Creating pH-sensitive self-healing concrete using sludge waste for sewers. In Australia, our 117,000 km of concrete sewer pipes are currently internally corroding at a depth rate of 1-3 mm per annum. The repair of deteriorated concrete is costly and often short-lived. Based on an advanced composite technology, this project will develop a pH-sensitive self-healing concrete that can repair itself without human intervention at the early stage of corrosion. Sludge waste from drinking water treatment ....Creating pH-sensitive self-healing concrete using sludge waste for sewers. In Australia, our 117,000 km of concrete sewer pipes are currently internally corroding at a depth rate of 1-3 mm per annum. The repair of deteriorated concrete is costly and often short-lived. Based on an advanced composite technology, this project will develop a pH-sensitive self-healing concrete that can repair itself without human intervention at the early stage of corrosion. Sludge waste from drinking water treatment will be utilised as a healing agent to mitigate the corrosion. Combined experiments and molecular dynamics simulation will uncover all aspects of the healing process to enable the practical application of this technology. The findings will extend the lifetime of concrete structures and promote a circular economy.Read moreRead less
Multilayer Graphene Based Anti-Corrosion Polymer Coated Structures. This project aims to develop a novel multilayer graphene/polymer coating for structures exposed to corrosive environment with graphene concentration varying layer-wise to eliminate galvanic corrosion yet maintain all unique advantages owing to graphene inclusion, thus offering a cost-effective design solution with significantly improved anti-corrosion performance and remarkably enhanced safety and durability for structures. Expe ....Multilayer Graphene Based Anti-Corrosion Polymer Coated Structures. This project aims to develop a novel multilayer graphene/polymer coating for structures exposed to corrosive environment with graphene concentration varying layer-wise to eliminate galvanic corrosion yet maintain all unique advantages owing to graphene inclusion, thus offering a cost-effective design solution with significantly improved anti-corrosion performance and remarkably enhanced safety and durability for structures. Expected outcomes of this project include an innovative design, experimental data on corrosion prevention, development of reliable simulation techniques and design procedures for the proposed coating. This should provide huge benefits to Australian civil, offshore and marine engineering industry and national economy.Read moreRead less
Adaptive daytime radiative cooling and heating for buildings . This project aims to develop an adaptive daytime radiative cooling and heating technology suitable for the for the reduction of the energy consumption in buildings for the mitigation of the urban overheating in the built environment. The project expects to generate new knowledge in this area to exploit adaptive strategies in the development of future cooling and heating solutions for buildings. Expected project outcomes consist of th ....Adaptive daytime radiative cooling and heating for buildings . This project aims to develop an adaptive daytime radiative cooling and heating technology suitable for the for the reduction of the energy consumption in buildings for the mitigation of the urban overheating in the built environment. The project expects to generate new knowledge in this area to exploit adaptive strategies in the development of future cooling and heating solutions for buildings. Expected project outcomes consist of the establishment of the new adaptive daytime radiative technology for use on building envelopes to support cooling requirements in hot weather and heating needs under cold conditions. This should lead to significant benefits for the Australian building and construction industry. Read moreRead less
Degradation mechanisms of structural composites under extreme weather. The changing weather patterns and increasing solar radiation in Australia have greatly impacted the durability of construction materials and caused substantial damage to critical infrastructure. This project aims to understand the synergistic effects of different environmental conditions on the degradation mechanisms of advanced polymer composites and to develop new models on the long-term performance for these materials. Thi ....Degradation mechanisms of structural composites under extreme weather. The changing weather patterns and increasing solar radiation in Australia have greatly impacted the durability of construction materials and caused substantial damage to critical infrastructure. This project aims to understand the synergistic effects of different environmental conditions on the degradation mechanisms of advanced polymer composites and to develop new models on the long-term performance for these materials. This project expects to generate new knowledge on polymer composites incorporating new classes of fibres, resin systems, and functional fillers. Expected outcomes include the discovery of new composite technologies for the longevity of Australian infrastructure - crucial to our economic prosperity and quality of life.
