Track and Design

Areas include:

  • Rail track design. Design research;
  • Non-destructive evaluation of materials using high resolution insitu 3D X-Ray Microscopy under uniaxial, triaxial loading;
  • Non-destructive evaluation of geo-materials (X-Ray CT);
  • Improvement of soft soils using alkali activated slag;
  • Foundation Engineering;
  • CO2 sequestration
  • Formation Modelling (ballast);
  • Subgrade and formation levels (reactive soils) and treatment of reactive soils with additives;
  • Measurement of formation properties, behaviours (GPR and other sensors);
  • Corrosion of metals (buried metal corrosions, concrete structure buried underground);
  • Ground Penetration Radar (GPR);
  • Geophysical methods to categorise soils and subgrades;
  • Developing models cyclic loading;
  • Subgrade stabilisation -Victoria-reactive soils research;
  • Interaction with other submerged infrastructure such as pipelines, culverts, and bridges;
  • Tunnels (culverts) and remaining life estimation. Buried corrosion modelling (could link to drone project);
  • Unsaturated flow and material behaviour of compacted soils, reactive soils, and pavement materials;
  • Shrinkage, creep and unsaturated flow behaviour of cemented materials;
  • Desiccation cracking of soils and cemented materials;
  • Soil-atmosphere/infrastructure interaction and climate change effects;
  • On-shore and off-shore pipelines and interaction with railway tracks;
  • Stabilisation of soils and crushed rocks with cementations and polymeric additives;
  • Landfill cover and liner design;
  • Prediction of pavement deterioration due to traffic and environmental loadings;
  • Active lateral loading of piles in soft soils and jointed rocks;
  • Passive lateral loading (loading due to ground movement) of piles in soft soils and jointed rocks;
  • Shear Behaviour of rough joints and interfaces;
  • Side shear resistance development of piles in rock and soils;
  • Behaviour of tapered piles in soils and rock;
  • Smart monitoring using fibre optics;
  • Numerical modelling using finite element, finite difference, smoothed particle hydrodynamics and particle flow methods.
  • Formation behaviour - professional training;
  • Finite element analysis; and
  • Fibre optics on rail (have two setups-distributed sensing and fibre grading, stretching in the fibre) and GPR and corrosion sensing.