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
Formation, photochemistry and fate of gas-phase peroxyl radicals. This project aims to understand how peroxyl radical reactions modulate the composition of air. The gas-phase chemical reactions of organic peroxyl radicals contribute to air quality in clean and polluted environments. However, experimental observations of these reaction intermediates and the complex mechanisms governing their formation and fate are limited. This project will use mass spectrometry and laser-based methods to interro ....Formation, photochemistry and fate of gas-phase peroxyl radicals. This project aims to understand how peroxyl radical reactions modulate the composition of air. The gas-phase chemical reactions of organic peroxyl radicals contribute to air quality in clean and polluted environments. However, experimental observations of these reaction intermediates and the complex mechanisms governing their formation and fate are limited. This project will use mass spectrometry and laser-based methods to interrogate the chemical and photochemical reactions of peroxyl radicals in the gas phase. This project expects to understand the composition and dynamics of the troposphere and inform strategies to improve air quality.Read moreRead less
Design of tuneable microstructures for additive manufacturing. The project intends to develop methods to tune the microstructure of materials in additive manufacturing so that components can be manufactured with maximum productivity and properties. Additive manufacturing is leading the mass customisation of manufacturing. Designed tunable microstructures enable structure and properties to be tailored for specific applications. One of the greatest challenges, however, is how to control the scale ....Design of tuneable microstructures for additive manufacturing. The project intends to develop methods to tune the microstructure of materials in additive manufacturing so that components can be manufactured with maximum productivity and properties. Additive manufacturing is leading the mass customisation of manufacturing. Designed tunable microstructures enable structure and properties to be tailored for specific applications. One of the greatest challenges, however, is how to control the scale and morphology of the microstructure. This project aims to use the interdependence model of grain refinement to control and design grain sizes. The project first plans to investigate the near-rapid solidification conditions in aluminium alloys. It then plans to re-design the harder-to-manufacture titanium alloys to improve grain size control.Read moreRead less
Multifunctional Structural Panels for Next-generation Infrastructure. This project aims to develop a multifunctional prefabricated structural panel for current and future infrastructure applications for both land and offshore environments. Prefabrication enables enhanced product control as well as the ability to rapidly construct whole structures or their components. The panels utilise an inner lightweight foam and fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite core with strong outer panels made from ....Multifunctional Structural Panels for Next-generation Infrastructure. This project aims to develop a multifunctional prefabricated structural panel for current and future infrastructure applications for both land and offshore environments. Prefabrication enables enhanced product control as well as the ability to rapidly construct whole structures or their components. The panels utilise an inner lightweight foam and fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite core with strong outer panels made from FRP sheets and high-strength concrete. The expected outcomes include experimental and numerical validation of the system, that will give designers and asset owners the confidence to adopt this new panel. The panel system presents an upward step change in construction technology and built infrastructure performance.Read moreRead less
Functionally Graded Ultra High Perfomance Concete Structure under Flexure. This project aims to develop a novel multilayer functionally graded concrete structure that is a mixture of normal strength concrete and ultra high performance concrete with the mixing ratio varying in a layer-wise manner, offering a highly cost-effective structural design solution with significantly improved safety and durability over conventional concrete structures. The expected outcomes include the innovative design, ....Functionally Graded Ultra High Perfomance Concete Structure under Flexure. This project aims to develop a novel multilayer functionally graded concrete structure that is a mixture of normal strength concrete and ultra high performance concrete with the mixing ratio varying in a layer-wise manner, offering a highly cost-effective structural design solution with significantly improved safety and durability over conventional concrete structures. The expected outcomes include the innovative design, experimental data on the static and dynamic structural behaviour, development of reliable simulation techniques and optimal design procedures for the proposed structure with greatly reduced material costs. The project will have huge benefits to Australian civil engineering industry and national economy.
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Degradation mechanisms of structural composites under extreme weather. The changing weather patterns and increasing solar radiation in Australia have greatly impacted the durability of construction materials and caused substantial damage to critical infrastructure. This project aims to understand the synergistic effects of different environmental conditions on the degradation mechanisms of advanced polymer composites and to develop new models on the long-term performance for these materials. Thi ....Degradation mechanisms of structural composites under extreme weather. The changing weather patterns and increasing solar radiation in Australia have greatly impacted the durability of construction materials and caused substantial damage to critical infrastructure. This project aims to understand the synergistic effects of different environmental conditions on the degradation mechanisms of advanced polymer composites and to develop new models on the long-term performance for these materials. This project expects to generate new knowledge on polymer composites incorporating new classes of fibres, resin systems, and functional fillers. Expected outcomes include the discovery of new composite technologies for the longevity of Australian infrastructure - crucial to our economic prosperity and quality of life.
