Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL130100059
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,204,762.00
Summary
New Frontiers in offshore geotechnics: securing Australia's energy future. Offshore gas lies at the heart of Australia's prosperity, with $120 billion of infrastructure under construction, however its future requires new technology to safely build offshore foundations in our weak and problematic soils. This project will provide engineers with science-based tools to unlock the natural gas 'stranded' in our deep oceans.
Physics-informed hydrodynamic model for clay across scales. This project aims to develop a predictive model for the macroscopic behaviour of clay by combining direct observations of microscopic and mesoscopic mechanisms with rigorous physical principles. The project expects to track clay aggregates as they expand or shrink under variable loads and moistures using novel X-ray and optical methods. A key anticipated result is the development of a robust hydrodynamic model for clay that rationalises ....Physics-informed hydrodynamic model for clay across scales. This project aims to develop a predictive model for the macroscopic behaviour of clay by combining direct observations of microscopic and mesoscopic mechanisms with rigorous physical principles. The project expects to track clay aggregates as they expand or shrink under variable loads and moistures using novel X-ray and optical methods. A key anticipated result is the development of a robust hydrodynamic model for clay that rationalises the observed phenomena. Expected outcomes include the accurate predictions of clay dynamics, either fast during landslides or slow under drying and wetting. As much of Australia experiences droughts and floods, this project should benefit the longevity and safety of critical infrastructure situated on clay.Read moreRead less
Development of Leakage Resistant Well-Cements for Geo-Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide Application using Alkali Activated Slag and Geopolymer Cements. The biggest threat facing life now is climate change due to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Extreme weathers are increasing in frequency and intensity, as evidenced by recent bushfires, and it is predicted to get worse unless carbon mitigation strategies are quickly implemented. Geo-sequestration is the technology of capturing and storing of the CO ....Development of Leakage Resistant Well-Cements for Geo-Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide Application using Alkali Activated Slag and Geopolymer Cements. The biggest threat facing life now is climate change due to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Extreme weathers are increasing in frequency and intensity, as evidenced by recent bushfires, and it is predicted to get worse unless carbon mitigation strategies are quickly implemented. Geo-sequestration is the technology of capturing and storing of the CO2 deep below ground for long time (>1000 years). It offers the best hope for large reductions of CO2 emissions. However, CO2-brine stored under pressure is acidic and has the risk of leaking in the long term by dissolving the cement used to seal the pipe wells. This project will develop alternative novel cements which are acid resistant and will not allow CO2 to leak through the sealed wells.Read moreRead less
Building Australia's Offshore Oil and Gas Industry on Solid Foundations: characterising multilayered soils for offshore foundation design. This project aims to characterise soils with multilayers for offshore foundation designs. The commonly used site investigation tools, cone, T-bar and ball penetrometers, will be studied using advanced large deformation finite element analysis and novel centrifuge technics. The outcome of this study will provide guidelines to interpret soil layer information a ....Building Australia's Offshore Oil and Gas Industry on Solid Foundations: characterising multilayered soils for offshore foundation design. This project aims to characterise soils with multilayers for offshore foundation designs. The commonly used site investigation tools, cone, T-bar and ball penetrometers, will be studied using advanced large deformation finite element analysis and novel centrifuge technics. The outcome of this study will provide guidelines to interpret soil layer information and soil design parameters from site investigation data, that is, penetrometers’ penetration resistance profiles. The guidelines will fill the knowledge gap in this area and will provide offshore design engineers with more reliable soil parameters for safer and more economical foundation designs.Read moreRead less
Long-term chemically induced crumbling of unsaturated brittle geomaterials. This project will investigate the crumbling of geomaterials such as soil and rock by analysing the microscopic mechanisms controlling their deterioration in acidic water. The project will help predict weathering processes using an experimentally validated theory and innovative pore-scale numerical simulations. Expected outcomes include a detailed knowledge of the multi-scale interactions between brittle geomaterials and ....Long-term chemically induced crumbling of unsaturated brittle geomaterials. This project will investigate the crumbling of geomaterials such as soil and rock by analysing the microscopic mechanisms controlling their deterioration in acidic water. The project will help predict weathering processes using an experimentally validated theory and innovative pore-scale numerical simulations. Expected outcomes include a detailed knowledge of the multi-scale interactions between brittle geomaterials and acidic water, leading to accurate forecasts of the long-term response of large-scale geotechnical structures. This project should provide significant benefits by improving soil management for mining remediation, increasing carbon dioxide storage efficiency, and preventing the deterioration of tailings dams.Read moreRead less
