Structural behaviour of innovative hollow flange steel members subject to local and lateral distortional buckling effects. This project will investigate the local and lateral distortional buckling behaviour of a new generation of innovative and cost-effective thin and high strength steel hollow flange sections (HFS) being developed using a unique dual weld and roll-forming technology. It will use experiments and advanced numerical modelling to develop fundamental behavioural and design data for ....Structural behaviour of innovative hollow flange steel members subject to local and lateral distortional buckling effects. This project will investigate the local and lateral distortional buckling behaviour of a new generation of innovative and cost-effective thin and high strength steel hollow flange sections (HFS) being developed using a unique dual weld and roll-forming technology. It will use experiments and advanced numerical modelling to develop fundamental behavioural and design data for HFS flexural members. Effects of web corrugations and punched holes will also be investigated. The research will enable innovative applications using HFS in the building industry in Australia and overseas. It will bring significant economic benefits to the industry partner, steel building industry, and Australia.Read moreRead less
An Integrated Thermal and Structural Investigation for the Development of Innovative Lightweight Cold-formed Steel Wall and Floor Systems under Fire Conditions. This research will benefit the Australian building industry by providing a set of design rules that will not only enhance the fire safety standards but also the structural robustness of steel construction, thereby resulting in a reduction in loss of lives and property due to natural or man-made disasters. This will give Australian manufa ....An Integrated Thermal and Structural Investigation for the Development of Innovative Lightweight Cold-formed Steel Wall and Floor Systems under Fire Conditions. This research will benefit the Australian building industry by providing a set of design rules that will not only enhance the fire safety standards but also the structural robustness of steel construction, thereby resulting in a reduction in loss of lives and property due to natural or man-made disasters. This will give Australian manufacturers a leading edge both nationally and internationally in developing innovative prefabricated fire resistant LSF wall and floor systems using high strength steels. Australians have an opportunity to become world leaders in fire research and LSF construction. It will provide valuable research training to young Australians and will contribute to the protection of Australia's critical infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Structural Behaviour of Innovative LiteSteel Beams, their Design Improvements and Applications. This project will develop a significant knowledge base, accurate design models and innovative application methods for the new LSB, which will be fully used by the collaborating partner in marketing them in Australia and overseas. Both construction and manufacturing industry sectors will benefit through the increased use of the innovative and lightweight hollow flange sections. Using the new sections a ....Structural Behaviour of Innovative LiteSteel Beams, their Design Improvements and Applications. This project will develop a significant knowledge base, accurate design models and innovative application methods for the new LSB, which will be fully used by the collaborating partner in marketing them in Australia and overseas. Both construction and manufacturing industry sectors will benefit through the increased use of the innovative and lightweight hollow flange sections. Using the new sections and the wealth of design information from this research, Australian engineers can develop cost-effective and safer building systems. Community at large, in particular rural and regional communities will gain through cheaper building systems, additional employment in LSB manufacturing and design, and opportunities locally and overseas.Read moreRead less
Displacement-based assessment of the seismic resistance of unreinforced masonry buildings. Earthquakes have caused over $1,000 billion of damage and more than 100,000 deaths in the last decade. This devastation occurred mainly in unreinforced brick masonry (URM) buildings which constitute the bulk of the domestic building stock in low seismicity regions, including Australia. These buildings were designed to resist forces, not the displacements, caused by earthquake ground shaking. This projec ....Displacement-based assessment of the seismic resistance of unreinforced masonry buildings. Earthquakes have caused over $1,000 billion of damage and more than 100,000 deaths in the last decade. This devastation occurred mainly in unreinforced brick masonry (URM) buildings which constitute the bulk of the domestic building stock in low seismicity regions, including Australia. These buildings were designed to resist forces, not the displacements, caused by earthquake ground shaking. This project will develop a new displacement-based method for assessing the earthquake resistance of URM buildings. Research outcomes will be in the form of improved analytical methods for the design of new buildings and the seismic assessment and retrofit of existing buildings.Read moreRead less
Development of Topological Optimisation Techniques for the Conceptual Design of Multi-storey Buildings. The building design process often begins with a case based preliminary design which derives its main parameters and features from a number of existing buildings of similar dimensions and functionality. This project aims to develop a design tool which incorporates two topological optimisation techniques in the conceptual design of multi-storey buildings. This design tool will enable inefficient ....Development of Topological Optimisation Techniques for the Conceptual Design of Multi-storey Buildings. The building design process often begins with a case based preliminary design which derives its main parameters and features from a number of existing buildings of similar dimensions and functionality. This project aims to develop a design tool which incorporates two topological optimisation techniques in the conceptual design of multi-storey buildings. This design tool will enable inefficient materials to be automatically removed from the design, thus producing a structurally efficient building system. At the same time, the new topologies generated by these optimisation techniques can be used by the designer to create innovative forms and layouts for the building.Read moreRead less
