Damage Tolerance Approach in Designing and Maintaining Truck Trailers. This project aims to develop a damage tolerance approach in designing and maintaining truck trailers. Combined with field test and computational simulation, machine learning will be used to generate loading spectrums. Following the damage tolerance philosophy, a mature approach in aerospace industry, the fatigue crack growth and the fatigue life will be predicted. In addition, structural optimisation will be applied in traile ....Damage Tolerance Approach in Designing and Maintaining Truck Trailers. This project aims to develop a damage tolerance approach in designing and maintaining truck trailers. Combined with field test and computational simulation, machine learning will be used to generate loading spectrums. Following the damage tolerance philosophy, a mature approach in aerospace industry, the fatigue crack growth and the fatigue life will be predicted. In addition, structural optimisation will be applied in trailer design. This project expects to revolutionize the design and maintenance practices in Australian truck trailer industry. It should provide significant benefits, such as prolonging the life cycle of truck trailers, reducing the tare weight and increasing operating profit, to both trailer producers and users.Read moreRead less
The Role of Energy Absorbing Rubber Grid on Ballast Track Performance. Breakage and excessive displacement of ballast lead to instability and regular maintenance of railways. The project aims to study the fundamental mechanics of ballast aggregates interacting with the apertures of recycled-Rubber Energy Absorbing Grids (REAG). The role of REAG on enhanced track performance by damping the cyclic wheel loading and impact will be quantified via rigorous mathematical methods complementing a compute ....The Role of Energy Absorbing Rubber Grid on Ballast Track Performance. Breakage and excessive displacement of ballast lead to instability and regular maintenance of railways. The project aims to study the fundamental mechanics of ballast aggregates interacting with the apertures of recycled-Rubber Energy Absorbing Grids (REAG). The role of REAG on enhanced track performance by damping the cyclic wheel loading and impact will be quantified via rigorous mathematical methods complementing a computer-based numerical model and validated by laboratory & field data. When placed within the rail substructure REAG will enable reduced ballast movement and breakage while attenuating noise/vibration. The research outputs will facilitate improved rail track design enabling enhanced longevity and reduced cost of maintenance.Read moreRead less
Next Generation Bridge Monitoring using Novel Synergic Identification. Over 70% of the bridges in Australia are made of prestressed concrete, yet many do not meet the requirements of current Australian Standards. This project aims to provide a cost-effective system for monitoring bridges in real time along with systems that track the prestressing force and rate of damage for ongoing health assessment and necessary repairs. The use of innovative engineering techniques, solving long standing probl ....Next Generation Bridge Monitoring using Novel Synergic Identification. Over 70% of the bridges in Australia are made of prestressed concrete, yet many do not meet the requirements of current Australian Standards. This project aims to provide a cost-effective system for monitoring bridges in real time along with systems that track the prestressing force and rate of damage for ongoing health assessment and necessary repairs. The use of innovative engineering techniques, solving long standing problems of engineers, will enable the safe operation of bridges, which play a primary role in Australia’s national transport system. Improved methodology for turning tired infrastructure into ‘smart bridges’ will be developed and commissioned first in Australia and then applied internationally.Read moreRead less
Containment and Reduction of Rework in Transport Mega Projects. Mega transport projects (>$1 billion) are poorly managed during their construction with significant cost and schedule overruns and benefit shortfalls regularly being experienced. Having to perform rework has been identified as a major factor that contributes to these unintended consequences. As there has been limited research that has empirically examined rework causation, an inability to develop effective rework containment and red ....Containment and Reduction of Rework in Transport Mega Projects. Mega transport projects (>$1 billion) are poorly managed during their construction with significant cost and schedule overruns and benefit shortfalls regularly being experienced. Having to perform rework has been identified as a major factor that contributes to these unintended consequences. As there has been limited research that has empirically examined rework causation, an inability to develop effective rework containment and reduction strategies prevails. This research aims to develop a theoretical model that can be used to develop robust containment and reduction strategies to mitigate the adverse economic, productivity and safety consequences that materialize from performing rework during the construction of mega transport projects.Read moreRead less
The effects of cyclic loading on partially saturated soils. This project aims to predict the settlement and strength of the upper, partially saturated layer of the ground when it is subjected to cyclic loading. Most of our critical infrastructure is built on or in this layer, but currently we cannot reliably predict the ground response of partially saturated soils to the cyclic loads that arise from earthquakes, traffic and construction processes. The project is expected to develop a new numeric ....The effects of cyclic loading on partially saturated soils. This project aims to predict the settlement and strength of the upper, partially saturated layer of the ground when it is subjected to cyclic loading. Most of our critical infrastructure is built on or in this layer, but currently we cannot reliably predict the ground response of partially saturated soils to the cyclic loads that arise from earthquakes, traffic and construction processes. The project is expected to develop a new numerical model that can predict the effects of cyclic loads, and provide updated engineering guidance to ensure the integrity of infrastructure dependent on partially-saturated soils. Improved predictions of the processes involved resulting from this project will have significant economic benefits, as well as ensuring the safety and security of infrastructure and reduced maintenance costs.Read moreRead less
Development of Novel Concrete Noise Walls Incorporating Recycled Materials. This project will develop high-performance, lightweight, concrete noise walls and acoustic barriers that use recycled tyre and glass products to improve sound absorption, and address environmental problems associated with the mining of river sands, and stockpiling of waste tyre and glass products. Innovation in noise wall technology consists in developing low-carbon concrete mixes (using less cement) with a maximum amoun ....Development of Novel Concrete Noise Walls Incorporating Recycled Materials. This project will develop high-performance, lightweight, concrete noise walls and acoustic barriers that use recycled tyre and glass products to improve sound absorption, and address environmental problems associated with the mining of river sands, and stockpiling of waste tyre and glass products. Innovation in noise wall technology consists in developing low-carbon concrete mixes (using less cement) with a maximum amount of recycled product, together with reducing wall thickness, while maintaining the necessary engineering properties such as acoustics, strength, and durability. In addition to higher acoustic insulation, the novel low-carbon, lightweight, panels will improve material handling and affordability of noise barriers.Read moreRead less