Evaluating potential static liquefaction of tailings to prevent failures. This project aims to reduce risk in the mining industry from failing mine tailings by producing a methodology for predicting the susceptibility of these tailings to static liquefaction. The impact of a mine tailing failure is catastrophic to the downstream community. The project brings together a number of industry partners committed to assisting with verification and adoption of characterisation and designed tools develop ....Evaluating potential static liquefaction of tailings to prevent failures. This project aims to reduce risk in the mining industry from failing mine tailings by producing a methodology for predicting the susceptibility of these tailings to static liquefaction. The impact of a mine tailing failure is catastrophic to the downstream community. The project brings together a number of industry partners committed to assisting with verification and adoption of characterisation and designed tools development in this project. This proposal will integrate results from laboratory element, centrifuge and calibration chamber tests with numerical modelling and in-situ tests to produce a methodology for predicting the susceptibility to static liquefaction.Read moreRead less
Preventing mining disasters: reducing the risk of tailings dam failure. This project aims to improve safety of tailings storage facilities (TSFs). Mineral processing produces waste called tailings, being mixtures of water and soil-sized particles. Tailings are stored on sites contained by embankments made from soil or a coarse component of tailings. Sections of the TSFs are partially saturated, have high concentrations of fine particles and physically change with age. Their resistance to earthqu ....Preventing mining disasters: reducing the risk of tailings dam failure. This project aims to improve safety of tailings storage facilities (TSFs). Mineral processing produces waste called tailings, being mixtures of water and soil-sized particles. Tailings are stored on sites contained by embankments made from soil or a coarse component of tailings. Sections of the TSFs are partially saturated, have high concentrations of fine particles and physically change with age. Their resistance to earthquake loading and liquefaction, and strength post-earthquake, arising from these properties are poorly understood and can not be quantified reliably so will be addressed here. Anticipated outcomes will be updated industry guidelines for the design and management of TSFs. Mines will benefit and failures will be prevented.Read moreRead less
Fatigue life and biodegradation of biomass waste composites in roads. This project aims to develop a new low-carbon pavement stabilisation technology by utilising biomass waste composites in road subgrades and bases. This research expects to generate new knowledge on the performance of biomass composites in roads, when subjected to high traffic loads using experimental, numerical approaches and field trials. Expected project outcomes include evaluating the long-term performance of this new road ....Fatigue life and biodegradation of biomass waste composites in roads. This project aims to develop a new low-carbon pavement stabilisation technology by utilising biomass waste composites in road subgrades and bases. This research expects to generate new knowledge on the performance of biomass composites in roads, when subjected to high traffic loads using experimental, numerical approaches and field trials. Expected project outcomes include evaluating the long-term performance of this new road construction material, developing predictive models and building enduring collaborations with industry. Benefits include: diversion of wastes from landfills, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and the potential for commercial applications of biomass waste composites in future roads.Read moreRead less
Harnessing renewable energy from low-carbon geothermal pavements. This project aims to investigate the extraction of renewable energy from new pavements constructed with low-carbon recycled demolition wastes. The proposed research will generate new knowledge on the thermo-geomechanical responses of pavements when harvesting heat energy under dynamic loads, using experimental and numerical approaches, including field trials. The outcomes and benefits will include strategic long-term collaboration ....Harnessing renewable energy from low-carbon geothermal pavements. This project aims to investigate the extraction of renewable energy from new pavements constructed with low-carbon recycled demolition wastes. The proposed research will generate new knowledge on the thermo-geomechanical responses of pavements when harvesting heat energy under dynamic loads, using experimental and numerical approaches, including field trials. The outcomes and benefits will include strategic long-term collaboration with industry to develop ‘Geothermal Pavements’, with potential for commercial applications. The translation of this research will contribute to meeting future energy needs, while significantly reducing carbon emissions and diverting demolition wastes from landfills.Read moreRead less
Biocementation of recycled sand and demolition wastes for pavements. This project aims to develop biocements with recycled sand and demolition wastes as road construction materials. The usage of these low-carbon waste materials in pavement projects can significantly reduce carbon emissions and costs. This research expects to generate new knowledge on the performance of recycled wastes in roads, when subjected to high traffic loads using experimental, numerical approaches and field trials. Expect ....Biocementation of recycled sand and demolition wastes for pavements. This project aims to develop biocements with recycled sand and demolition wastes as road construction materials. The usage of these low-carbon waste materials in pavement projects can significantly reduce carbon emissions and costs. This research expects to generate new knowledge on the performance of recycled wastes in roads, when subjected to high traffic loads using experimental, numerical approaches and field trials. Expected outcomes include evaluating and modelling the performance of biocements and demolition materials in roads, and building enduring collaborations with industry. Benefits include: diversion of wastes from landfills, reduction in carbon emissions and the potential commercialisation of recycled wastes for road projects.Read moreRead less
