Efficient reinforced concrete design using linear elastic finite element analysis. It is expected that this project will bring about changes in the design practice for reinforced concrete structures, particularly those of complex geometry, which will enhance the competitiveness of the Australian design community. Through reduction of the overuse of concrete often present in current conservative design procedures for such structures, the project will lead to a reduction in the impact of reinforce ....Efficient reinforced concrete design using linear elastic finite element analysis. It is expected that this project will bring about changes in the design practice for reinforced concrete structures, particularly those of complex geometry, which will enhance the competitiveness of the Australian design community. Through reduction of the overuse of concrete often present in current conservative design procedures for such structures, the project will lead to a reduction in the impact of reinforced concrete construction on the environment and contribute to sustainable engineering practise.Read moreRead less
Ageing of pile shaft friction in sand. Piles driven in sand are very commonly used to support structures in Australia. Their design, however, is based on pile capacities measured shortly after installation - even though capacities are observed to increase significantly with time. This proposal seeks to develop a methodology through which the effects of time can be incorporated in design and hence lead to cheaper foundation solutions.
Numerical prediction of train and vehicle induced ground vibrations and their effects on structures. This project will develop an innovative new method based on coupled finite element and scaled boundary finite-element analysis for predicting the ground vibrations induced by road traffic and underground or surface trains. The method will have immediate application in transportation engineering to predict traffic-induced ground vibrations, in geotechnical engineering to design isolation trenches ....Numerical prediction of train and vehicle induced ground vibrations and their effects on structures. This project will develop an innovative new method based on coupled finite element and scaled boundary finite-element analysis for predicting the ground vibrations induced by road traffic and underground or surface trains. The method will have immediate application in transportation engineering to predict traffic-induced ground vibrations, in geotechnical engineering to design isolation trenches and wave barriers to dissipate wave propagation, and in structural engineering to estimate in-structure vibration level and design isolators for sensitive equipment housed within. The technique will involve fundamental advances in the scaled boundary finite-element method, as calculations will be performed in a moving reference frame.Read moreRead less
Improved analysis and design of structures to resist blast and impact. This project aims to develop an improved single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model which can be easily used in design analysis by engineers and yield accurate structural response predictions in analysis of structures subjected to blast and impact loads. Current practice uses SDOF models in analysis of structures subjected to blast and impact loads, however many experimental tests and high fidelity numerical simulations have revea ....Improved analysis and design of structures to resist blast and impact. This project aims to develop an improved single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model which can be easily used in design analysis by engineers and yield accurate structural response predictions in analysis of structures subjected to blast and impact loads. Current practice uses SDOF models in analysis of structures subjected to blast and impact loads, however many experimental tests and high fidelity numerical simulations have revealed the SDOF analysis does not always lead to accurate structural response predictions. This project will develop an improved SDOF model, which can be easily used in design analysis by engineers and yield accurate structural response predictions. These will lead to more economical designs and robust structures that resist blast and impact loads.Read moreRead less
Reducing geotechnical design conservatism to secure floating wind energy. The next frontier for offshore wind energy is moving further out to sea to avail of stronger and more consistent wind speeds. In these water depths, wind turbines are installed on floaters tethered to anchors in the seabed. Geotechnical design of anchors is inherently conservative, having been shaped by technical and economic considerations of oil and gas facilities. The offshore wind energy industry cannot afford to adopt ....Reducing geotechnical design conservatism to secure floating wind energy. The next frontier for offshore wind energy is moving further out to sea to avail of stronger and more consistent wind speeds. In these water depths, wind turbines are installed on floaters tethered to anchors in the seabed. Geotechnical design of anchors is inherently conservative, having been shaped by technical and economic considerations of oil and gas facilities. The offshore wind energy industry cannot afford to adopt such conservatism if floating wind is to become commercially viable. This project will, through numerical developments, geotechnical centrifuge modelling and field testing, develop the science that will lead to a reliability-based geotechnical design approach to make floating offshore wind energy economic and viable.Read moreRead less
