A novel whole-process analysis method for fractured rock slopes . Aims: The project aims to develop a discontinuous deformation and displacement analysis method to study the jointed rock slope instability.
Significance: The proposed method verified by experimental tests will be inherit the advantages of finite element method and discontinuous deformation analysis and is able to provide an entire and unified description of rock deformation and failure.
Expected Outcomes: The results of this integ ....A novel whole-process analysis method for fractured rock slopes . Aims: The project aims to develop a discontinuous deformation and displacement analysis method to study the jointed rock slope instability.
Significance: The proposed method verified by experimental tests will be inherit the advantages of finite element method and discontinuous deformation analysis and is able to provide an entire and unified description of rock deformation and failure.
Expected Outcomes: The results of this integrated study will provide a new method for engineers who wish to characterise and predict the stability of rock/tunnel slopes in Australia and worldwide.
Benefits: Australian society will benefit from new tools to facilitate more reliable assessment of risks associated with instability in rock slopes.
Read moreRead less
Energy dissipation characterisation in dynamic brittle fracture. Energy dissipation in dynamic fracture of brittle materials is pivotal in mining, civil engineering and defence. The project aims to develop a novel experimentally-validated multiscale theory, with associated models, for characterising and predicting the complete dynamic fracture process of brittle materials. This theory is expected to generate close-to-reality simulations critical for understanding fundamental aspects of energy di ....Energy dissipation characterisation in dynamic brittle fracture. Energy dissipation in dynamic fracture of brittle materials is pivotal in mining, civil engineering and defence. The project aims to develop a novel experimentally-validated multiscale theory, with associated models, for characterising and predicting the complete dynamic fracture process of brittle materials. This theory is expected to generate close-to-reality simulations critical for understanding fundamental aspects of energy dissipation in dynamic fracture. The outcomes will enable an optimised control of the fragment size in block cave mining and mineral processing, forecast and prevent fatal rock bursts in underground mines, and minimise catastrophic failures in critical infrastructures challenged by extreme loading, e.g. explosions.Read moreRead less
A novel quantitative risk assessment framework for fractured rock slopes. Rock slope instabilities present grave risks to life and to the serviceability of major Australian infrastructure such as mines, roads and railways, and to coastal recreation areas. This project aims at developing tools for the quantitative risk assessment of fractured rock slopes based on rigorous rock mechanics, numerical methods and probabilistic methods.
The research outcomes will improve our understanding of natural ....A novel quantitative risk assessment framework for fractured rock slopes. Rock slope instabilities present grave risks to life and to the serviceability of major Australian infrastructure such as mines, roads and railways, and to coastal recreation areas. This project aims at developing tools for the quantitative risk assessment of fractured rock slopes based on rigorous rock mechanics, numerical methods and probabilistic methods.
The research outcomes will improve our understanding of natural and engineering rock slopes, reduce the uncertainties in the prediction of the safety of infrastructures, and thus minimize the loss and damage. The research outcomes can also be used to maintain workplace safety in mining environments and avoid disruptions to production.
Read moreRead less
Geomechanics of multiple seam mining interactions. This project will address a highly significant and timely problem that has arisen in the coal mining industry. Through the application of scientific principles and advanced methods of engineering analysis, this research will develop practical guidelines that in turn will provide the means for rational planning of multi-seam mining operations.
