Development of Fibre Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Products. The construction industry is one of the world's largest consumers of raw materials and it is widely accepted that current material usage trends are unsustainable. Development of new more efficient construction materials is paramount to overcoming this. This novel research will use advanced high strength glass and carbon fibres and polymer resins to improve the structural behaviour, versatility and economic viability of a natio ....Development of Fibre Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Products. The construction industry is one of the world's largest consumers of raw materials and it is widely accepted that current material usage trends are unsustainable. Development of new more efficient construction materials is paramount to overcoming this. This novel research will use advanced high strength glass and carbon fibres and polymer resins to improve the structural behaviour, versatility and economic viability of a nationally significant construction material known as Autoclaved Aerated Concrete. The material technologies developed by this research will lead to more efficient material use, a more sustainable materials solution and the potential to export the technology worldwide.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
Behaviour and design of concrete-filled stainless steel tubular columns at ambient and elevated temperatures. Stainless steel is recognised as an advanced construction material for its merits of corrosion resistance, attractive appearance and ease of maintenance. It has enormous potential for use in steel-concrete composite construction, which will provide the structural engineering community with greater choice in terms of aesthetics, constructability, cost and sustainability. The research put ....Behaviour and design of concrete-filled stainless steel tubular columns at ambient and elevated temperatures. Stainless steel is recognised as an advanced construction material for its merits of corrosion resistance, attractive appearance and ease of maintenance. It has enormous potential for use in steel-concrete composite construction, which will provide the structural engineering community with greater choice in terms of aesthetics, constructability, cost and sustainability. The research put forward in this proposal will promote the better use of stainless steel in Australia's building, bridge and offshore infrastructure, thereby providing significant socio-economic benefits to Australia. Moreover it will greatly increase Australia's infrastructure maintenance capability.Read moreRead less
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
Influence of tunnelling on pile foundations. The effects of tunnel construction on the behaviour of existing pile foundations will be investigated. In particular, models will be developed to predict the influence of tunnel excavation on the bearing capacity, average settlement, differential settlement and tilt of pile groups and the loads and bending moments induced in the piles of the group and the pile cap. These models will allow rational assessment of the effects on buildings undermined by ....Influence of tunnelling on pile foundations. The effects of tunnel construction on the behaviour of existing pile foundations will be investigated. In particular, models will be developed to predict the influence of tunnel excavation on the bearing capacity, average settlement, differential settlement and tilt of pile groups and the loads and bending moments induced in the piles of the group and the pile cap. These models will allow rational assessment of the effects on buildings undermined by tunnels. This work is significant and timely because of the growing trend to place transport infrastructure underground in many cities of the world.Read moreRead less
Limit and shakedown analyses allowing for geometric effects and physical instability. The accurate safety assessment of structures is a fundamental requirement for their safe and cost effective design and management. In this respect, understanding the implications of geometric effects and physical instability on the failure behaviour of structures is a vital and challenging one. This project aims at achieving this by developing innovative approaches in which the classical, so-called, limit and s ....Limit and shakedown analyses allowing for geometric effects and physical instability. The accurate safety assessment of structures is a fundamental requirement for their safe and cost effective design and management. In this respect, understanding the implications of geometric effects and physical instability on the failure behaviour of structures is a vital and challenging one. This project aims at achieving this by developing innovative approaches in which the classical, so-called, limit and shakedown, analyses are extended to incorporate these effects. The project will result in a significant advance in Australia's capability for enhanced diagnosis of its aging infrastructure and potentially also, through this newly developed computational ability, for the rapid transition of new materials to emerging technologies.Read moreRead less
New design guidelines and simplified analysis methods for geosynthetic reinforced pile-supported embankments. There is a growing demand in Australia for efficient technologies for soft soils due to increasing infrastructure development on marginal land characterized by soft ground. One such technology that is becoming popular is geosynthetic reinforced pile-supported embankment as it requires less land, construction time and maintenance. The outcomes of this research will lead to cost-effective ....New design guidelines and simplified analysis methods for geosynthetic reinforced pile-supported embankments. There is a growing demand in Australia for efficient technologies for soft soils due to increasing infrastructure development on marginal land characterized by soft ground. One such technology that is becoming popular is geosynthetic reinforced pile-supported embankment as it requires less land, construction time and maintenance. The outcomes of this research will lead to cost-effective and reliable infrastructure design of benefit to the many future infrastructure projects, totalling billions of dollars, planned for Australia. This project will therefore contribute significantly to the sustainability of our environment and increase the international competitiveness and export potential of the Australian construction industry.Read moreRead less
Utilising the benefits of high performance steels (HPS) and infill materials for critical infrastructure protection (CIP) against extreme loads. This project will provide an improved understanding of the behaviour of structural elements subjected to impact and blast loads. The structural engineering community will benefit from the state of the art knowledge whilst the general community will benefit from the increased safety of critical infrastructure which will provide greater security against ....Utilising the benefits of high performance steels (HPS) and infill materials for critical infrastructure protection (CIP) against extreme loads. This project will provide an improved understanding of the behaviour of structural elements subjected to impact and blast loads. The structural engineering community will benefit from the state of the art knowledge whilst the general community will benefit from the increased safety of critical infrastructure which will provide greater security against physical and financial losses. This project extends on work conducted by the first Chief and Partner Investigator in a completed ARC Discovery Project. It is also directly related to research being carried out by the Second Chief Investigator as part of the ARC, Research Network for a Secure Australia.Read moreRead less
A study of the correlation between pre- and post- demolition performance assessment for prestressed concrete beams in a 45 year old major road bridge. In 2002 a major prestressed concrete bridge in Tasmania was demolished after only 45 years in service because of fears about the corrosion of the prestressing bars. Earlier, very extensive investigations were carried out to attempt to assess the rate of its deterioration and to establish the remaining margin of safety.
The present project aims ....A study of the correlation between pre- and post- demolition performance assessment for prestressed concrete beams in a 45 year old major road bridge. In 2002 a major prestressed concrete bridge in Tasmania was demolished after only 45 years in service because of fears about the corrosion of the prestressing bars. Earlier, very extensive investigations were carried out to attempt to assess the rate of its deterioration and to establish the remaining margin of safety.
The present project aims to investigate the degree of correlation between the performance assessment before and after demolition. Extensive pre-demolition documentation provided by the industry partner and detailed new assessments will give valuable research insight about the meaningfulness and reliability of investigative techniques for safety assessment. It will assist road authorities in structural assessment of bridges close to coastal marine environments.
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