Development of Intelligent Structures that can Self-evaluate Deterioration. This project aims to transform traditional civil structures into smart structures that can accurately identify current and future structural deterioration conditions and automatically notify the infrastructure management authority for timely maintenance. Civil structures deteriorate over their long life spans. Currently, we have no effective method to identify when deterioration has reached the point where maintenance is ....Development of Intelligent Structures that can Self-evaluate Deterioration. This project aims to transform traditional civil structures into smart structures that can accurately identify current and future structural deterioration conditions and automatically notify the infrastructure management authority for timely maintenance. Civil structures deteriorate over their long life spans. Currently, we have no effective method to identify when deterioration has reached the point where maintenance is required. The project plans to develop innovative structural deterioration evaluation systems using output-only vibration data and versatile optimisation algorithms to enable long-term deterioration assessment and maintenance management even under demanding operating conditions. These could be used with both conventional data acquisition systems and modern monitoring systems with smart wireless sensors. Expected project outcomes will enhance structural safety and maintenance efficiency.Read moreRead less
Characterization of Fast Propagating Fires in Green Buildings. This project aims to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms of fast-propagating fires and to address the deficiency in current fire models in assessing the fire safety requirement of green buildings. Although there are many compelling advantages associated with green building designs, because they promote better natural ventilation they could pose a significant fire hazard to occupants due to the propensity of rapid fire and s ....Characterization of Fast Propagating Fires in Green Buildings. This project aims to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms of fast-propagating fires and to address the deficiency in current fire models in assessing the fire safety requirement of green buildings. Although there are many compelling advantages associated with green building designs, because they promote better natural ventilation they could pose a significant fire hazard to occupants due to the propensity of rapid fire and smoke spread within the enclosed space. The new predictive fire model in this project is expected to promote a safer and sustainable building environment.Read moreRead less
Development of next generation prestressed concrete bridges using moving force identification. This project will enhance the safety of prestressed concrete bridges which constitute 70 per cent of Australian bridges and hence provide economic benefits. The procedure developed can evaluate the health status of these bridges and the prestressing force which was hitherto difficult to determine, even though it controls bridge load carrying capacity.
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
Shared-space interactions between people and autonomous vehicles. This project aims to understand how autonomous vehicles in urban environments need to interact with the people that they share those spaces with. Autonomous vehicles that are able to operate in shared spaces, such as campuses and pedestrian zones, promise to improve urban life. However, their uptake depends heavily on public acceptance as they operate in close proximity to people. The project investigates whether people are more l ....Shared-space interactions between people and autonomous vehicles. This project aims to understand how autonomous vehicles in urban environments need to interact with the people that they share those spaces with. Autonomous vehicles that are able to operate in shared spaces, such as campuses and pedestrian zones, promise to improve urban life. However, their uptake depends heavily on public acceptance as they operate in close proximity to people. The project investigates whether people are more likely to trust the technology and feel safe if they are able to understand how the system makes decisions and to directly influence its behaviour. Outcomes are expected to promote safe behaviour around urban robotic applications and accelerate the uptake of autonomous systems in Australia’s cities. Read moreRead less
Unsaturated Soil Dynamics. The main aim of this ambitious project is to address a highly significant and timely class of problems in civil engineering, and in particular in soil mechanics. The outcomes are expected to result in improvements in the design and construction of civil infrastructure. The problems considered are routinely confronted in daily engineering practice whenever a construction site contains weak soil and the ground requires improvement before construction. This project is exp ....Unsaturated Soil Dynamics. The main aim of this ambitious project is to address a highly significant and timely class of problems in civil engineering, and in particular in soil mechanics. The outcomes are expected to result in improvements in the design and construction of civil infrastructure. The problems considered are routinely confronted in daily engineering practice whenever a construction site contains weak soil and the ground requires improvement before construction. This project is expected to provide a comprehensive understanding of soil behaviour in this class of problems, leading to robust techniques and advanced computational tools for more cost-effective and safer engineering designs.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100003
