Could porous pavements be a part of the urban water solution? With water demand in Australia approaching, and sometimes exceeding, limits of sustainability, there is a pressing need to find alternative water sources. At the same time, urban stormwater pollution remains a major environmental threat. These problems are particularly difficult in urban areas, due to space constraints. This project will test and refine porous pavement technology, which could help solve the 'urban water problem'. R ....Could porous pavements be a part of the urban water solution? With water demand in Australia approaching, and sometimes exceeding, limits of sustainability, there is a pressing need to find alternative water sources. At the same time, urban stormwater pollution remains a major environmental threat. These problems are particularly difficult in urban areas, due to space constraints. This project will test and refine porous pavement technology, which could help solve the 'urban water problem'. Replacing impervious areas with porous pavements will allow urban stormwater to be treated and harvested for re-use. Waterways will be protected from pollution, and the vast quantity of urban stormwater generated (similar to the total reticulated water supplied in Australia) can be harvested to sustain cities.Read moreRead less
Airborne vibration isolation for geophysical exploration. Sensitive airborne instrumentation for geophysical exploration is almost always degraded in sensitivity by the high levels of vibration and acoustic noise in survey aircraft. This project will develop a prototype robust vibration isolator with exceptional isolation across the audio frequency band. The device uses advanced techniques developed for gravitational wave detection. The system will be tested in survey aircraft using both vib ....Airborne vibration isolation for geophysical exploration. Sensitive airborne instrumentation for geophysical exploration is almost always degraded in sensitivity by the high levels of vibration and acoustic noise in survey aircraft. This project will develop a prototype robust vibration isolator with exceptional isolation across the audio frequency band. The device uses advanced techniques developed for gravitational wave detection. The system will be tested in survey aircraft using both vibration sensors and actual survey instrumentation to confirm its effectiveness, robustness and durability.Read moreRead less
Performance Characteristics of an Innovative Structural System - Compound Curved Sandwich Shell Structure. An innovative structural system utilising sandwich panel technology and shell action has recently emerged. These aesthetically pleasing curved structures are durable and spacious with fast construction time. They have residential and commercial applications and have attracted considerable local and overseas interest. There are no definitive procedures for their analysis and design and thei ....Performance Characteristics of an Innovative Structural System - Compound Curved Sandwich Shell Structure. An innovative structural system utilising sandwich panel technology and shell action has recently emerged. These aesthetically pleasing curved structures are durable and spacious with fast construction time. They have residential and commercial applications and have attracted considerable local and overseas interest. There are no definitive procedures for their analysis and design and their behaviour is complex involving many variables such as sandwich layer interaction, shape, openings, structural action, etc. This project will generate fundamental knowledge on their behaviour over a range of properties and operating conditions and develop guidelines to ensure safe and economical design, bringing economic benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
FRACTURE OF STEEL FIBRE-REINFORCED CONCRETE: MODES I & II. In 2000-2001 Australia spent 17.5 billon dollars on heavy engineering infrastructure development (3% of its gross domestic product). As this infrastructure ages costs of repairs and maintenance magnifies. Conventional structural concrete can significantly deteriorate with time requiring regular and often costly maintenance. This research goes to the development of a class of "super" concretes with very high strengths and with excellent d ....FRACTURE OF STEEL FIBRE-REINFORCED CONCRETE: MODES I & II. In 2000-2001 Australia spent 17.5 billon dollars on heavy engineering infrastructure development (3% of its gross domestic product). As this infrastructure ages costs of repairs and maintenance magnifies. Conventional structural concrete can significantly deteriorate with time requiring regular and often costly maintenance. This research goes to the development of a class of "super" concretes with very high strengths and with excellent durability properties. With improved understanding of fracture and fracture processes with these materials, new models can be developed to represent the behaviour of structural elements fabricated with this "super" class of concretes and speed their implementation into Australian construction practice.Read moreRead less
