Experimental and theoretical analysis of gas leakage rate through composite landfill covers due to geomembrane defects. The Australian Greenhouse Office indicated that waste emissions contributed 3.1% of net national emissions in 2001 with methane emissions from landfills accounting for 92% of total methane emissions from the waste sector, despite an increase in methane recovered from solid waste. It pointed out that the recent changes in waste management practices did not have an impact on repo ....Experimental and theoretical analysis of gas leakage rate through composite landfill covers due to geomembrane defects. The Australian Greenhouse Office indicated that waste emissions contributed 3.1% of net national emissions in 2001 with methane emissions from landfills accounting for 92% of total methane emissions from the waste sector, despite an increase in methane recovered from solid waste. It pointed out that the recent changes in waste management practices did not have an impact on reported methane emission levels and there is need to undertake a range of activities to reduce emissions from waste management activities. This project will address specifically the above issue by providing a new method of analysis to predict gas leakage rate and allow engineers to propose solutions to mitigate gas escapes. Read moreRead less
Bridge performance assessment through advanced sensing and modelling. Bridge performance assessment through advanced sensing and modelling. This project aims to create cyber infrastructure to manage and maintain civil infrastructure, specifically bridges. Current sensor data interpretation approaches are not good at assessing the performance of civil infrastructure or evaluating the reserve capacity; in particular, they do not adequately account for high levels of systematic modelling uncertaint ....Bridge performance assessment through advanced sensing and modelling. Bridge performance assessment through advanced sensing and modelling. This project aims to create cyber infrastructure to manage and maintain civil infrastructure, specifically bridges. Current sensor data interpretation approaches are not good at assessing the performance of civil infrastructure or evaluating the reserve capacity; in particular, they do not adequately account for high levels of systematic modelling uncertainties. This project intends to ease the current scientific data interpretation bottleneck. Expected outcomes are better infrastructure management and maintenance planning, fewer redundant interventions, modified infrastructure and improved future design.Read moreRead less
Improved Landfill Barrier Design for Changing Climates. The proposed research project will develop advanced methods and guidelines for practising engineers for improved engineering and design of waste containment barrier systems, leading to improved protection of groundwater resources and the environment and sustainable development of the country. The project will contribute to the priority area of building an environmentally sustainable Australia with a specific focus on water as a critical re ....Improved Landfill Barrier Design for Changing Climates. The proposed research project will develop advanced methods and guidelines for practising engineers for improved engineering and design of waste containment barrier systems, leading to improved protection of groundwater resources and the environment and sustainable development of the country. The project will contribute to the priority area of building an environmentally sustainable Australia with a specific focus on water as a critical resource.Read moreRead less
Seismic analysis of cracking and deformations in concrete gravity dams. This project aims to establish a rational predictive capability for the responses of concrete gravity dams subject to extreme design earthquakes. This will include the development of innovative numerical methods for effective modelling of crack propagation and closure, large slips on crack faces and weak interfaces, dam-reservoir interaction, dam-foundation interaction and automatic mesh generation. The expected outcomes of ....Seismic analysis of cracking and deformations in concrete gravity dams. This project aims to establish a rational predictive capability for the responses of concrete gravity dams subject to extreme design earthquakes. This will include the development of innovative numerical methods for effective modelling of crack propagation and closure, large slips on crack faces and weak interfaces, dam-reservoir interaction, dam-foundation interaction and automatic mesh generation. The expected outcomes of the project will be a significantly improved prediction tool. It is also anticipated that the project will result in improvements in dam and public safety, and more efficient use of funds for dam safety upgrades and management.Read moreRead less
An experimentally-validated thermo-hydro-mechanical theory for waste containment lining systems. Geosynthetic clay liners are engineering systems that are widely used around the world to protect groundwater from municipal, industrial and mining contaminants. The project will conduct cutting-edge experimental, theoretical and computational research leading to a major improvement in their short-term and long-term performances.
