Thin-walled Structures Subjected to Impact and Blast Loading. Terrorist attacks have cost Australians much human grief and billions of dollars. Containing the consequences of a blast or impact is crucial to survival and restricting damage to critical civilian/defence infrastructure. Thin-walled structures are used extensively in such infrastructure. There is a lack of knowledge about their behaviour when subjected to impulse and blast loads. The investigators will establish the most economical m ....Thin-walled Structures Subjected to Impact and Blast Loading. Terrorist attacks have cost Australians much human grief and billions of dollars. Containing the consequences of a blast or impact is crucial to survival and restricting damage to critical civilian/defence infrastructure. Thin-walled structures are used extensively in such infrastructure. There is a lack of knowledge about their behaviour when subjected to impulse and blast loads. The investigators will establish the most economical means of designing passive blast protection into thin-walled structures and hence, Australia's critical infrastructure. This knowledge will be transferred into design standards and Australia's limited defence resources.Read moreRead less
Scaled boundary finite-element shakedown approach for the safety assessment of cracked elastoplastic structures under cyclic loading. Many structures in Australia have passed or are approaching their design life. One of the most common happening in an ageing structure is the appearance of cracks. The safety of a cracked structure is a major concern to general public and government authority if no reliable safety evaluation can be performed. In this research project, an advanced numerical tool wi ....Scaled boundary finite-element shakedown approach for the safety assessment of cracked elastoplastic structures under cyclic loading. Many structures in Australia have passed or are approaching their design life. One of the most common happening in an ageing structure is the appearance of cracks. The safety of a cracked structure is a major concern to general public and government authority if no reliable safety evaluation can be performed. In this research project, an advanced numerical tool will be developed to predict the stability of cracks and thus the safety of a cracked structure. Such a tool, which does not yet exist, will help engineers and government authorities in deciding on the necessity and type of rehabilitation, retirement or replacement of a cracked structure. Read moreRead less
Characterisation and modelling of structured soils. The aim of this project is to undertake a fundamental study of the mechanical behaviour of structured soils in order to formulate appropriate constitutive models. This work is significant because it will contribute to the progress of soil mechanics as a science, advancing it from the study of reconstituted laboratory soils to that of real soils. The project should ultimately lead to cost savings in many geotechnical engineering practices beca ....Characterisation and modelling of structured soils. The aim of this project is to undertake a fundamental study of the mechanical behaviour of structured soils in order to formulate appropriate constitutive models. This work is significant because it will contribute to the progress of soil mechanics as a science, advancing it from the study of reconstituted laboratory soils to that of real soils. The project should ultimately lead to cost savings in many geotechnical engineering practices because it will provide a better understanding of the response of real soil to loading, and provide greater confidence in predictions of the performance of geotechnical structures.Read moreRead less
Non-deterministic fracture analysis of structures by extending the scaled boundary finite-element method. A very large part of Australia's dam, bridge and building infrastructure is ageing and experiencing cracking and deteriorations in material properties caused by progressive deterioration of concrete and corrosion of steel. This research addresses the practical and challenging problems of cracked structures with uncertainties in their properties and crack sizes. The advanced numerical tool de ....Non-deterministic fracture analysis of structures by extending the scaled boundary finite-element method. A very large part of Australia's dam, bridge and building infrastructure is ageing and experiencing cracking and deteriorations in material properties caused by progressive deterioration of concrete and corrosion of steel. This research addresses the practical and challenging problems of cracked structures with uncertainties in their properties and crack sizes. The advanced numerical tool developed as an outcome of this project will enable engineers to evaluate the reliability of structures under various scenarios of cracking, variation in material properties, rehabilitation and loading. The acquired knowledge will lead to more rational decisions in safe and cost-effective management of our ageing infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Geotechnical characterisation of compacted ground based on passive ambient noise techniques. The proposed research will provide our local construction and mining industries with a much needed fast and low cost technology for geotechnical investigation of very large sites which is currently not available. The project will help steer Australia to the forefront of ambient noise research for geotechnical site investigation, in the characterisation of unsaturated compacted soil and in the determinati ....Geotechnical characterisation of compacted ground based on passive ambient noise techniques. The proposed research will provide our local construction and mining industries with a much needed fast and low cost technology for geotechnical investigation of very large sites which is currently not available. The project will help steer Australia to the forefront of ambient noise research for geotechnical site investigation, in the characterisation of unsaturated compacted soil and in the determination of dynamic site characteristics which are required for seismic risk assessment. Two postgraduate students will benefit from this research by receiving research training at the highest level and it will also pave the way for exporting the technology developed overseas, particularly to our near neighbours in Asia and the Pacific. 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
