Progressive liquefaction within marine sediments: comparison between geo-centrifuge modelling, full-scale wave tank tests and numerical modelling. The evaluation of wave-induced liquefaction within the marine sediment is particularly important for coastal and geotechnical engineers involved in the design of foundation around coastal structures. The proposed study will integrate the existing knowledge from the aspects of coastal and geotechnical engineering with that of overseas experts to provid ....Progressive liquefaction within marine sediments: comparison between geo-centrifuge modelling, full-scale wave tank tests and numerical modelling. The evaluation of wave-induced liquefaction within the marine sediment is particularly important for coastal and geotechnical engineers involved in the design of foundation around coastal structures. The proposed study will integrate the existing knowledge from the aspects of coastal and geotechnical engineering with that of overseas experts to provide coastal engineers with an effective tool for the design of foundations around marine structures. It will also assist in reducing the risk of potential environmental damage caused by failure of marine structures.Read moreRead less
Friction and contact in soil-structure-interaction. Frictional contact, which occurs at soil-structure interfaces, has a major influence on the behaviour of many civil engineering structures such as building foundations and soil anchor systems. To better understand this phenomenon, new theoretical models and solution algorithms are needed to simulate soil-structure interaction. This project aims to develop these models and algorithms. Its outcomes will lead to improved prediction methods and bet ....Friction and contact in soil-structure-interaction. Frictional contact, which occurs at soil-structure interfaces, has a major influence on the behaviour of many civil engineering structures such as building foundations and soil anchor systems. To better understand this phenomenon, new theoretical models and solution algorithms are needed to simulate soil-structure interaction. This project aims to develop these models and algorithms. Its outcomes will lead to improved prediction methods and better geotechnical design strategies.Read moreRead less
Risk assessment modelling for corrosion affected concrete infrastructure. Aging and deterioration of physical infrastructure is a global problem that has caused widespread premature structural failures and significantly reduced its designed service life. This is an increasing problem also for Australia. For reinforced concrete infrastructure, the corrosion of the reinforcing steel within the surrounding concrete is the most significant factor. The aim of the project is to improve understanding o ....Risk assessment modelling for corrosion affected concrete infrastructure. Aging and deterioration of physical infrastructure is a global problem that has caused widespread premature structural failures and significantly reduced its designed service life. This is an increasing problem also for Australia. For reinforced concrete infrastructure, the corrosion of the reinforcing steel within the surrounding concrete is the most significant factor. The aim of the project is to improve understanding of the factors that influence corrosion mechanics in marine environments, to re-examine corrosion process in practical concrete structures and to develop a model for corrosion to enable prediction of structural deterioration and improved risk assessment.Read moreRead less
Modelling of sand wave migration and its interaction with pipelines. The movement of sand due to sand waves can interfere with marine structures such as pipelines and cables on the seabed. It may also cause free spans of pipelines, with potentially serious consequences. Most previous research has considered sand wave propagation and the stability of pipelines as separate problems. In this project, we propose a coupled analysis of sand wave migration and its interaction with pipelines through mat ....Modelling of sand wave migration and its interaction with pipelines. The movement of sand due to sand waves can interfere with marine structures such as pipelines and cables on the seabed. It may also cause free spans of pipelines, with potentially serious consequences. Most previous research has considered sand wave propagation and the stability of pipelines as separate problems. In this project, we propose a coupled analysis of sand wave migration and its interaction with pipelines through mathematical and numerical modelling. The theoretical work will be supported by laboratory experiments. The resulting research will provide a better understanding of sand wave migration, beach profiles and the stability of pipelines.Read moreRead less
Energy from Offshore Wind: Stability of Offshore Monopiles in Shallow Water. Development of renewable energy such as offshore wind energy is one of Australia's national priorities Design of offshore wind farms such as monopiles has demanded more accurate and reliable methods to evaluate the stability of structures and their foundations, stability of these offshore monopiles being the key issue. The proposed study will not only enhance the understanding of the fluid-seabed-structure interaction, ....Energy from Offshore Wind: Stability of Offshore Monopiles in Shallow Water. Development of renewable energy such as offshore wind energy is one of Australia's national priorities Design of offshore wind farms such as monopiles has demanded more accurate and reliable methods to evaluate the stability of structures and their foundations, stability of these offshore monopiles being the key issue. The proposed study will not only enhance the understanding of the fluid-seabed-structure interaction, vital for the design of offshore monopiles, but also contribute to national development and competitiveness in ocean exploration, reduce the risk of potential environmental damage caused by failure of wind farms and produce high quality research students.Read moreRead less