Combined strategies to extinguish underground coal fires and to extract geothermal energy. This project addresses two serious environmental issues that occur worldwide. Firstly, it aims to develop strategies to combat underground coal fires which are a serious environmental problem. It has been estimated that underground coal fires in China alone contribute 2 to 3 per cent of the total world output of carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning fossil fuel. Concentrations of CO2 and CO (carbon monoxide) o ....Combined strategies to extinguish underground coal fires and to extract geothermal energy. This project addresses two serious environmental issues that occur worldwide. Firstly, it aims to develop strategies to combat underground coal fires which are a serious environmental problem. It has been estimated that underground coal fires in China alone contribute 2 to 3 per cent of the total world output of carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning fossil fuel. Concentrations of CO2 and CO (carbon monoxide) of up to 2200 ppm and 1000 ppm, respectively, have been measured in gases produced by underground coal fires. Secondly, the project is a proof of concept to validate the feasibility of production of geothermal energy from burning coal seams. This aspect has the potential to harvest large amounts of geothermal energy which is currently wasted.Read moreRead less
Linking microstructural evolutions across the scales of granular failure. This project expects to transform the understanding of granular materials and their behaviour by establishing explicit links between the macroscopic responses of the materials and their evolving microstructural properties. This should lead to revolutionary constitutive models for granular materials that possess true mechanisms of evolving grain-scale structures. The proliferation of these new models should allow developmen ....Linking microstructural evolutions across the scales of granular failure. This project expects to transform the understanding of granular materials and their behaviour by establishing explicit links between the macroscopic responses of the materials and their evolving microstructural properties. This should lead to revolutionary constitutive models for granular materials that possess true mechanisms of evolving grain-scale structures. The proliferation of these new models should allow development of reliable predictive computational tools for the modelling and assessment of field-scale failure involving granular materials, enhancing the capability to assess the integrity and stability of earth structures, and benefitting the Australian economy, environment and public safety.Read moreRead less
Internal soil erosion: from grain-scale insights to large-scale predictions. This project aims to further the understanding of internal soil erosion across different spatial and temporal scales. Internal soil erosion is the most frequent cause of failures of water retaining structures. An approach combining advanced X-ray techniques with particle based methods will be developed to observe, analyse and link different material properties and external conditions governing the erosion process. This ....Internal soil erosion: from grain-scale insights to large-scale predictions. This project aims to further the understanding of internal soil erosion across different spatial and temporal scales. Internal soil erosion is the most frequent cause of failures of water retaining structures. An approach combining advanced X-ray techniques with particle based methods will be developed to observe, analyse and link different material properties and external conditions governing the erosion process. This will lead to better criteria for soil erosion and numerical tools for field scale failure analysis and risk assessments. The expected outcomes of this project include enhanced capability to assess the integrity and stability of earth structures and better design criteria against erosion.Read moreRead less
Accelerating Consolidation and Closure of Mine Tailings Storage Facilities. All mining operations involve the production of waste. Many regard such waste (tailings) and their environmentally acceptable storage as constituting the largest waste problem on Earth because of the enormous damage and loss-of-life that have resulted from failures of tailings storage facilities. This project focuses on a dewatering technology, electro-osmosis (EO), which has yet to be fully operationalised, for improvin ....Accelerating Consolidation and Closure of Mine Tailings Storage Facilities. All mining operations involve the production of waste. Many regard such waste (tailings) and their environmentally acceptable storage as constituting the largest waste problem on Earth because of the enormous damage and loss-of-life that have resulted from failures of tailings storage facilities. This project focuses on a dewatering technology, electro-osmosis (EO), which has yet to be fully operationalised, for improving the strength, stability and settlement characteristics of the tailings. Sophisticated testing will be undertaken at three scales (lab, meso and, most importantly, field), as well as the development of generic numerical models, to create practical guidelines to facilitate the implementation of EO in mines around the world.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101293
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$426,717.00
Summary
Dynamic Fracturing and Energy Release Mechanisms in Heterogeneous Materials. The prediction of fracturing behaviour in geomaterials (i.e. rock, soil and concrete) under dynamic/impact loads is essential in dealing with a wide range of engineering problems including excavation and mining, blasting and fragmentation, earthquake engineering, impact cratering, and protective structure design However, current knowledge and modelling capabilities of these applications remains empirically based. This p ....Dynamic Fracturing and Energy Release Mechanisms in Heterogeneous Materials. The prediction of fracturing behaviour in geomaterials (i.e. rock, soil and concrete) under dynamic/impact loads is essential in dealing with a wide range of engineering problems including excavation and mining, blasting and fragmentation, earthquake engineering, impact cratering, and protective structure design However, current knowledge and modelling capabilities of these applications remains empirically based. This project aims to investigate fundamental issues governing the dynamic fracturing of geomaterials and apply this knowledge to advance the understanding and modelling capacity of dynamic fractures in geomaterials.Read moreRead less