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Buckling of Functionally Graded Multilayer Graphene Nanocomposites. This project aims to contribute to the development of novel lightweight structural members made of graphene nanocomposites with greatly enhanced resistance to abrupt or progressive buckling failure. Abrupt or progressive buckling failure under excessive compressive loads is a common and often catastrophic problem in engineering structures. The project intends to develop a functionally graded multilayer graphene nanocomposite str ....Buckling of Functionally Graded Multilayer Graphene Nanocomposites. This project aims to contribute to the development of novel lightweight structural members made of graphene nanocomposites with greatly enhanced resistance to abrupt or progressive buckling failure. Abrupt or progressive buckling failure under excessive compressive loads is a common and often catastrophic problem in engineering structures. The project intends to develop a functionally graded multilayer graphene nanocomposite structure and to conduct a combined theoretical, numerical and experimental investigation into its buckling and postbuckling behaviours, taking into account the effect of initial imperfection. The project aims to advance the knowledge base of the mechanical behaviour of lightweight nanocomposite structures with improved structural reliability.Read moreRead less
Lightweight, durable and self-sustainable modular composites buildings. This project aims to establish a modular composites building system that is lightweight, integrated with power supply system and is highly resistant to harsh environments. Buildings today are designed and constructed using conventional craft-based labour-intensive methods and materials. This results in high cost and consequences for quality, safety, resource and environmental impact. By developing the modular building system ....Lightweight, durable and self-sustainable modular composites buildings. This project aims to establish a modular composites building system that is lightweight, integrated with power supply system and is highly resistant to harsh environments. Buildings today are designed and constructed using conventional craft-based labour-intensive methods and materials. This results in high cost and consequences for quality, safety, resource and environmental impact. By developing the modular building system using lightweight and durable fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites and innovative connection methods for fast assembly, the project outcomes can largely lift productivity in construction industry and further provide self-sustainable civil infrastructure not only in urban and rural regions but also in remote areas.Read moreRead less
How bacteria form resistant aggregates and biofilms. This research aims to use interdisciplinary approaches to advance fundamental knowledge on bacterial aggregates and biofilms. These bacterial clusters are a significant problem as they have extraordinary resistance to disinfectants and antibiotics, and currently no effective methods are available to disrupt them. The expected outcomes of this project are to dissect how autotransporters, the most common group of bacterial cell-surface proteins, ....How bacteria form resistant aggregates and biofilms. This research aims to use interdisciplinary approaches to advance fundamental knowledge on bacterial aggregates and biofilms. These bacterial clusters are a significant problem as they have extraordinary resistance to disinfectants and antibiotics, and currently no effective methods are available to disrupt them. The expected outcomes of this project are to dissect how autotransporters, the most common group of bacterial cell-surface proteins, promote aggregation and biofilm formation, and to develop inhibitors that prevent the formation of these damaging bacterial clusters. Ultimately, this new knowledge will help address the increasing economic and social burden of industrial, environmental and biomedical biofilms.Read moreRead less
Multilayer Graphene Based Anti-Corrosion Polymer Coated Structures. This project aims to develop a novel multilayer graphene/polymer coating for structures exposed to corrosive environment with graphene concentration varying layer-wise to eliminate galvanic corrosion yet maintain all unique advantages owing to graphene inclusion, thus offering a cost-effective design solution with significantly improved anti-corrosion performance and remarkably enhanced safety and durability for structures. Expe ....Multilayer Graphene Based Anti-Corrosion Polymer Coated Structures. This project aims to develop a novel multilayer graphene/polymer coating for structures exposed to corrosive environment with graphene concentration varying layer-wise to eliminate galvanic corrosion yet maintain all unique advantages owing to graphene inclusion, thus offering a cost-effective design solution with significantly improved anti-corrosion performance and remarkably enhanced safety and durability for structures. Expected outcomes of this project include an innovative design, experimental data on corrosion prevention, development of reliable simulation techniques and design procedures for the proposed coating. This should provide huge benefits to Australian civil, offshore and marine engineering industry and national economy.Read moreRead less