Civil, mining, environmental engineering
- Solving mining waste problem of China and Australia
- Advanced wastewater treatment and reuse
- Renewable energy from waste
- Advanced co-digestion of wastewater sludge with drinking water sludge
- Tracking and controlling antimicrobial resistance in urban water/wastewater systems
- Scrap tyre soil mixtures for Infrastructure construction
- Stabilisation of tailing dams using scrap tyre
- Improving the ductility and fatigue strength of steel and steel composite joints
- Design of connections for deconstruction
- Seismic design of cold-formed steel structures
- Applications of high strength steel to civil engineering structures
- Behaviour of Concrete Members reinfroced with FRP bars under different loading conditions
- Behaviour of ambient-cured geoploymer concrete
- Studies of coal burst and its mitigation strategies in deep and complex geo-mining enviroments
- Developing an innovative method for enhancing gas drainage in low perm and CO2-rich seams
- Advanced computational modelliing of gas and ventilation dynamics in underground workings
- Membrane distillation for liquid desiccant cooling and fresh water production
- Building Energy Flexibility and Demand Response
Project description
The project is industry-relevant and has significant value for China and Australia with extensive mining activities. Heavy metals are a major anthropogenic contaminant of estuarine and coastal ecosystems in China and Australia. This research proposes an integrated approach to minimisation of the impact of the heavy metals on public health and ecosystems, improving quality of life. The project will employ a number of advanced scientific and technical tools to understand the mechanisms of the removal of heavy metals, establishing unique links between fundamental and applied research. The supervisors are experts in Environmental Engineering and Mining Engineering.
Related research group
Strategic Water Infrastructure Lab (Prof Faisal Hai and Prof Will Price) and Centre for Infrastructure Protection and Mining Safety (Prof Ting Ren)
Principal supervisor
Co-supervisor
Project description
Many emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and biocides are not easily removed from wastewater by conventional biological treatments, resulting in a constant input into the aquatic environment. This study proposes to couple an enzymatic reactor with high retention membrane system to ensure complete retention of the contaminants, thereby facilitating their enhanced degradation. Such advanced treatment would produce reusable water. This topic involves a global problem with particular relevance to China and Australia.
Related research group
Strategic Water Infrastructure Laboratory
Principal supervisor
Co supervisor
Project description
The world’s current dependence on fossil fuels has led to an increased emphasis being placed on developing sustainable fuel alternatives. Municipal solid waste is a promising source of this material as it comprises of up to 70% lignocellulose, is continuously being generated in large amounts and the diversion of such a large portion of waste from landfill has several environmental benefits. This research will focus on the conversion and optimisation of municipal solid waste to bioethanol by assessing the key factors of pre-treatment, hydrolysis, fermentation and separation. The use of a direct contact membrane distillation system will also be implemented due to its potential as a highly efficient and relatively low cost technology for ethanol separation from the fermentation broth. This topic involves a global problem with particular relevance to China and Australia.
Related research group
Strategic Water Infrastructure Lab (Prof Faisal Hai and Prof Will Price) and Centre for Infrastructure Protection and Mining Safety (Prof Ting Ren)
Principal supervisor
Co-supervisor
Project description
This project proposes to use the co-digestion technology for the treatment of waste activated sludge (WAS) or primary sludge (PS) with drinking water treatment sludge (DWTS), for economic and environmental benefits as demonstrated by our preliminary investigations using iron- or aluminum-containing DWTS. Batch biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests will be carried out to determine impacts of different DWTS on the digestion of sewage sludge (PS, WAS and PS/WAS mixture). Long-term studies using beach scale reactors will be performed to determine the optimal process parameters including hydraulic retention time, DWTS additions, temperature and PS/WAS mixture ratios. Potential further study about co-digesting DWTS with additional substrate (e.g. liquefied food waste) to accommodate additional solid waste stream treatment.
Project description
The emergence of antimicrobial resistance genes in pathogens is induced by the selection pressure of antimicrobial drugs, and the subsequent horizontal transfer or vertical transmission of such resistance genes. Nearly 2 million people are infected by antibiotic-resistant pathogens in the USA yearly, and these infections lead to a US$20 billion health-care cost. This project aims to use molecular methods (qPCR and sequencing) to detect and track the AMR in the water systems. Subsequently, engineering control solutions can be designed for the treatment and control of AMR spread through water and wastewater.
