Robust cement-based sensors for smart automation in future infrastructure. Infrastructural health and operation monitoring are core parts of managing built assets. The project aims to develop robust cement-based sensors with integrated self-sensing and hydrophobicity, and to optimise their robustness and resilience for smart automation in future infrastructure. The new sensors are expected to more accurately assess structural health, monitor traffic-flow, decrease the costs of operation and main ....Robust cement-based sensors for smart automation in future infrastructure. Infrastructural health and operation monitoring are core parts of managing built assets. The project aims to develop robust cement-based sensors with integrated self-sensing and hydrophobicity, and to optimise their robustness and resilience for smart automation in future infrastructure. The new sensors are expected to more accurately assess structural health, monitor traffic-flow, decrease the costs of operation and maintenance through enhanced piezoresistivity and serviceability, and gain insights into intrinsic self-sensing and integral water repellency. The outcomes will improve predictions of performance and service, with major reductions in asset management costs through significantly more-efficient operation and maintenance.Read moreRead less
Novel Hydrophobic Concrete for Durable and Resilient Mining Infrastructure. The mining field is harsh with various corrosive media that cause rapid deterioration and ageing of concrete. This project aims to develop a novel hydrophobic concrete with integrated water-proofing and self-healing capacities and optimise its efficacy and cost-effectiveness for durable and resilient mining infrastructure using hybrid water-repellent nanoparticles and raw crystalline admixtures. The new hydrophobic concr ....Novel Hydrophobic Concrete for Durable and Resilient Mining Infrastructure. The mining field is harsh with various corrosive media that cause rapid deterioration and ageing of concrete. This project aims to develop a novel hydrophobic concrete with integrated water-proofing and self-healing capacities and optimise its efficacy and cost-effectiveness for durable and resilient mining infrastructure using hybrid water-repellent nanoparticles and raw crystalline admixtures. The new hydrophobic concrete is expected to significantly improve structural safety, durability, and service life of mining infrastructure while simultaneously reducing protection costs, repair needs, and reconstruction. The outcomes will offer desirable benefits for Australia’s mining industry, with significant reductions in maintenance costs.Read moreRead less
Degradation mechanisms of structural composites under extreme weather. The changing weather patterns and increasing solar radiation in Australia have greatly impacted the durability of construction materials and caused substantial damage to critical infrastructure. This project aims to understand the synergistic effects of different environmental conditions on the degradation mechanisms of advanced polymer composites and to develop new models on the long-term performance for these materials. Thi ....Degradation mechanisms of structural composites under extreme weather. The changing weather patterns and increasing solar radiation in Australia have greatly impacted the durability of construction materials and caused substantial damage to critical infrastructure. This project aims to understand the synergistic effects of different environmental conditions on the degradation mechanisms of advanced polymer composites and to develop new models on the long-term performance for these materials. This project expects to generate new knowledge on polymer composites incorporating new classes of fibres, resin systems, and functional fillers. Expected outcomes include the discovery of new composite technologies for the longevity of Australian infrastructure - crucial to our economic prosperity and quality of life.
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Creating pH-sensitive self-healing concrete using sludge waste for sewers. In Australia, our 117,000 km of concrete sewer pipes are currently internally corroding at a depth rate of 1-3 mm per annum. The repair of deteriorated concrete is costly and often short-lived. Based on an advanced composite technology, this project will develop a pH-sensitive self-healing concrete that can repair itself without human intervention at the early stage of corrosion. Sludge waste from drinking water treatment ....Creating pH-sensitive self-healing concrete using sludge waste for sewers. In Australia, our 117,000 km of concrete sewer pipes are currently internally corroding at a depth rate of 1-3 mm per annum. The repair of deteriorated concrete is costly and often short-lived. Based on an advanced composite technology, this project will develop a pH-sensitive self-healing concrete that can repair itself without human intervention at the early stage of corrosion. Sludge waste from drinking water treatment will be utilised as a healing agent to mitigate the corrosion. Combined experiments and molecular dynamics simulation will uncover all aspects of the healing process to enable the practical application of this technology. The findings will extend the lifetime of concrete structures and promote a circular economy.Read moreRead less
Unlocking self-healing bio-concrete through multiscale modelling. Self-healing bio-concrete, which uses bacteria as means to repair cracks, has the potential to revolutionise the construction industry and reduce the infrastructure repair and maintenance cost by billions of dollars annually. To unlock this, we need to understand the bacterial self-healing mechanisms for effective control of the performance. This project will develop a multiscale framework to describe the competing mechanisms betw ....Unlocking self-healing bio-concrete through multiscale modelling. Self-healing bio-concrete, which uses bacteria as means to repair cracks, has the potential to revolutionise the construction industry and reduce the infrastructure repair and maintenance cost by billions of dollars annually. To unlock this, we need to understand the bacterial self-healing mechanisms for effective control of the performance. This project will develop a multiscale framework to describe the competing mechanisms between crack widening and healing at the macro-scale, incorporated with key information of substances diffusion and bio-cementation at the meso- and micro-scales. This will enable to optimise the self-healing of bio-concrete via design–test–learn approach and enhance the durability of structures under sustained loads.Read moreRead less
