Monash engineers to spearhead high-tech push for zero-emission construction
Civil engineering researchers from Monash University will lead a major new research hub designed to help the infrastructure construction sector move more rapidly towards Net Zero carbon emissions.
Supported by A$5 million in funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the ARC Research Hub for Infrastructure Net Zero will focus on integrating digital technologies - including robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) - to decarbonise large-scale infrastructure engineering and construction processes.
“The objective of the Hub and its research is to build national capability for the entire civil construction industry,” said Wenhui Duan, Professor of Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering at Monash, who will lead the project as Hub Director.
“Compared with other industries, the infrastructure construction sector’s carbon emissions are not falling as rapidly, and AI and other digital technologies are being taken up much more slowly.”
“Our goal is to help the sector achieve Net Zero emissions by developing and harnessing AI and robotics-based solutions to increase efficiency, optimise energy use and reduce waste right through the infrastructure lifecycle from design and construction to operation, maintenance and even demolition and reuse,” Professor Duan explained.
The use of advanced digital technologies such as creating a “digital twin” of a real-world infrastructure system allows the impact of low-carbon technologies, materials and designs on flexibility and structural durability to be modelled realistically, said Professor Duan.
A combination of digital twin and AI enables the properties of materials to be predicted before production to drive construction of eco-friendly, energy-efficient and long-lasting structures.
AI and robotics can also help streamline infrastructure systems, regulate energy consumption, predict and optimise maintenance, automate inspection and extend infrastructure life, reducing waste from premature replacement.
The Hub’s program also aims to build robust partnerships with industry, manufacturers, and regulators, fostering the development of a highly-skilled workforce to support the transformation of the construction industry to net-zero emissions while maintaining and growing its pivotal contribution to the Australian economy and employment.
“Infrastructure construction is a very capital-intensive industry with many major projects costing in the billions of dollars,” said Professor Duan.
“This level of investment tends to make the sector rather risk-averse, but any innovation has the potential to have a powerful economic impact.”
The ARC Research Hub for Infrastructure Net Zero draws on the expertise of a multidisciplinary group of Monash Engineering researchers - Professor Hai Vu, Associate Professors Chao Chen and Hossein Masoumi, and Drs Yihai Fang and Yunlong Tang - as Chief Investigators, together with investigators and resources from Swinburne University of Technology, the University of Melbourne, RMIT University, University of Technology Sydney, Western Sydney University, Curtin University and the University of New South Wales.
Their collective expertise spans the fields of construction materials and practices, green structures, advanced manufacturing, operation and maintenance, as well as robotics, AI, internet of things (IoT) and digital twin technologies.
