Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100058
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,000.00
Summary
Three dimensionally compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar . 3D compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar: The 3D compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar allows determination of the dynamic mechanical properties and fracturing behaviour of materials under such confinement. Understanding material behaviour under dynamic loading is essential in dealing with many engineering problems as excavation, fragmentation, earthquake, blasting, and structure design. In geotechnical and structure projects, materi ....Three dimensionally compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar . 3D compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar: The 3D compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar allows determination of the dynamic mechanical properties and fracturing behaviour of materials under such confinement. Understanding material behaviour under dynamic loading is essential in dealing with many engineering problems as excavation, fragmentation, earthquake, blasting, and structure design. In geotechnical and structure projects, materials are often subjected to existing confining stresses. The full-field optical techniques, with an ultra-high speed and resolution camera in the system, aims to assist the quantitative measurement of deformation fields including small strain induced in brittle material's failure and identification of constitutive parameters.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100011
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,000.00
Summary
The national geotechnical centrifuge facility. A new geotechnical centrifuge will enable the modelling of complex offshore and onshore structures. The new facility will support many geotechnical fields, associated with the economical and geographical development of Australia, and ensure that Australia will maintain its leadership within the international physical modelling community.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100206
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$800,000.00
Summary
National Rock, Concrete and Advanced Composite Testing Capability. National rock, concrete and advanced composite testing capability:
The aim of the project is to develop a national hybrid biaxial/true triaxial load testing facility to serve the needs of geotechnical, structural, mining and materials researchers and engineers for sophisticated testing. It would address the need for leading edge testing and analysis of the deformation and strength of rock, concrete, and thin plates comprising me ....National Rock, Concrete and Advanced Composite Testing Capability. National rock, concrete and advanced composite testing capability:
The aim of the project is to develop a national hybrid biaxial/true triaxial load testing facility to serve the needs of geotechnical, structural, mining and materials researchers and engineers for sophisticated testing. It would address the need for leading edge testing and analysis of the deformation and strength of rock, concrete, and thin plates comprising metals, composites and polymers, under a wide range of loading conditions. The facility would accommodate cubic specimens up to 300 millimetres and be able to apply 10 megapascals of stress in up to three orthogonal directions. State-of-the-art monitoring equipment is designed to assess the degree of damage caused by testing, simulating damage induced by blasting, cutting, static loading and/or impact.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100903
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$394,020.00
Summary
Advanced numerical and physical modelling of dynamically penetrating anchors for deep water oil and gas developments. Dynamically penetrating anchors (DPAs) are a recent and promising mooring concept for deep water oil and gas developments. Yet, the application of dynamically penetrating anchors remains limited due to a lack of understanding of their performance during dynamic installation and monotonic pull-out and because there are no robust models to simulate these processes. This project wil ....Advanced numerical and physical modelling of dynamically penetrating anchors for deep water oil and gas developments. Dynamically penetrating anchors (DPAs) are a recent and promising mooring concept for deep water oil and gas developments. Yet, the application of dynamically penetrating anchors remains limited due to a lack of understanding of their performance during dynamic installation and monotonic pull-out and because there are no robust models to simulate these processes. This project will advance numerical and physical models of dynamically penetrating anchors impacting the seafloor and embedding into the sediment, and rotating to align with the mooring line upon pull-out. This will lead to accurate predictions for both installation and operation. Robustness will be ensured by accounting for the actual failure mechanisms, high strain rates, potential anchor diving and characteristics of calcareous silt.Read moreRead less
Investigation of alternative footing shapes to mitigate instabilities during installation of offshore drilling platforms. Spudcan footings are used to support three legged mobile drilling rigs, exploring and extracting oil and gas in water depths of up to 150 metres. Despite efforts by the industry to minimise the risks during rig installation, punch-through incidents (i.e. unexpected rapid penetration of the footings) and bending of the leg whilst installing the spudcan next to a footprint (poc ....Investigation of alternative footing shapes to mitigate instabilities during installation of offshore drilling platforms. Spudcan footings are used to support three legged mobile drilling rigs, exploring and extracting oil and gas in water depths of up to 150 metres. Despite efforts by the industry to minimise the risks during rig installation, punch-through incidents (i.e. unexpected rapid penetration of the footings) and bending of the leg whilst installing the spudcan next to a footprint (pockmark from previous rig installation) continue to occur at an increasing rate, causing economic loss of $5 to50 million per incident. Combining advanced physical and numerical modelling, this project aims to develop optimised spudcan shapes, and corresponding design approaches and guidelines, to mitigate these risks, ensuring safe installation of rigs in hazardous regions.Read moreRead less
Estimation of spudcan penetration resistance in stratified soils directly from field penetrometer data and quantification of punch-through risk. Foundations for mobile drilling rigs exhibit significant failure rate in the offshore oil and gas industry, which contributes $22 billion annually to the Australian economy. The project will develop a robust design approach for these foundations, based on field penetrometer data and accounting for the highly stratified nature of offshore sediments.
Dynamic evolution of submarine slides and consequences for offshore developments. Oil and gas developments in deep water are at considerable risk from submarine landslides, which may be orders of magnitude larger than onshore landslides. The project will develop new approaches for modelling the initiation and flow kinematics of submarine slides with the aim of quantifying impact forces on offshore infrastructure.
Vortex and force characteristics of inclined offshore cylindrical structures in oscillatory flows. Understanding the effects of the inclination angle of an offshore cylindrical structure on hydrodynamic loads in waves is vitally important for safety and longevity of these structures. The project outcomes will be invaluable in minimising the chances of structural failure and enhancing Australia's capabilities in hydrodynamic research.
Local scour below offshore pipelines on calcareous sediments. This project will improve predictions of erosion around subsea structures in calcareous sediment, allowing potential pipeline self-burial. This will reduce the considerable costs currently spent on pipeline stabilisation and increase the viability of Australia's offshore resources and the competitiveness of the Australian oil and gas industry.
Hydrodynamic forces on small diameter pipelines laid on natural seabed. This project aims to improve predictions of hydrodynamic forces on small submarine cables and pipelines through comprehensive experimental modelling at 1:1 scale coupled with development of predictive numerical models. The focus will be on forces in unsteady flows. Present industry guidelines do not make allowance for potential reductions in forces for small diameter pipelines whose diameters are a similar length to the effe ....Hydrodynamic forces on small diameter pipelines laid on natural seabed. This project aims to improve predictions of hydrodynamic forces on small submarine cables and pipelines through comprehensive experimental modelling at 1:1 scale coupled with development of predictive numerical models. The focus will be on forces in unsteady flows. Present industry guidelines do not make allowance for potential reductions in forces for small diameter pipelines whose diameters are a similar length to the effective seabed boundary layer, thereby leading to overly conservative and costly stability design. Results from the experimental program and numerical model developed are expected to be used to improve the current industry design guidelines.Read moreRead less