Unlocking new generation physical modelling with realistic soil response. This project will improve the safety and efficiency of geo-structures associated with offshore wind developments by better characterising and replicating the behaviour of carbonate sediments. Novel characterisation techniques will be used to better understand the links between the chemical and structural composition of the sediments and their engineering properties relevant to geotechnical design, and how to better replica ....Unlocking new generation physical modelling with realistic soil response. This project will improve the safety and efficiency of geo-structures associated with offshore wind developments by better characterising and replicating the behaviour of carbonate sediments. Novel characterisation techniques will be used to better understand the links between the chemical and structural composition of the sediments and their engineering properties relevant to geotechnical design, and how to better replicate carbonate sediment behaviour in a laboratory – an outcome that has eluded researchers for decades. The main outcomes of the project will be the development of soil sample reconstitution techniques enabling high-fidelity physical modelling to be undertaken to assist in the design offshore wind turbine foundations.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms controlling displacement pile behaviour in sands. The project will exploit the potential of the drum centrifuge and recent innovations in earth pressure cell design to provide a uniquely comprehensive investigation into the factors controlling the performance of displacement piles in sand. A wide range of factors affecting the stresses that develop at the pile-soil interface will be examined in a systematic fashion to facilitate the derivation of more reliable and efficient design app ....Mechanisms controlling displacement pile behaviour in sands. The project will exploit the potential of the drum centrifuge and recent innovations in earth pressure cell design to provide a uniquely comprehensive investigation into the factors controlling the performance of displacement piles in sand. A wide range of factors affecting the stresses that develop at the pile-soil interface will be examined in a systematic fashion to facilitate the derivation of more reliable and efficient design approaches for piles.Read moreRead less
Development of Precast Concrete Segmental Columns to Resist Dynamic Loads. Using precast segmental concrete columns in structures improves the construction efficiency and site safety, leads to better construction quality control, and reduces the construction cost, site disruption and environmental impacts. The performance of segmental columns to resist earthquake and blast loads is not well studied yet. As a structure might be subject to such loads during its service life, understanding its resi ....Development of Precast Concrete Segmental Columns to Resist Dynamic Loads. Using precast segmental concrete columns in structures improves the construction efficiency and site safety, leads to better construction quality control, and reduces the construction cost, site disruption and environmental impacts. The performance of segmental columns to resist earthquake and blast loads is not well studied yet. As a structure might be subject to such loads during its service life, understanding its resistance capacities is essential for structural safety. This project aims to perform experimental and numerical investigations to study the performance of precast segmental concrete columns under earthquake and blast loads, and develop analytical and design methods for applications of such columns in building and bridge structures.Read moreRead less
Application of field penetrometer data to offshore geotechnical design in deep water. Offshore oil and gas extraction is a $17 billion/year industry and a major component of GDP, but facing increasing challenges in Australia as exploration extends into water depths exceeding 1 km. In order to develop safe and economic facilities in these environments, solutions to significant technical challenges are required, ranging from new technology to assess the strength of seabed soils, to formulating res ....Application of field penetrometer data to offshore geotechnical design in deep water. Offshore oil and gas extraction is a $17 billion/year industry and a major component of GDP, but facing increasing challenges in Australia as exploration extends into water depths exceeding 1 km. In order to develop safe and economic facilities in these environments, solutions to significant technical challenges are required, ranging from new technology to assess the strength of seabed soils, to formulating response models for oil and gas pipelines and shallow foundations or anchoring systems. This project contributes to future exploitation of offshore hydrocarbon reserves while minimising impact on the marine environment; it brings direct benefits to our economy and helps maintain our world leadership in offshore geotechnical research.Read moreRead less
Understanding vibratory piles in sand: installation and lateral response. This project aims to address uncertainties in the design of vibro-driven piles. This promising alternative to impact-driven piles offers faster installation and requires no noise mitigation. The project expects to generate new knowledge of the effect of the installation process in sand on in-service pile response by integrating findings from innovative experiments and numerical modelling. This is particularly important for ....Understanding vibratory piles in sand: installation and lateral response. This project aims to address uncertainties in the design of vibro-driven piles. This promising alternative to impact-driven piles offers faster installation and requires no noise mitigation. The project expects to generate new knowledge of the effect of the installation process in sand on in-service pile response by integrating findings from innovative experiments and numerical modelling. This is particularly important for highly sensitive structures such as offshore wind turbines, which provide a rapidly increasing share of global energy supply. Expected outcomes include practical recommendations for vibro-piles in sand. This should provide sizeable benefits by unlocking vibro-piles as a viable method to reduce offshore wind farm costs.Read moreRead less