Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL190100014
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,871,982.00
Summary
New Technologies for Delivering Sustainable Free-form Architecture. This project aims to harness the full potential of digital technologies to significantly enhance the performance and reduce the environmental impact of free-form architecture of the future. The research expects to establish a fundamentally new computational platform capable of producing diverse and competitive designs, and an environmentally friendly manufacturing process for realising such designs. Expected outcomes include an ....New Technologies for Delivering Sustainable Free-form Architecture. This project aims to harness the full potential of digital technologies to significantly enhance the performance and reduce the environmental impact of free-form architecture of the future. The research expects to establish a fundamentally new computational platform capable of producing diverse and competitive designs, and an environmentally friendly manufacturing process for realising such designs. Expected outcomes include an unprecedented cloud-based interactive design tool, and a novel minimum-waste manufacturing technology for fabricating mass-customised building components. This project will transform the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector and make the Australian manufacturing industry more competitive globally.Read moreRead less
Damage Detection and Quantification using Infrastructure Digital Twins. Structural health monitoring is vital for infrastructure assets management as early detection of structural conditions is key to both safety and ongoing maintenance. This project combines computer vision, vibration tests, finite element modelling and deep learning technologies to develop an efficient structural health monitoring system. Digital twins created from images taken by cameras or UAVs will be correlated through dee ....Damage Detection and Quantification using Infrastructure Digital Twins. Structural health monitoring is vital for infrastructure assets management as early detection of structural conditions is key to both safety and ongoing maintenance. This project combines computer vision, vibration tests, finite element modelling and deep learning technologies to develop an efficient structural health monitoring system. Digital twins created from images taken by cameras or UAVs will be correlated through deep learning with structural conditions and load-carrying capacities obtained from vibration tests and finite element model analysis for efficient structural damage detection and quantification. The project will lead to effective structural health monitoring and enhance structural safety and reduce maintenance costs. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100892
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$419,889.00
Summary
Next-generation, prefabricated, modular, solar heating and cooling system. This project aims to develop a new window design that can reduce the heating of buildings caused by the sun in warm weather and reduce heat loss from buildings in cool weather. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the interaction between solar radiation and the convection of air inside a cavity within the window design. The expected outcome is a framework that can be used to optimize window designs for buildi ....Next-generation, prefabricated, modular, solar heating and cooling system. This project aims to develop a new window design that can reduce the heating of buildings caused by the sun in warm weather and reduce heat loss from buildings in cool weather. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the interaction between solar radiation and the convection of air inside a cavity within the window design. The expected outcome is a framework that can be used to optimize window designs for buildings under various weather conditions. This should allow quick and easy fabrication and implementation of the designs in existing and new buildings, and the windows should significantly reduce building heating and cooling costs.Read moreRead less
Non-differentiable Energy Minimisation For Modelling Fractured Porous Media. This project is aimed at advancing theoretical, computational and experimental bases for the fracturing of geomaterials, and providing scientists and engineers with much needed predictive tools for quantitative assessment of the responses. By incorporating previously neglected aspects such as energy minimisation, advanced constitutive modelling, and non-planar interacting fracture growth, confidence in the design and pl ....Non-differentiable Energy Minimisation For Modelling Fractured Porous Media. This project is aimed at advancing theoretical, computational and experimental bases for the fracturing of geomaterials, and providing scientists and engineers with much needed predictive tools for quantitative assessment of the responses. By incorporating previously neglected aspects such as energy minimisation, advanced constitutive modelling, and non-planar interacting fracture growth, confidence in the design and planning of engineering processes in fractured porous media will be increased to the point that costly over/under designs are avoided. Through the use of the tools developed, it will be possible to detect weaknesses in the design, assess the impact and implement effective measures to improve performance.Read moreRead less
Detecting developing cracks before pipe bursts using smart sensor systems. This project aims to significantly reduce the number of pipe bursts in cities by detecting the leaks from developing cracks on water supply pipes just in time. New techniques will be developed for reliable and timely detection using the existing sensor network in the Adelaide CBD. Specialised monitoring stations will be developed with adaptive noise-cancellation algorithms to detect small leak signals in noisy city enviro ....Detecting developing cracks before pipe bursts using smart sensor systems. This project aims to significantly reduce the number of pipe bursts in cities by detecting the leaks from developing cracks on water supply pipes just in time. New techniques will be developed for reliable and timely detection using the existing sensor network in the Adelaide CBD. Specialised monitoring stations will be developed with adaptive noise-cancellation algorithms to detect small leak signals in noisy city environments. Expected outcomes include an effective pipe burst early warning system and the implementation of an active burst prevention and targeted pipe replacement strategy. This should significantly reduce the burst rates and associated interruptions in Adelaide and save millions of dollars every year in pipe relay programs.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100479