DEBONDING FAILURE IN CFRP STRENGTHENED CONCRETE STRUCTURES. In 1999-2000 Australia spent $19 billion on civil engineering infrastructure renewal (3% of the country's GDP). The repair of damaged structures and strengthening of existing structures has become a research priority to maximise the life of aging infrastructure. A method that shows particular promise is the use of CFRP technology to retrofit structures. The repair technology, however, requires development and questions remain as to bond ....DEBONDING FAILURE IN CFRP STRENGTHENED CONCRETE STRUCTURES. In 1999-2000 Australia spent $19 billion on civil engineering infrastructure renewal (3% of the country's GDP). The repair of damaged structures and strengthening of existing structures has become a research priority to maximise the life of aging infrastructure. A method that shows particular promise is the use of CFRP technology to retrofit structures. The repair technology, however, requires development and questions remain as to bonding mechanics and debonding strength of the repair material from the structure. This research will provide high quality experimental data and will develop a rational analytical model for debonding between CFRP plates from the parent concrete.Read moreRead less
Multi-Scale Model-Based Simulation of Glass Fragmentation under Blast Loading. It is estimated that most injuries from bomb blasts can be attributed to airborne sharp glass fragments. The proposed project will help us gain better understanding of glass failure mechanism under impact/blast loading. The results from the proposed project are expected to help in developing more effective blast-resistant transparency, ensuring the reliability and quality of buildings and facilities, mitigating injury ....Multi-Scale Model-Based Simulation of Glass Fragmentation under Blast Loading. It is estimated that most injuries from bomb blasts can be attributed to airborne sharp glass fragments. The proposed project will help us gain better understanding of glass failure mechanism under impact/blast loading. The results from the proposed project are expected to help in developing more effective blast-resistant transparency, ensuring the reliability and quality of buildings and facilities, mitigating injury or death due to flying glass fragments, and eventually enhancing public safety and security.Read moreRead less
Retrofit of Reinforced Concrete Beam-Column Connections with Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites. Effective retrofitting of structurally deficient reinforced concrete structures with fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) will improve the safety of Australian infrastructure resulting in both social and economic benefits. Avoidance of structure collapse by retrofitting will provide obvious social benefits and minimisation of infrastructure damage will provide economic benefits to both the public ....Retrofit of Reinforced Concrete Beam-Column Connections with Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites. Effective retrofitting of structurally deficient reinforced concrete structures with fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) will improve the safety of Australian infrastructure resulting in both social and economic benefits. Avoidance of structure collapse by retrofitting will provide obvious social benefits and minimisation of infrastructure damage will provide economic benefits to both the public and private sector. Engineering confidence in designing FRP retrofitting measures will also be enhanced. Local engineering expert knowledge in retrofitting will be a valuable technology to export to our seismically vulnerable international neighbours thus creating revenue and establishing Australia as a world leader in the retrofitting field.Read moreRead less
An Integrated Bridge Monitoring System Based on the GPS and Pseudolite Technologies. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology can be used for precise deflection measurement of manmade structures such as buildings, bridges, etc. When integrated with additional signals from pseudolites (PL) that transmit GPS-like signals, changes in the height(s) of the monitored point(s) can be measured to millimetre accuracy. In collaboration with University of Nottingham researchers, a bridge structure in the ....An Integrated Bridge Monitoring System Based on the GPS and Pseudolite Technologies. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology can be used for precise deflection measurement of manmade structures such as buildings, bridges, etc. When integrated with additional signals from pseudolites (PL) that transmit GPS-like signals, changes in the height(s) of the monitored point(s) can be measured to millimetre accuracy. In collaboration with University of Nottingham researchers, a bridge structure in the U.K. will be used as a testbed, and will be the first time that PLs have been used for such an application. The expected outcomes include a suite of deformation monitoring algorithms capable of online analysis of the combined GPS-PL outputs.Read moreRead less