Multilayer Graphene Based Anti-Corrosion Polymer Coated Structures. This project aims to develop a novel multilayer graphene/polymer coating for structures exposed to corrosive environment with graphene concentration varying layer-wise to eliminate galvanic corrosion yet maintain all unique advantages owing to graphene inclusion, thus offering a cost-effective design solution with significantly improved anti-corrosion performance and remarkably enhanced safety and durability for structures. Expe ....Multilayer Graphene Based Anti-Corrosion Polymer Coated Structures. This project aims to develop a novel multilayer graphene/polymer coating for structures exposed to corrosive environment with graphene concentration varying layer-wise to eliminate galvanic corrosion yet maintain all unique advantages owing to graphene inclusion, thus offering a cost-effective design solution with significantly improved anti-corrosion performance and remarkably enhanced safety and durability for structures. Expected outcomes of this project include an innovative design, experimental data on corrosion prevention, development of reliable simulation techniques and design procedures for the proposed coating. This should provide huge benefits to Australian civil, offshore and marine engineering industry and national economy.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240101422
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$467,760.00
Summary
Chameleon-Inspired Building Envelope for the Australian Building Sector. The project aims to develop an intelligent reflective coating that can act like a chameleon skin on a building surface, allowing sunlight to reflect efficiently in summer and be absorbed in winter without using pigments or dyes. The research will reveal how microstructural architecture can mimic a chameleon skin on building envelopes to address the critical challenge of this technology, which is overcooling in winter. The e ....Chameleon-Inspired Building Envelope for the Australian Building Sector. The project aims to develop an intelligent reflective coating that can act like a chameleon skin on a building surface, allowing sunlight to reflect efficiently in summer and be absorbed in winter without using pigments or dyes. The research will reveal how microstructural architecture can mimic a chameleon skin on building envelopes to address the critical challenge of this technology, which is overcooling in winter. The expected outcome is a smart coating technology that is easy to manufacture on small and large scales with no winter penalty, compatible with even, uneven and rough surfaces, free from the use of pigment and durable under sunlight. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100548
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$439,847.00
Summary
A novel high-temperature concrete-based system for renewable energy storage. This project aims to develop a novel alkali-activated concrete-based system for renewable energy storage. The system is based on the excellent performance, durability and affordability of concrete, which is widely used in the construction industry. The project expects to generate new knowledge in concrete thermal energy storage by using a holistic experimental and computational approach. Expected outcomes include insigh ....A novel high-temperature concrete-based system for renewable energy storage. This project aims to develop a novel alkali-activated concrete-based system for renewable energy storage. The system is based on the excellent performance, durability and affordability of concrete, which is widely used in the construction industry. The project expects to generate new knowledge in concrete thermal energy storage by using a holistic experimental and computational approach. Expected outcomes include insights into the novel high-temperature concrete, the advanced numerical, data-driven model and the system, that is highly scalable, efficient and low cost. This should provide significant benefits in accelerating the use of concrete for energy storage technologies and fostering the national and global renewable energy transition.Read moreRead less
Fire engineering of prefabricated structural systems of modular buildings. With the speed and cost benefits, modular construction is considered a game-changing solution in response to pandemics and natural disasters, and tackling the affordable housing crisis on a large scale. However, its uptake has been hindered due to recent fire incidents of modular buildings. This project aims to develop novel fire experiments and advanced modelling techniques to evaluate the fire performance of modular bui ....Fire engineering of prefabricated structural systems of modular buildings. With the speed and cost benefits, modular construction is considered a game-changing solution in response to pandemics and natural disasters, and tackling the affordable housing crisis on a large scale. However, its uptake has been hindered due to recent fire incidents of modular buildings. This project aims to develop novel fire experiments and advanced modelling techniques to evaluate the fire performance of modular buildings. Computational tools and fire safety design guidelines will also be developed to enable modular buildings to be built safer and more economically. This project will promote the widespread adoption of modular buildings to benefit end-users and the wider society, especially the housing sector and low-income households.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100180
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$436,554.00
Summary
Multifunctional Biomass Coatings for Electrostatic Induced Fire Hazards. This project aims to solve the problem of fire hazards caused by static electricity in hazardous industrial areas by synthesizing feasible, environmentally friendly, and efficient multifunctional biomass-based coatings. This research expects to study the fire-safe biomass coating using interdisciplinary approaches and establish a comprehensive understanding to provide new strategies and solutions to tackle fire safety issue ....Multifunctional Biomass Coatings for Electrostatic Induced Fire Hazards. This project aims to solve the problem of fire hazards caused by static electricity in hazardous industrial areas by synthesizing feasible, environmentally friendly, and efficient multifunctional biomass-based coatings. This research expects to study the fire-safe biomass coating using interdisciplinary approaches and establish a comprehensive understanding to provide new strategies and solutions to tackle fire safety issues occurring in hazardous industries and other relevant applications. This research and development of high value-added high-tech multifunctional biomass coating is targeted to boost the Australian local coating industry and bring about important economic and societal benefits. Read moreRead less