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$424,835.00
Summary
Resilient design flood estimation for Australia. The total costs of natural disasters in Australia are forecast to more than double in the next 20 years - with floods one of the costliest natural disasters faced. The damage and cost of floods can be managed, but rapid developments in the understanding of rainfall and flood projections has resulted in national flood guidelines that are not consistent with current science. This project proposes a novel but practical technique for design flood esti ....Resilient design flood estimation for Australia. The total costs of natural disasters in Australia are forecast to more than double in the next 20 years - with floods one of the costliest natural disasters faced. The damage and cost of floods can be managed, but rapid developments in the understanding of rainfall and flood projections has resulted in national flood guidelines that are not consistent with current science. This project proposes a novel but practical technique for design flood estimation that will accommodate the key changes to flood behaviour that are expected in the future. This will include consideration of changes in extreme rainfall intensities, catchment wetness, and patterns of storm behaviour.Read moreRead less
Erosion processes in soils across scales. This project aims to develop a monitoring tool for predicting the evolution of internal erosion in dams based on innovative electromagnetic observation methods. Internal erosion is an insidious process occurring in the obscurity of the soil’s pore system until its consequences become visible and threaten the stability of the dams. These water retaining structures are vital for the future water and energy supply for our society and their failure can be ca ....Erosion processes in soils across scales. This project aims to develop a monitoring tool for predicting the evolution of internal erosion in dams based on innovative electromagnetic observation methods. Internal erosion is an insidious process occurring in the obscurity of the soil’s pore system until its consequences become visible and threaten the stability of the dams. These water retaining structures are vital for the future water and energy supply for our society and their failure can be catastrophic. By establishing an improved understanding of internal erosion as a sequence of processes on various scales, from the onset of erosion until the failure of the structure, this project will place Australia at the forefront of dam safety assessment.Read moreRead less
Heat transfer and fluid flow in geomaterials: Physics-inspired AI framework. Processes involving fluid flow or heat transfer are of critical importance in engineering applications (e.g., in dams, geothermal systems, oil & gas production). Though largely overlooked, microstructural features control these processes in geomaterials. This project aims to exploit advances in high-resolution 4D imaging to extract essential microstructural information to: 1) identify new parameters that better capture ....Heat transfer and fluid flow in geomaterials: Physics-inspired AI framework. Processes involving fluid flow or heat transfer are of critical importance in engineering applications (e.g., in dams, geothermal systems, oil & gas production). Though largely overlooked, microstructural features control these processes in geomaterials. This project aims to exploit advances in high-resolution 4D imaging to extract essential microstructural information to: 1) identify new parameters that better capture pore and particle properties, connectivities and pathways, and 2) develop advanced predictive analytics tools. This will improve fundamental understanding of the link between microstructure and fluid and heat flows at the engineering scale, and provide predictive tools to reduce risk and costs to industry.Read moreRead less
Design guideline for suction caissons supporting offshore wind turbines. This project aims to develop an industry guideline for suction caisson foundations, that are a new form of fixed platform anchor, for offshore wind turbines. The project expects to generate new knowledge of caisson response during installation and over millions of wind/wave load cycles, by integrating field experience with measurements from innovative experiments. The expected outcomes of this project include new methods to ....Design guideline for suction caissons supporting offshore wind turbines. This project aims to develop an industry guideline for suction caisson foundations, that are a new form of fixed platform anchor, for offshore wind turbines. The project expects to generate new knowledge of caisson response during installation and over millions of wind/wave load cycles, by integrating field experience with measurements from innovative experiments. The expected outcomes of this project include new methods to guide suction installation in difficult soil layering and predicting rotation and stiffness over a turbine’s operational life. The benefits of these scientific advances will contribute to the economic and reliable design of suction caisson foundations and a more rapid take-up of offshore wind energy.Read moreRead less
Controlled Ca release in biowaste polymer binder for green infrastructure. With the advances in biopolymer and green chemistry, Ca-activated zeolite-based binder materials have become possible for eco-friendly infrastructure with high performance, low carbon footprint and low energy consumption. In this project, next generation binder materials will be designed and fabricated to cater for stringent environmental requirements for civil infrastructure. In collaboration with world leading experts, ....Controlled Ca release in biowaste polymer binder for green infrastructure. With the advances in biopolymer and green chemistry, Ca-activated zeolite-based binder materials have become possible for eco-friendly infrastructure with high performance, low carbon footprint and low energy consumption. In this project, next generation binder materials will be designed and fabricated to cater for stringent environmental requirements for civil infrastructure. In collaboration with world leading experts, the newly developed binder will be tested in various engineering scenarios to understand nanoscience-based working mechanisms. It is expected that the novel binder will potentially reduce the use of conventional cement/concrete materials, contribute to a circular economy and help to mitigate climate change.Read moreRead less