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.