Assessment and Prediction of Particle Breakage under Cyclic Loading. Every year, transport industries spend millions of dollars to maintain existing tracks suffering excessive settlement due to heavy traffic. In railways, differential settlement and track fouling are mostly due to ballast breakage. Frequent maintenance requires large amounts of quarried ballast causing environmental degradation. Simulation of particle breakage subject to cyclic loading is pioneering fundamental research that wi ....Assessment and Prediction of Particle Breakage under Cyclic Loading. Every year, transport industries spend millions of dollars to maintain existing tracks suffering excessive settlement due to heavy traffic. In railways, differential settlement and track fouling are mostly due to ballast breakage. Frequent maintenance requires large amounts of quarried ballast causing environmental degradation. Simulation of particle breakage subject to cyclic loading is pioneering fundamental research that will have significant impact on the design and maintenance of future rail and road networks. A full understanding of the breakage mechanisms of aggregates will lead to innovative techniques in design and construction, including faster trains carrying heavier loads with reduced maintenance costs.Read moreRead less
FRACTURE OF STEEL FIBRE-REINFORCED CONCRETE: MODES I & II. In 2000-2001 Australia spent 17.5 billon dollars on heavy engineering infrastructure development (3% of its gross domestic product). As this infrastructure ages costs of repairs and maintenance magnifies. Conventional structural concrete can significantly deteriorate with time requiring regular and often costly maintenance. This research goes to the development of a class of "super" concretes with very high strengths and with excellent d ....FRACTURE OF STEEL FIBRE-REINFORCED CONCRETE: MODES I & II. In 2000-2001 Australia spent 17.5 billon dollars on heavy engineering infrastructure development (3% of its gross domestic product). As this infrastructure ages costs of repairs and maintenance magnifies. Conventional structural concrete can significantly deteriorate with time requiring regular and often costly maintenance. This research goes to the development of a class of "super" concretes with very high strengths and with excellent durability properties. With improved understanding of fracture and fracture processes with these materials, new models can be developed to represent the behaviour of structural elements fabricated with this "super" class of concretes and speed their implementation into Australian construction practice.Read moreRead less
DEBONDING FAILURE IN CFRP STRENGTHENED CONCRETE STRUCTURES. In 1999-2000 Australia spent $19 billion on civil engineering infrastructure renewal (3% of the country's GDP). The repair of damaged structures and strengthening of existing structures has become a research priority to maximise the life of aging infrastructure. A method that shows particular promise is the use of CFRP technology to retrofit structures. The repair technology, however, requires development and questions remain as to bond ....DEBONDING FAILURE IN CFRP STRENGTHENED CONCRETE STRUCTURES. In 1999-2000 Australia spent $19 billion on civil engineering infrastructure renewal (3% of the country's GDP). The repair of damaged structures and strengthening of existing structures has become a research priority to maximise the life of aging infrastructure. A method that shows particular promise is the use of CFRP technology to retrofit structures. The repair technology, however, requires development and questions remain as to bonding mechanics and debonding strength of the repair material from the structure. This research will provide high quality experimental data and will develop a rational analytical model for debonding between CFRP plates from the parent concrete.Read moreRead less
Retrofit of Reinforced Concrete Beam-Column Connections with Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites. Effective retrofitting of structurally deficient reinforced concrete structures with fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) will improve the safety of Australian infrastructure resulting in both social and economic benefits. Avoidance of structure collapse by retrofitting will provide obvious social benefits and minimisation of infrastructure damage will provide economic benefits to both the public ....Retrofit of Reinforced Concrete Beam-Column Connections with Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites. Effective retrofitting of structurally deficient reinforced concrete structures with fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) will improve the safety of Australian infrastructure resulting in both social and economic benefits. Avoidance of structure collapse by retrofitting will provide obvious social benefits and minimisation of infrastructure damage will provide economic benefits to both the public and private sector. Engineering confidence in designing FRP retrofitting measures will also be enhanced. Local engineering expert knowledge in retrofitting will be a valuable technology to export to our seismically vulnerable international neighbours thus creating revenue and establishing Australia as a world leader in the retrofitting field.Read moreRead less