Monash Infrastructure’s pipe engineering researcher wins Australian water industry award

Monash Infrastructure’s pipe engineering researcher wins Australian water industry award

The Monash University-led Advanced Condition Assessment and Pipe Failure Prediction Project (ACAPFP), “Critical Pipes”, won the 2016 Australian Water Association award for Best Research innovation Project.

A multi-million-dollar collaboration between researchers at Monash University, University of Technology Sydney, and University of Newcastle, two international partners and nine Australian water utilities, the ACAPFP’s main focus is to improve life-span prediction of the large, cast-iron water pipes critical to water supply networks in Australia and around the world.

Historically, predicting pipeline life-span and factors causing burst water mains has been difficult however according to the project’s Chief Investigator Professor Jayantha Kodikara, the research program has contributed significantly to the improved management of pipes through the development of a set of innovative tools.

Professor Jayantha Kodikara is a professor with the Department of Civil Engineering at Monash University and a key researcher in Monash Infrastructure’s structures theme. His expertise lie in Geotechnical, Geoenvironmental and Geo-infrastructure Engineering. Professor Kodikara said of the award winning project, “Our research is very likely to reduce the rate of burst water mains, and therefore reduce water wastage and reduce the cost of the damage these incidents can cause,”.

The award was presented to Dammika Vitanage of Sydney Water who said, "The research and the tools ACAPFP has produced have already contributed to a decrease of millions of dollars in annual expenditure on water main renewals for Sydney Water."  Mr Vitanage is a lead industry partner representative of the project.

Similarly, in the international context the project could contribute significant savings to the repair and replacement costs of pipelines, such as America where the cost of managing ageing infrastructure could reach into the billions of dollars over the next two decades.

The ACAPFP research, which began in 2011, is assisting provision of the best possible data to water utilities ensuring pipe replacement only near the end of their lifespan.

The project had previously won the Monash University Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Innovation and External Engagement 2013, the Monash University Dean’s award for Innovation and External Engagement 2013, the UTS award for the best External Engagement project and the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka, NSW Chapter (IESL NSW) 2014 Best Infrastructure Development Project.