Project description
The applicants have proposed a novel, environmentally friendly method for mitigating liquefaction potential of soil using scrap-tyre soil mixtures (TSM). Preliminary investigations highlight that TSM can effectively control the response liquefaction of soil during low cyclic load amplitudes. In this study, the efficacy of TSM will be examined, in detail, through laboratory experiments and numerical modelling for high amplitudes of cyclic loads from heavy and fast moving vehicles. Considering the significant amount of damages and associated maintenance cost on infrastructure, the proposed research will develop a low cost, environmentally friendly method using scrap tyre-soil mixtures (TSM) suited for mitigating liquefaction.
Project description
The main objective is to develop a novel methodology for the design and analysis of scrap tyre columns for improving the stability of tailing dams. The project will not only solve the challenges associated with the stability of tailing dams but also provide environmentally sustainable use of scrap tyres for constructions.
Project description
Structural connections are one of the key areas for improving the efficiency of a structural framework. This project first seeks to understand and define the characteristics of existing connections with reference to their use in construction, then invent innovative solutions to improve the relevant properties, either through incremental, evolutionary or revolutionary changes. New methods to design such connections will also be formulated.
Project description
Traditional connections do not always facilitate the deconstruction of a building structure such that the building materials can be re-used for another construction project or recycled into new products. This project aims to invent new types of connections that support design for deconstruction. New methods to determine the characteristics including the strength of such connections in structural design will also be formulated.
Principal supervisor
Project description
The design procedures for cold-formed steel structures have been mainly adapted from those formulated for hot-rolled steel and concrete/composite structures. Research on the seismic behaviour of cold-formed steel structures is limited even though there are peculiarities unique to cold-formed steel structures. This project aims to address the areas where no or little research has been done, and where design has been done on ad hoc basis
Principal supervisor
Project description
High strength steel grades having yield stresses greater than 600 MPa are now being mass produced for applications in the mining and heavy construction industries. However, its applications to civil engineering structures have been rather limited. This project aims to research applications where it is advantageous and competitive to use high strength steel in civil engineering structures, either as steel structural members or as composite material.
Principal supervisor
Project description
This project investigates the bahaviour of concrete members reinforced with fiber reinfrorced polymer bars udner different loading conditions.
Principal supervisor
Project description
Geoploymer concrete is concrete without cement. This project investigates the behaviour of ambient-cured geoploymer concrete
Project description
The project aims to provide critical knowledge of coal burst in deep mines, particularly those workings operating in high-stress and complex-geological settings. The project will involve extensive lab tests and numerical modelling studies based on field conditions to understand key controls and precursors of burst risks and the design of effective mitigation strategies that can be practically deployed on sites.
Project description
Gas drainage is an integrated part of underground mining of gassy coal seams and plays a key role in mine safety and productivity. Tight seams of low permeability with high CO2 composition present a challenge to effective pre-gas drainage practices that can be used to drop gas content below TLV of outburst before mining commencement. This project aims to develop a new method based on injection of stimulating gas to enhance this project therefore shorten the required gas drainage lead time.
Project description
This project aims to develop sophisticated computational models to simulate gas, dust particles and ventilation in confined space in underground workings. This include mine gas, dust and ventilation flow dynamics for the control of spontaneous combustion, gas emission and dust contamination in underground workings. The candidate needs to have strong modelling skills using CFD and DEM, monitoring and ideally practical knowledge and appreciation of mining operations.
Project description
Membrane distillation is a thermally driven membrane separation process where water vapour pressure difference across the membrane acts as the driving force. Membrane distillation has been widely used in the brackish water desalination, removal of micropollutants and recovery of components. This project will develop an innovative approach to use membrane distillation technology to generate fresh water and at the same time, drive the liquid desiccant cooling, which is being considered as one of the promising solutions to provide high quality clean air for better indoor air quality.
Research Group
Mineral Resources Engineering
Principal supervisor
Co supervisor
Project description
The high penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources has created a great need for increased flexibility that would allow an electrical power system to adapt to dynamic and changing energy demand and supply conditions. The primary aim of this project is to explore and quantify the opportunities of building energy flexibility, and develop a new control strategy to facilitate building demand side management, to reduce building operational cost, increase the security of energy supply and improve building resilience to extreme weather conditions.
Research Group
Sustainable Buildings Research Centre
Principal supervisor
Co supervisor