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,900.00
Summary
Vector network analyser suite for advanced terahertz materials and devices. This project aims to establish terahertz measurement capabilities to further Australia's strength and momentum in terahertz research. This will comprise of two terahertz extension modules, working with a dedicated vector-network analyser, and high-precision probes and probe station. The project will enable point-feeding, monochromatic, coherent, and fine spectral-resolution measurement at an atmospheric window of 220-330 ....Vector network analyser suite for advanced terahertz materials and devices. This project aims to establish terahertz measurement capabilities to further Australia's strength and momentum in terahertz research. This will comprise of two terahertz extension modules, working with a dedicated vector-network analyser, and high-precision probes and probe station. The project will enable point-feeding, monochromatic, coherent, and fine spectral-resolution measurement at an atmospheric window of 220-330 GHz. The capabilities are essential for development of two-dimensional materials, active components, waveguides, and antennas towards a common goal of efficient integrated terahertz devices and systems. The project will serve emerging terahertz applications including standoff imaging and short-range high-speed data transmission. This will have broad impact in the areas of surveillance, biomedicine, security, and public safety and well-being.Read moreRead less
Engineering high-efficiency all-dielectric antennas for terahertz channels. This project aims to create unconventional antenna platforms to support terahertz links. The project expects to deliver high-efficiency, high-gain dielectric resonator antennas and dielectric rod antenna arrays fed by dielectric wave-guides. The expected outcomes of this project will build critical components for future terahertz communication infrastructure. These antennas will support demands in point-to-point wireless ....Engineering high-efficiency all-dielectric antennas for terahertz channels. This project aims to create unconventional antenna platforms to support terahertz links. The project expects to deliver high-efficiency, high-gain dielectric resonator antennas and dielectric rod antenna arrays fed by dielectric wave-guides. The expected outcomes of this project will build critical components for future terahertz communication infrastructure. These antennas will support demands in point-to-point wireless transmission between mobile base stations, within data centres, and at information kiosks.Read moreRead less
Wideband Strongly-Truncated Composite Cavity-Resonator Antennas. A rapidly growing demand for fast wireless services calls for wideband communication systems with wideband antennas, which are compact, aesthetically appealing and inexpensive, yet have good performance. With novel concepts, this project aims to produce a new class of antennas that deliver impressive performance (bandwidth and gain) while taking up a dramatically reduced area in a way that was impossible before, increasing a figure ....Wideband Strongly-Truncated Composite Cavity-Resonator Antennas. A rapidly growing demand for fast wireless services calls for wideband communication systems with wideband antennas, which are compact, aesthetically appealing and inexpensive, yet have good performance. With novel concepts, this project aims to produce a new class of antennas that deliver impressive performance (bandwidth and gain) while taking up a dramatically reduced area in a way that was impossible before, increasing a figure-of-merit to up to seven times the state-of-the-art. Their planar geometry and simplicity lead to low cost. This is expected to create new knowledge, design methods and examples, prototypes, test results and guidelines required to design, optimise and make these versatile antennas for emerging robust broadband wireless systems.Read moreRead less
Silicon-Carbide Switches for Post-Silicon Efficiency of Power Electronics. The aim of this project is to create a prototype of a silicon carbide (SiC)-based power-electronic switch for improved energy efficiency and reduced size of power-electronic circuits, well beyond the theoretical limits of silicon technology. Until very recently, the dominant controlled switch in electronics could only be implemented as a silicon transistor. A new method of electronic passivation of SiC surfaces has enable ....Silicon-Carbide Switches for Post-Silicon Efficiency of Power Electronics. The aim of this project is to create a prototype of a silicon carbide (SiC)-based power-electronic switch for improved energy efficiency and reduced size of power-electronic circuits, well beyond the theoretical limits of silicon technology. Until very recently, the dominant controlled switch in electronics could only be implemented as a silicon transistor. A new method of electronic passivation of SiC surfaces has enabled the recent commercialisation of SiC transistors. It is expected that the material advantages of SiC can be fully exploited by a new device structure and a new fabrication process.Read moreRead less