Integrated Autonomous Housing for Remote Australian Communities: Analysis, Synthesis and Testing. At remote mining communities, little consideration is given to comfort or energy efficiency in housing - services have not been optimised to minimise greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and solid waste. This project will address these environmental issues and the associated social problems by combining the resources of BHP Billiton and the University of Newcastle to develop a model for remot ....Integrated Autonomous Housing for Remote Australian Communities: Analysis, Synthesis and Testing. At remote mining communities, little consideration is given to comfort or energy efficiency in housing - services have not been optimised to minimise greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and solid waste. This project will address these environmental issues and the associated social problems by combining the resources of BHP Billiton and the University of Newcastle to develop a model for remote housing. The project aims to design and test an integrated low impact or autonomous transportable house. The results of this research are applicable to remote defence sites, small rural townships and Aboriginal communities as well as for international export.Read moreRead less
Enhanced Analysis of Time Dependent Viscous Behaviour of Soft Clay. Often post construction settlements of structures overlying clayey soils have been observed to be more than those predicted, or the predicted rate of settlement is not correct. The main benefit of this research is providing an accurate but simplified approach, which can be used by practicing engineers to predict the post construction settlement of structures in the design phase of construction projects. The community can conside ....Enhanced Analysis of Time Dependent Viscous Behaviour of Soft Clay. Often post construction settlements of structures overlying clayey soils have been observed to be more than those predicted, or the predicted rate of settlement is not correct. The main benefit of this research is providing an accurate but simplified approach, which can be used by practicing engineers to predict the post construction settlement of structures in the design phase of construction projects. The community can considerably benefit from the findings of this project including safer structures, significant reduction in the future maintenance costs and enhancing the performance of bridges, buildings, roads, railways and dams with less cracks and differential settlement.Read moreRead less
Economic, environmental and social psychological evaluation of independent senior living alternatives in Australia. Retirement village accommodation in Australia is expected to grow by as many as 115,000 units over the next twenty years, a tripling of the current industry. Stimson et al. (2002) identified the significant push-pull factors, but little or no work has been undertaken to identify spillover impacts to the broader community. This study investigates the economic, social, psychological ....Economic, environmental and social psychological evaluation of independent senior living alternatives in Australia. Retirement village accommodation in Australia is expected to grow by as many as 115,000 units over the next twenty years, a tripling of the current industry. Stimson et al. (2002) identified the significant push-pull factors, but little or no work has been undertaken to identify spillover impacts to the broader community. This study investigates the economic, social, psychological and environmental impacts that accrue to a range of stakeholders. Topics under investigation include cost savings to government funded assistance and infrastructure, psychological and social benefits to residents and their families, project and asset management efficiency, and turnover of housing stock.Read moreRead less
Sustainability and innovation in outer-suburban housing developments. This project will investigate the sustainability outcomes that are possible in outer suburban project homes using current building and design technologies, and the barriers to the uptake of these technologies more broadly in outer suburban project home developments. The outcomes will include a critically needed decision support tool to help the industry to meet regulatory requirements for more sustainable housing. The project ....Sustainability and innovation in outer-suburban housing developments. This project will investigate the sustainability outcomes that are possible in outer suburban project homes using current building and design technologies, and the barriers to the uptake of these technologies more broadly in outer suburban project home developments. The outcomes will include a critically needed decision support tool to help the industry to meet regulatory requirements for more sustainable housing. The project is strongly supported by a consortium of industry partners including the Urban and Regional Land Corporation, Metricon Homes, Building Commission, Origin Energy, City West Water, Melbourne Water, Sustainable Energy Authority of Victoria and Hassell Architects.