Modelling of polydisperse particle-fluid reacting flows. Complex polydisperse particle-fluid reacting flows are widely practised in many industries where particle size distribution is wide and particle number is huge, yet the process design and optimisation are hindered by the lack of fundamental understanding of the complex reacting flows, particularly polydispersity and interactions. The project will tackle this specific challenge by developing a novel particle-scale mathematical model by inco ....Modelling of polydisperse particle-fluid reacting flows. Complex polydisperse particle-fluid reacting flows are widely practised in many industries where particle size distribution is wide and particle number is huge, yet the process design and optimisation are hindered by the lack of fundamental understanding of the complex reacting flows, particularly polydispersity and interactions. The project will tackle this specific challenge by developing a novel particle-scale mathematical model by incorporating new numerical techniques of interphase heat/mass transfers, polydispersity and computation speed-up; and applying it to two typical industry processes for demonstration. The outcomes will be applied across a range of industries of vital importance to Australian economic and technological future.Read moreRead less
Reactive flow through porous media by micro-imaging. Australia is embarking on the development of major gas fields offshore Western Australia. These developments are very costly and techniques to manage the risk in development are well sought after. This project assists in risk management of tertiary recovery methods and CO2 storage. Further, it can contribute significantly to the accurate forward modelling of storage of hazardous materials and pollution remediation strategies. The project could ....Reactive flow through porous media by micro-imaging. Australia is embarking on the development of major gas fields offshore Western Australia. These developments are very costly and techniques to manage the risk in development are well sought after. This project assists in risk management of tertiary recovery methods and CO2 storage. Further, it can contribute significantly to the accurate forward modelling of storage of hazardous materials and pollution remediation strategies. The project could shape important decisions in the future and impact on environmental risk assessment.Read moreRead less
Solving the scale effect for rock discontinuities. This project aims to create a ground breaking approach for the scale-free prediction of shear strength of large in-situ rock discontinuities. Failure of rock slopes or rock cliffs can have disastrous consequences for human life, infrastructure and the economy. The stability of a fractured rock mass is controlled by the presence and characteristics of discontinuities, and any rigorous stability assessment requires quantification of discontinuity ....Solving the scale effect for rock discontinuities. This project aims to create a ground breaking approach for the scale-free prediction of shear strength of large in-situ rock discontinuities. Failure of rock slopes or rock cliffs can have disastrous consequences for human life, infrastructure and the economy. The stability of a fractured rock mass is controlled by the presence and characteristics of discontinuities, and any rigorous stability assessment requires quantification of discontinuity shear strength. The issue of rock instability affects both the civil and mining sectors. Developing a design methodology that addresses the scale effect for rock slope stability will provide safer civil environments and will allow the optimisation of resource extraction. This project will have significant economical and societal benefits which will apply not only to Australia but also internationally.Read moreRead less
Flotation in high salt concentration: resolving critical knowledge gaps relating the ion effect on bubble production and behavior. Flotation separation of coal and mineral particles by attaching to rising air bubbles is significantly affected in high salt concentration but its exact mechanism still remains unclear. This project employs state-of-the-art surface sensitive spectroscopy and modeling tools to investigate how salt ions influence drainage and rupture of liquid films between two bubbles ....Flotation in high salt concentration: resolving critical knowledge gaps relating the ion effect on bubble production and behavior. Flotation separation of coal and mineral particles by attaching to rising air bubbles is significantly affected in high salt concentration but its exact mechanism still remains unclear. This project employs state-of-the-art surface sensitive spectroscopy and modeling tools to investigate how salt ions influence drainage and rupture of liquid films between two bubbles, and bubble production and behaviour relevant to the flotation processes. The research will develop better water use for coal and mineral flotation to reduce reagent usage and environmental impacts of water pollution. The project will contribute significantly to knowledge advancement in the coal and mineral industry.Read moreRead less
Mining voids and just transition: reimagining post-mining landscapes . This project aims to address the complex problem of how to deal with the long-term legacies of coal mining. Through a combination of ethnographic and Arts-Based Methods, the project will advance insight into how local communities in the Hunter Valley, NSW, experience socio-cultural impacts of environmental disturbance and mining legacies, particularly where final voids are present. It will generate new knowledge into potentia ....Mining voids and just transition: reimagining post-mining landscapes . This project aims to address the complex problem of how to deal with the long-term legacies of coal mining. Through a combination of ethnographic and Arts-Based Methods, the project will advance insight into how local communities in the Hunter Valley, NSW, experience socio-cultural impacts of environmental disturbance and mining legacies, particularly where final voids are present. It will generate new knowledge into potentials for reimagining post-mining landscapes and how such landscapes can support a just transition towards a post-mining future. Expected benefits include advancement of public discourses around mining legacies, research capacity building and theory development to support multi-stakeholder engagement and dialogue.Read moreRead less
Big Data-based Distributed Control using a Behavioural Systems Framework. With Industry 4.0 turning into reality, industrial processes are becoming distributed cyber-physical systems which generate, process, store and communicate large amounts of data. Using the behavioural systems framework, this project aims to develop a novel distributed control approach for complex processes directly based on big process data. A new model-free framework will be developed to represent and analyse the process/ ....Big Data-based Distributed Control using a Behavioural Systems Framework. With Industry 4.0 turning into reality, industrial processes are becoming distributed cyber-physical systems which generate, process, store and communicate large amounts of data. Using the behavioural systems framework, this project aims to develop a novel distributed control approach for complex processes directly based on big process data. A new model-free framework will be developed to represent and analyse the process/controller networks and interaction effects, and determine the feasibility of desired control performance under distributed control. Novel big data-based distributed control design approaches will be developed by extending the dissipativity, contraction and differential dissipativity conditions for behavioural systems.Read moreRead less