The Role of Energy Absorbing Rubber Grid on Ballast Track Performance. Breakage and excessive displacement of ballast lead to instability and regular maintenance of railways. The project aims to study the fundamental mechanics of ballast aggregates interacting with the apertures of recycled-Rubber Energy Absorbing Grids (REAG). The role of REAG on enhanced track performance by damping the cyclic wheel loading and impact will be quantified via rigorous mathematical methods complementing a compute ....The Role of Energy Absorbing Rubber Grid on Ballast Track Performance. Breakage and excessive displacement of ballast lead to instability and regular maintenance of railways. The project aims to study the fundamental mechanics of ballast aggregates interacting with the apertures of recycled-Rubber Energy Absorbing Grids (REAG). The role of REAG on enhanced track performance by damping the cyclic wheel loading and impact will be quantified via rigorous mathematical methods complementing a computer-based numerical model and validated by laboratory & field data. When placed within the rail substructure REAG will enable reduced ballast movement and breakage while attenuating noise/vibration. The research outputs will facilitate improved rail track design enabling enhanced longevity and reduced cost of maintenance.Read moreRead less
Effect of geopolymer cement stabilisation on the fatigue life of pavement sub-bases with recycled demolition aggregates. Road sub-base construction with demolition wastes using geopolymer stabilisation will be researched as Australian stockpiles of demolition wastes, such as concrete and bricks, are growing at 15 million tons per annum. Current sub-base design methods are intended for virgin materials, hence new research is required for waste materials in sub-bases.
Long-term chemically induced crumbling of unsaturated brittle geomaterials. This project will investigate the crumbling of geomaterials such as soil and rock by analysing the microscopic mechanisms controlling their deterioration in acidic water. The project will help predict weathering processes using an experimentally validated theory and innovative pore-scale numerical simulations. Expected outcomes include a detailed knowledge of the multi-scale interactions between brittle geomaterials and ....Long-term chemically induced crumbling of unsaturated brittle geomaterials. This project will investigate the crumbling of geomaterials such as soil and rock by analysing the microscopic mechanisms controlling their deterioration in acidic water. The project will help predict weathering processes using an experimentally validated theory and innovative pore-scale numerical simulations. Expected outcomes include a detailed knowledge of the multi-scale interactions between brittle geomaterials and acidic water, leading to accurate forecasts of the long-term response of large-scale geotechnical structures. This project should provide significant benefits by improving soil management for mining remediation, increasing carbon dioxide storage efficiency, and preventing the deterioration of tailings dams.Read moreRead less
Paving the way to greener roads and healthier waterways. Waste tyre permeable pavement is emerging as an effective stormwater surge mitigation solution. Yet, its behaviour under traffic loads and varied environmental conditions are not fully understood which undermines industry confidence in this technology. This project aims to advance the engineering of waste tyre permeable pavements by creating new knowledge on their mechanical and hydrological performance. The project will develop design gui ....Paving the way to greener roads and healthier waterways. Waste tyre permeable pavement is emerging as an effective stormwater surge mitigation solution. Yet, its behaviour under traffic loads and varied environmental conditions are not fully understood which undermines industry confidence in this technology. This project aims to advance the engineering of waste tyre permeable pavements by creating new knowledge on their mechanical and hydrological performance. The project will develop design guidelines, identify the governing mechanisms and develop a performance prediction framework based on laboratory and field tests, and advanced numerical modelling. The mechanisms of performance from micro to macro level will be identified, generating knowledge for industry to support widespread uptake.Read moreRead less
Accelerating Consolidation and Closure of Mine Tailings Storage Facilities. All mining operations involve the production of waste. Many regard such waste (tailings) and their environmentally acceptable storage as constituting the largest waste problem on Earth because of the enormous damage and loss-of-life that have resulted from failures of tailings storage facilities. This project focuses on a dewatering technology, electro-osmosis (EO), which has yet to be fully operationalised, for improvin ....Accelerating Consolidation and Closure of Mine Tailings Storage Facilities. All mining operations involve the production of waste. Many regard such waste (tailings) and their environmentally acceptable storage as constituting the largest waste problem on Earth because of the enormous damage and loss-of-life that have resulted from failures of tailings storage facilities. This project focuses on a dewatering technology, electro-osmosis (EO), which has yet to be fully operationalised, for improving the strength, stability and settlement characteristics of the tailings. Sophisticated testing will be undertaken at three scales (lab, meso and, most importantly, field), as well as the development of generic numerical models, to create practical guidelines to facilitate the implementation of EO in mines around the world.Read moreRead less