Barriers for cost - effective rock fall hazard mitigation. Rock fall barriers are used throughout Australia to protect its extensive road and rail networks. These networks are vital links in the nation's infrastructure and underpin its economic prosperity and development. There are thousands of cuttings on Australia' transport networks, many of which have the potential to be affected by rock falls. These events can take lives and severely disrupt the performance of our transport infrastructure. ....Barriers for cost - effective rock fall hazard mitigation. Rock fall barriers are used throughout Australia to protect its extensive road and rail networks. These networks are vital links in the nation's infrastructure and underpin its economic prosperity and development. There are thousands of cuttings on Australia' transport networks, many of which have the potential to be affected by rock falls. These events can take lives and severely disrupt the performance of our transport infrastructure. This project will develop new cost-effective methods for designing against rock fall events using a combination of advanced testing and computer modelling.Read moreRead less
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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100101
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$744,697.00
Summary
New generation facility for impact testing. This project aims to develop a new generation, national-impact testing facility to study the impact response of civil and mechanical structures and components. This project expects to seek simultaneous, realistic impact scenarios with very high velocities, which were previously impossible. This will enhance the capability for innovative research on real-time behaviour of components/systems under high amplitude impacts to augment their protection throug ....New generation facility for impact testing. This project aims to develop a new generation, national-impact testing facility to study the impact response of civil and mechanical structures and components. This project expects to seek simultaneous, realistic impact scenarios with very high velocities, which were previously impossible. This will enhance the capability for innovative research on real-time behaviour of components/systems under high amplitude impacts to augment their protection through advanced materials. This project is essential for research on rational design philosophies and effective retrofitting of high-risk buildings, infrastructure and armoured vehicles. Benefits include the saving of lives and property through new knowledge from credible impact testing.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
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
Analysis and design of interlocking brick system against earthquake loading. This project aims to develop optimised interlocking bricks to resist static and earthquake loads. Using conventional bricks in masonry construction requires skilled labour to connect bricks with mortar. Development of interlocking bricks for mortarless connection has been attracting great interest because the easy alignment improves construction efficiency and quality. Interlocking also leads to better mechanical perfor ....Analysis and design of interlocking brick system against earthquake loading. This project aims to develop optimised interlocking bricks to resist static and earthquake loads. Using conventional bricks in masonry construction requires skilled labour to connect bricks with mortar. Development of interlocking bricks for mortarless connection has been attracting great interest because the easy alignment improves construction efficiency and quality. Interlocking also leads to better mechanical performance of the resulting structures. This project will have significant impact on construction technology and the Australian masonry industry, and greatly improve the competitiveness of the Australian construction industry in the international market.Read moreRead less