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The Development of a Hybrid Energy Simulation Model for Masonry Enclosures. This project aims to develop and validate a hybrid energy simulation model for assessing the thermal performance of masonry enclosures. The model will combine the zonal and computational fluid dynamics modelling techniques into a fully integrated computational tool. Once validated, the proposed model will be employed to evaluate the thermal performance of a wide range of wall designs taking into account the Australian cl ....The Development of a Hybrid Energy Simulation Model for Masonry Enclosures. This project aims to develop and validate a hybrid energy simulation model for assessing the thermal performance of masonry enclosures. The model will combine the zonal and computational fluid dynamics modelling techniques into a fully integrated computational tool. Once validated, the proposed model will be employed to evaluate the thermal performance of a wide range of wall designs taking into account the Australian climatic conditions, construction practices and typical residential developments. The results will be then employed to modify and refine the existing wall designs and develop optimum masonry walling system(s) that are well suited for the Australian climatic conditions.Read moreRead less
Experimental Modelling of Masonry Buildings' Thermal Performance. Mathematical modelling of the thermal performance of buildings has been identified as one of the key technologies necessary for designing energy-efficient buildings. The aim of this project is to develop an experimental model of the thermal response of typical masonry enclosures by establishing relationships between input and output measurements from several full-scale test houses rather than relying on conservation principles. On ....Experimental Modelling of Masonry Buildings' Thermal Performance. Mathematical modelling of the thermal performance of buildings has been identified as one of the key technologies necessary for designing energy-efficient buildings. The aim of this project is to develop an experimental model of the thermal response of typical masonry enclosures by establishing relationships between input and output measurements from several full-scale test houses rather than relying on conservation principles. Once validated, the proposed model will be employed to evaluate the thermal performance of a wide range of walling systems. This should lead to an improved understanding of mechanisms influencing the thermal behaviour of masonry enclosures under Australian climatic conditions.Read moreRead less
Smart Utilisation of Thermal Mass in Masonry Buildings. This study will help determine the effectiveness of a range of novel technologies for smart utilisation of thermal mass in masonry buildings. The ultimate goal is to improve the thermal performance of such constructions. The project focuses on the National Research Priority 3 because of the novel and advanced technological nature of the proposed research. The project has also a significant potential in contributing to the Federal Government ....Smart Utilisation of Thermal Mass in Masonry Buildings. This study will help determine the effectiveness of a range of novel technologies for smart utilisation of thermal mass in masonry buildings. The ultimate goal is to improve the thermal performance of such constructions. The project focuses on the National Research Priority 3 because of the novel and advanced technological nature of the proposed research. The project has also a significant potential in contributing to the Federal Government's effort in the Research Priority 1 because achieving better thermal efficiency in buildings will undoubtedly help to minimise electricity usage leading to a reduction in CO2 emissions.Read moreRead less
More than a Roof Overhead: Meeting the Need for a Sustainable Housing System in Remote Indigenous Communities. Many Indigenous Australians live in substandard and over-crowded accommodation, and experience poor health, education, family stability and child-safety outcomes as a result. The lack of improvement in this situation is largely due to levels of funding and approaches to construction and management inadequate to the scale of the problem. This situation is changing and new funding and po ....More than a Roof Overhead: Meeting the Need for a Sustainable Housing System in Remote Indigenous Communities. Many Indigenous Australians live in substandard and over-crowded accommodation, and experience poor health, education, family stability and child-safety outcomes as a result. The lack of improvement in this situation is largely due to levels of funding and approaches to construction and management inadequate to the scale of the problem. This situation is changing and new funding and policies are being established. The researchers will work alongside housing providers and selected Indigenous communities in Western Australia and Northern Territory to develop procurement, construction and housing management practices that will meet the critical need for more affordable, appropriate and sustainable housing.Read moreRead less
Lifetime Affordable Housing in Australia: Integrating environmental performance and affordability. Existing dwellings and the locations of suburban housing with respect to employment centres result in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Water and other environmental issues are also important in housing performance, and there is currently a perceived trade-off between these factors and the affordability of housing. For the first time in Australia, this study will focus on overcoming this appare ....Lifetime Affordable Housing in Australia: Integrating environmental performance and affordability. Existing dwellings and the locations of suburban housing with respect to employment centres result in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Water and other environmental issues are also important in housing performance, and there is currently a perceived trade-off between these factors and the affordability of housing. For the first time in Australia, this study will focus on overcoming this apparent policy dilemma. The research will inform future housing policy in strengthening Australia's economic and social fabric, while contributing towards Australia's National Research Priority 1 'Environmentally Sustainable Australia'. Outcomes will provide significant national economic, social, water use and greenhouse gas benefits for Australia.Read moreRead less
Finding new economic drivers for Sea Change (coastal) and similar rapidly growing communities. This project is of major benefit to developing more environmentally sensitive but diverse economies for coastal communities. Coastal communities are commuter or tourism dominated, each of these issues generate both current and future liabilities for the communities and the nation.