very early ages and tensile stresses due to restrained deformation accumulated from early stage, as well as guidelines for effective crack control in concrete structures. It is expected these guidelines will enable significant cost savings and a more sustainable construction industry.Read moreRead less
Coupled effects of stress and temperature changes on concrete structures. The coupled effects of stress and temperature changes that concrete structures are commonly subject to are significant and need to be properly accounted for. However, existing engineering models accounting for these effects remain essentially empirical, necessarily limiting their predictive capability. This research aims to examine such coupled effects using an innovative approach combining original physical-based analytic ....Coupled effects of stress and temperature changes on concrete structures. The coupled effects of stress and temperature changes that concrete structures are commonly subject to are significant and need to be properly accounted for. However, existing engineering models accounting for these effects remain essentially empirical, necessarily limiting their predictive capability. This research aims to examine such coupled effects using an innovative approach combining original physical-based analytical study with novel tests and advanced numerical work. Expected outcomes include a robust yet simple engineering model, and guidelines for rational design of structures (incl. concrete spalling in fire) with due account for such coupled effects, thereby enabling to achieve more robust structures at substantial cost saving.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101441
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$322,446.00
Summary
A new approach for characterising soils based on electric parameters. This project aims to develop a predictive methodology based on electromagnetic sensors to quantify soil state variables that influence hydraulic and mechanical processes. These processes affect the safety of man-made and natural geo-structures such as dams or embankments. Conventional monitoring methods are outdated and unreliable, reducing our capability of detecting threats to these structures. The outcomes of the project wi ....A new approach for characterising soils based on electric parameters. This project aims to develop a predictive methodology based on electromagnetic sensors to quantify soil state variables that influence hydraulic and mechanical processes. These processes affect the safety of man-made and natural geo-structures such as dams or embankments. Conventional monitoring methods are outdated and unreliable, reducing our capability of detecting threats to these structures. The outcomes of the project will improve protection of major geo-structures, trigger novel applications in civil engineering and foster the development of patentable sensors and data analysis methodology.Read moreRead less
Mitigating the Severity of Level Crossing Accidents and Derailments. Ongoing increases in the number of level crossings and heavy road vehicles cause more frequent and severe level crossing accidents and derailments. Despite the use of active warning systems, each year, on average, 100 level crossing accidents occur in Australia. With a view to mitigating these crashes, this research aims to formulate theories for reduction in crash energy and effective wheel constraints to prevent derailment by ....Mitigating the Severity of Level Crossing Accidents and Derailments. Ongoing increases in the number of level crossings and heavy road vehicles cause more frequent and severe level crossing accidents and derailments. Despite the use of active warning systems, each year, on average, 100 level crossing accidents occur in Australia. With a view to mitigating these crashes, this research aims to formulate theories for reduction in crash energy and effective wheel constraints to prevent derailment by modifying the levels of road and rail crossings and providing guard rails in the recesses of these modified level crossings. The theories are intended be developed using nonlinear dynamic computational methods and laboratory experiments. The outcomes are expected to enable reduction in the severity of level crossing accidents and hence save lives and costs of derailment.Read moreRead less