Efficient and Robust Bi-directional Evolutionary Structural Optimisation Method for Large-scale Three-dimensional Topological Design. Structural optimisation is a process of searching for the best shape and topology of an engineering structure which will consume the least amount of material or energy. This project aims to further investigate the Bi-directional Structural Optimisation (BESO) method which has recently been proposed by the applicant's team. New algorithms will be developed to subst ....Efficient and Robust Bi-directional Evolutionary Structural Optimisation Method for Large-scale Three-dimensional Topological Design. Structural optimisation is a process of searching for the best shape and topology of an engineering structure which will consume the least amount of material or energy. This project aims to further investigate the Bi-directional Structural Optimisation (BESO) method which has recently been proposed by the applicant's team. New algorithms will be developed to substantially improve the efficiency and robustness of the BESO method. The expected outcome of the project is a simple and effective optimisation technique that can be used for the conceptual design of a wide range of engineering structures.Read moreRead less
Behaviour and innovative design of drive-in steel storage racks. Drive-in steel storage racks offer the most space-effective solution to storage needs. They have become increasingly sought after as population growth concentrates in the main Australian metropolitan areas, which is pushing up the cost of land and storage. However, the high failure rate of drive-in racking systems is costly to society, as they cause disruptions to our production and supply cycles, and lead to increased costs to Aus ....Behaviour and innovative design of drive-in steel storage racks. Drive-in steel storage racks offer the most space-effective solution to storage needs. They have become increasingly sought after as population growth concentrates in the main Australian metropolitan areas, which is pushing up the cost of land and storage. However, the high failure rate of drive-in racking systems is costly to society, as they cause disruptions to our production and supply cycles, and lead to increased costs to Australian industry and the consumer of the final product. There are great national benefits to be gained from developing innovative drive-in storage systems which have minimum risk of structural failure. Such systems will also enhance the international competitiveness of the Australian rack manufacturing industry.Read moreRead less
Structural Systems with Hollow Flange Sections in Cold-Formed Steel. Palmer Tube Mills have created a new range of hollow flange sections in cold-formed steel manufactured with the unique dual resistance welding process for use in the construction industry. The new sections combine the properties of hot-rolled open sections and cold-formed sections to create more structurally efficient sections. These new sections experience some unique and specific failure modes that are not considered in cur ....Structural Systems with Hollow Flange Sections in Cold-Formed Steel. Palmer Tube Mills have created a new range of hollow flange sections in cold-formed steel manufactured with the unique dual resistance welding process for use in the construction industry. The new sections combine the properties of hot-rolled open sections and cold-formed sections to create more structurally efficient sections. These new sections experience some unique and specific failure modes that are not considered in current design standards. This project will investigate these failure modes to devise efficient and safe guidelines for their structural design. The project will also develop new structural systems to utilise the unique properties of these sections.Read moreRead less
Engineering models for inland atmospheric corrosion of steel infrastructure considering microbiological and environmental influences. Some 2-3% of Gross Domestic Product is estimated to be lost every year to corrosion and by measures to counteract it. Of this a significant proportion relates to steel infrastructure, which includes buildings, bridges, transmission towers, ships, offshore and coastal structures, tanks and pipelines. Better understanding and modelling of corrosion will improve our ....Engineering models for inland atmospheric corrosion of steel infrastructure considering microbiological and environmental influences. Some 2-3% of Gross Domestic Product is estimated to be lost every year to corrosion and by measures to counteract it. Of this a significant proportion relates to steel infrastructure, which includes buildings, bridges, transmission towers, ships, offshore and coastal structures, tanks and pipelines. Better understanding and modelling of corrosion will improve our capability for assessing the long-term safety and serviceability of infrastructure. It may also be useful in improving the composition of steel to resist rusting and in the formulation of protective coatings. This project will contribute to better understanding of the likely involvement of bacteria in the longer-term corrosion of steel exposed to various inland environments.Read moreRead less
Displacement-based earthquake design of unreinforced masonry walls in two-way bending. Current design of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings for earthquake loading is based on checking that the strength of walls and connections exceeds the earthquake-induced inertia forces. Conservative estimates of wall bending strength are used to account for the wide variability in the quality of masonry construction. This project proposes to develop a new "displacement-based" design methodology for URM wa ....Displacement-based earthquake design of unreinforced masonry walls in two-way bending. Current design of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings for earthquake loading is based on checking that the strength of walls and connections exceeds the earthquake-induced inertia forces. Conservative estimates of wall bending strength are used to account for the wide variability in the quality of masonry construction. This project proposes to develop a new "displacement-based" design methodology for URM walls which is less conservative and more direct, reliable and easier to apply the the force-based method. Hence, this method offers substantical cost savings over current techniques for the assessment of the seismic vulnerability of URM walls in buildings.Read moreRead less