Erosion of embankment dams and dam spillways. In excess of $250M is spent annually to maintain, upgrade, improve safety and monitor performance of Australian dams. Improved methods for assessing both spillway and internal erosion, the cause of 50 per cent of embankment dam failures and incidents requiring repairs, will be developed, maximising dam safety and minimising maintenance expenditure.
Floating Forest – a breakwater for protecting the Australian coastline. This project aims to develop structural, materials and foundation solutions for a large floating forest that will act as a mega breakwater and windbreaker to protect the Australian coastline from strong waves and winds caused by climate change. This requires the evaluation of structural and environmental loads, concepts and optimal structural solutions, design, materials and foundation. The newly developed floating structure ....Floating Forest – a breakwater for protecting the Australian coastline. This project aims to develop structural, materials and foundation solutions for a large floating forest that will act as a mega breakwater and windbreaker to protect the Australian coastline from strong waves and winds caused by climate change. This requires the evaluation of structural and environmental loads, concepts and optimal structural solutions, design, materials and foundation. The newly developed floating structure will lead to future construction applications on the Australian harsh sea conditions that call for stringent requirements on infrastructures.Read moreRead less
Thermo-hydro-mechanics of geosynthetic liners: from processes to prediction. This project aims to resolve the complex interactions affecting the long-term performance of geosynthetic liner systems under harsh environmental conditions for preventing groundwater contamination. Failures of waste containment lining systems result in millions of dollars remedial costs and high societal costs. The project expects to underpin the development of an experimentally-validated theory to predict the performa ....Thermo-hydro-mechanics of geosynthetic liners: from processes to prediction. This project aims to resolve the complex interactions affecting the long-term performance of geosynthetic liner systems under harsh environmental conditions for preventing groundwater contamination. Failures of waste containment lining systems result in millions of dollars remedial costs and high societal costs. The project expects to underpin the development of an experimentally-validated theory to predict the performance of geosynthetic liner systems at high temperatures. Expected outcomes of the project are the establishment of a new conceptual framework and providing new guidelines for the design of geosynthetic liner systems for environmental protection. These outcomes are expected to benefit the waste and mining industries by informing planning, decision makers, consultants and construction engineers with science-based information on new lining systems for landfills and mining and industry waste containment.Read moreRead less
Designing the next generation of geosynthetic liner systems . The project aims to improve the effectiveness of geosynthetic liner systems to contain emerging contaminants such as per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) for better protection of Australian groundwater resources. The project expects to experimentally validate theory to improve predictive models for performance of geosynthetic liner systems. Expected outcomes include new and updated design guidelines for effective environmental ....Designing the next generation of geosynthetic liner systems . The project aims to improve the effectiveness of geosynthetic liner systems to contain emerging contaminants such as per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) for better protection of Australian groundwater resources. The project expects to experimentally validate theory to improve predictive models for performance of geosynthetic liner systems. Expected outcomes include new and updated design guidelines for effective environmental protection against PFASs and establishment of new approaches for predicting functional containment lifetimes of liner systems. These outcomes are expected to benefit the waste and remediation industries by influencing next-generation design regulations to ensure long-term environmental protection from PFAS.Read moreRead less
Hydraulic durability of geosynthetic clay liners in steep slope sealing systems for landfills constructed in former quarries. Old quarries are increasingly used for the construction of landfills. The engineering challenge in constructing such landfills includes developing an appropriate lining system for the often steep sided quarry walls. The use of GCLs as part of the lining system can be a viable and a cost effective solution. However, this solution suffers from the lack of meaningful data on ....Hydraulic durability of geosynthetic clay liners in steep slope sealing systems for landfills constructed in former quarries. Old quarries are increasingly used for the construction of landfills. The engineering challenge in constructing such landfills includes developing an appropriate lining system for the often steep sided quarry walls. The use of GCLs as part of the lining system can be a viable and a cost effective solution. However, this solution suffers from the lack of meaningful data on their hydraulic durability in this particular situation. This proposal presents an original approach to investigate this durability under operating conditions typically encountered in steep sided quarries. This work is expected to provide benefits to waste containment efforts at national and international level.Read moreRead less