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Fire engineering of prefabricated structural systems of modular buildings. With the speed and cost benefits, modular construction is considered a game-changing solution in response to pandemics and natural disasters, and tackling the affordable housing crisis on a large scale. However, its uptake has been hindered due to recent fire incidents of modular buildings. This project aims to develop novel fire experiments and advanced modelling techniques to evaluate the fire performance of modular bui ....Fire engineering of prefabricated structural systems of modular buildings. With the speed and cost benefits, modular construction is considered a game-changing solution in response to pandemics and natural disasters, and tackling the affordable housing crisis on a large scale. However, its uptake has been hindered due to recent fire incidents of modular buildings. This project aims to develop novel fire experiments and advanced modelling techniques to evaluate the fire performance of modular buildings. Computational tools and fire safety design guidelines will also be developed to enable modular buildings to be built safer and more economically. This project will promote the widespread adoption of modular buildings to benefit end-users and the wider society, especially the housing sector and low-income households.Read moreRead less
Optimisation of Buildable Structures for 3D Concrete Printing. This project aims to establish a systematic approach to seamlessly integrate optimisation, characterisation, and 3D concrete printing (3DCP) manufacturing for the construction and building industry. New optimisation algorithms will first overcome the manufacturing limitations of 3DCP by considering the print path and early-age concrete properties, and directly create high-performance and innovative designs of buildable structures. Th ....Optimisation of Buildable Structures for 3D Concrete Printing. This project aims to establish a systematic approach to seamlessly integrate optimisation, characterisation, and 3D concrete printing (3DCP) manufacturing for the construction and building industry. New optimisation algorithms will first overcome the manufacturing limitations of 3DCP by considering the print path and early-age concrete properties, and directly create high-performance and innovative designs of buildable structures. The outcomes of this project include a powerful design tool that enables architects and engineers to optimally design and construct the next generation of cost-saving and aesthetically pleasing buildings and infrastructures through the adoption of modern 3DCP technology.Read moreRead less
Real-time bridge performance evaluation based on crowdsourcing and learning. This project aims to develop a novel strategy utilizing the real-time measurements from moving vehicles and bridges for evaluating the safety and operational performance of bridges based on transfer learning and vehicle-bridge interaction model. This is the first essential study on integrating the bridge-moving load models with transfer learning to extract common knowledge from simulation experiments to support the asse ....Real-time bridge performance evaluation based on crowdsourcing and learning. This project aims to develop a novel strategy utilizing the real-time measurements from moving vehicles and bridges for evaluating the safety and operational performance of bridges based on transfer learning and vehicle-bridge interaction model. This is the first essential study on integrating the bridge-moving load models with transfer learning to extract common knowledge from simulation experiments to support the assessment of damaged status in practice. The project will provide an engineer-friendly low cost monitoring system for its deployment, management and maintenance of existing transport infrastructure. The innovative techniques developed enable the safe operation and reliable evaluation and maintenance of transport infrastructure.Read moreRead less
4D Printed Origami Structures: Deformation Mechanisms and Mechanics. This project aims to understand the physics and self-folding mechanisms of 4D printed origami structures and materials by utilising interdisciplinary approaches. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of origami engineering and structural mechanics. The success of this project will form a foundation for studying shape-shifting and sequential control of smart origamis. The fundamental mechanics will be appli ....4D Printed Origami Structures: Deformation Mechanisms and Mechanics. This project aims to understand the physics and self-folding mechanisms of 4D printed origami structures and materials by utilising interdisciplinary approaches. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of origami engineering and structural mechanics. The success of this project will form a foundation for studying shape-shifting and sequential control of smart origamis. The fundamental mechanics will be applied to characterise and design novel smart materials/structures with tuneable shape-morphing and mechanical performance. This should provide significant benefits to improvement of their safety, stability and reliability performance in applications such as space engineering, wearable technology and smart robotics.Read moreRead less
Experiment-numerical-virtual Generative Design for Nondeterministic Impacts. This project will establish an advanced nondeterministic design methodology to uncover the optimised material properties and 3D printed metastructural capacity in real-time against impact loading. It will develop a rigorous framework that integrates numerical simulation, experiment, and machine learning-based virtual modelling to tackle practical challenges in design and manufacture of impact-proof materials and structu ....Experiment-numerical-virtual Generative Design for Nondeterministic Impacts. This project will establish an advanced nondeterministic design methodology to uncover the optimised material properties and 3D printed metastructural capacity in real-time against impact loading. It will develop a rigorous framework that integrates numerical simulation, experiment, and machine learning-based virtual modelling to tackle practical challenges in design and manufacture of impact-proof materials and structures with intrinsic uncertainties. The generative design-calibration system unifying experimental-numerical-virtual processes will largely reduce the need for repetitive large-scale experimental tests. This project benefits civil, aerospace, automotive, and defence with competitive advantage through technological innovation.Read moreRead less
Safety and robustness of tall timber buildings under extreme dynamic events. This project aims to develop innovative and robust structural connections in tall mass timber buildings by characterising their mechanical behaviour under dynamic loads induced by extreme events like earthquakes or progressive collapse. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the safe, economic, and efficient design of mass timber buildings. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced robustness design ....Safety and robustness of tall timber buildings under extreme dynamic events. This project aims to develop innovative and robust structural connections in tall mass timber buildings by characterising their mechanical behaviour under dynamic loads induced by extreme events like earthquakes or progressive collapse. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the safe, economic, and efficient design of mass timber buildings. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced robustness design guidelines for the engineering community. This should lead to significant benefits, such as contributing to uptake of viable low-cost timber housing solutions in response to population growth and contributing to net zero emissions in Australia by 2050, and transition to safer and resilient infrastructure in urban development.Read moreRead less