Coupled models for waves, a porous seabed and breakwater interactions. Design of coastal structures such as breakwaters has demanded more accurate and reliable methods for the evaluation of the stability of structures and their foundations. Stability of the breakwater and its foundation is the first key issue for practical engineers. This project will establish the first fully coupled model for wave-seabed-structure interaction. The proposed study will not only enhance the understanding of the c ....Coupled models for waves, a porous seabed and breakwater interactions. Design of coastal structures such as breakwaters has demanded more accurate and reliable methods for the evaluation of the stability of structures and their foundations. Stability of the breakwater and its foundation is the first key issue for practical engineers. This project will establish the first fully coupled model for wave-seabed-structure interaction. The proposed study will not only enhance the understanding of the complex system, which is an area of vital interest for design of coastal structures, but also contribute to the national development and competitiveness in ocean exploration, reduce the risk of potential environmental damage caused by failure of breakwaters and produce high quality research students.Read moreRead less
Two-scale modelling of geomaterials. Engineering structures such as buildings, highways, bridges, tunnels, dams and offshore oil platforms are all built on or in soils and rocks. The ability to predict the response of these materials under various loading conditions is therefore of major importance in civil engineering design. The traditional method in modelling these materials requires extensive and often costly experimental data. The proposed micro-macro modelling approach will enable us to ta ....Two-scale modelling of geomaterials. Engineering structures such as buildings, highways, bridges, tunnels, dams and offshore oil platforms are all built on or in soils and rocks. The ability to predict the response of these materials under various loading conditions is therefore of major importance in civil engineering design. The traditional method in modelling these materials requires extensive and often costly experimental data. The proposed micro-macro modelling approach will enable us to take advantage of the fast-growing computing power to release some of the pressure in geotechnical testing. It will also improve the quality of engineering analysis and hence leads to more efficient and effective engineering design.Read moreRead less
An Integrated Bridge Monitoring System Based on the GPS and Pseudolite Technologies. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology can be used for precise deflection measurement of manmade structures such as buildings, bridges, etc. When integrated with additional signals from pseudolites (PL) that transmit GPS-like signals, changes in the height(s) of the monitored point(s) can be measured to millimetre accuracy. In collaboration with University of Nottingham researchers, a bridge structure in the ....An Integrated Bridge Monitoring System Based on the GPS and Pseudolite Technologies. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology can be used for precise deflection measurement of manmade structures such as buildings, bridges, etc. When integrated with additional signals from pseudolites (PL) that transmit GPS-like signals, changes in the height(s) of the monitored point(s) can be measured to millimetre accuracy. In collaboration with University of Nottingham researchers, a bridge structure in the U.K. will be used as a testbed, and will be the first time that PLs have been used for such an application. The expected outcomes include a suite of deformation monitoring algorithms capable of online analysis of the combined GPS-PL outputs.Read moreRead less
Advanced materials and structures for terahertz science and technology. Anthrax, explosives, water, cancer all have characteristic signatures in the terahertz (THz) part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Security, defence, agriculture, medicine are some of the fields where THz science and technology are booming. THz developments offer enhanced national security, prosperity and quality of life. The lack of strong sources of THz radiation is the main factor hampering wider application of THz metho ....Advanced materials and structures for terahertz science and technology. Anthrax, explosives, water, cancer all have characteristic signatures in the terahertz (THz) part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Security, defence, agriculture, medicine are some of the fields where THz science and technology are booming. THz developments offer enhanced national security, prosperity and quality of life. The lack of strong sources of THz radiation is the main factor hampering wider application of THz methods. In this project two university research teams come together to develop more efficient THz emitters. The Darmstadt team will prepare novel materials and structures and the Wollongong team will evaluate them and provide feedback for the next iteration.Read moreRead less
Structural and multidisciplinary optimization. Structural and multidisciplinary design optimization is an important subject in aeronautical, aerospace, automobile, offshore platforms and many other structures. This project aims to address design optimization of coupled structures, with a focus on electro-mechanical coupled structures. It is expected to coordinate an integrated effort to develop efficient and effective algorithms for optimum design of electro-mechanical coupled structures.