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  • 2010
  • 2009
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Seminars

CSI Seminars for 2010

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December

Date

15 December, 2:30-3:30PM, EN313

Presenter

Agustinus Ribal

Title

On the Instability of Two-Dimensional Wave Spectra to Inhomogeneous Disturbances

Date

15 December, 2:30-3:30PM, EN313

Presenter

Abdul Aziz

Title

Progress in Understanding of New Sewer Overflow Devices in Sewer Solid Separation Prospect

Date

15 December, 2:30-3:30PM, EN313

Presenter

Jawdat Tashan

Title

Detection of defects in CFRP systems bonded to structures using infra-red thermography

November

Date

24 November, 2:30-3:30PM, EN413

Presenter

Vinoth Jayaratnam

Title

Global estimates of extreme wind speed and wave height and trend analysis

Date

24 November, 2:30-3:30PM, EN413

Presenter

Binh Tran

Title

Effects of reclaimed asphalt pavement on the performance of a recycled hot mix asphalt

Date

24 November, 2:30-3:30PM, EN413

Presenter

Anna Maria Sri Asih

Title

Modelling railway transition and mechanism due to frictional heating

October

Date

27 October, 2:30-3:30PM, EN313

Presenter

Kym Neaylon

Title

Stereo photography as a tool in understanding sprayed seal distress mechanisms

Date

27 October, 2:30-3:30PM, EN313

Presenter

Chia-Huan Ting

Title

Dependence of drag coefficient on the directional spreading of ocean waves

September

Date

29 September, 2:30-3:30PM, EN313

Presenter

Alina Galchenko

Title

Modulational instabilities and breaking strength for deep-water wave groups

Date

29 September, 2:30-3:30PM, EN313

Presenter

Younus Ali

Title

Geotechnical characteristics of recycled glass in road pavement applications

Date

29 September, 2:30-3:30PM, EN313

Presenter

Fariborz Moeinaddini

Title

Punching shear capacity of structural concrete slabs in AS3600 application

Month

August

Presenter

Dr Xiaoming Wang, Principle Scientist, Urban Systems of CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Adjunct Professor to Centre for Sustainable Infrastructure

Title

Implications of Climate Change to the Durability of Concrete Structures – An Investigation by Simulation

Abstract

The durability of concrete is determined largely by its deterioration over time. The deterioration rate of concrete structures depends not only on the construction processes employed and the composition of the materials used but also on the environment. Climate change may alter this environment, especially in a longer term, causing an acceleration of deterioration processes that affects the safety and serviceability of concrete infrastructure. This investigation of concrete deterioration under changing climate in Australia uses Monte-Carlo simulation of results from General Circulation Models (GCMs) and considers medium, high and policy-intervened GHG emission scenarios representing the A1B, A1FI and 550ppm stabilisation schemes of the IPCC.

We present the implications of climate change for the durability of concrete structures, in terms of changes in probability of reinforcement corrosion initiation and corrosion induced damage at a given calendar year between 2000 and 2100 cross Australia. Based on the findings, it is believed that the impact of climate change on the deterioration cannot be ignored, but can be addressed by new approaches in design. Existing concrete structures, for which design has not considered the effects of changing climate may deteriorate more rapidly than originally planned.

Short Biography

Dr Xiaoming Wang is a Principle Scientist at Urban Systems of CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, a science leader in building and infrastructure research portfolio of CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship. He is also an Adjunct Professor with Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology.

He published more than 170 journal and conference papers together with technical reports. He is an associate editor of Structural Health Monitoring, a leading international journal in the area. He has been involved in various federal and state government projects on the impacts of climate change on national infrastructure, including Garnaut Climate Change Review, National Infrastructure Climate Adaptation Risk Assessment, Economical Implications of Climate Change Impacts on National Infrastructure, National Coastal Vulnerability, and the latest, Implications of Climate Change Impacts on Concrete Infrastructure.

He is also leading the research of climate change impacts on urban infrastructure in Southeast Queensland, and pioneering the investigation of climate change impacts on building energy efficiency and effectiveness of carbon emission reduction technology in building sectors

Month

July

Presenter

Dr Kan Ding, Swinburne University of Technology

Title

A Damage Mechanics Based Model for Wear and Crack Initiation in Rail

Abstract

Rail replacement caused by the rolling contact fatigue (RCF) is one of the most expensive activities for the railway industry. In order to reduce the replacement costs and enhance good maintenance of rail tracks, it is necessary to comprehensively understand the rail damage behaviour due to the different situations of the rail-wheel contact.

This study presents to use the finite element (FE) technique and the direct low cycle fatigue (DLCF) algorithm for prediction of wear and crack initiation in rail. The DLCF technique adopted for this study is more computationally effective than the traditional one. Especially, the proposed 2D FE model with an assumption of plane strain condition allows the fatigue analysis processing fast enough for conclusion. As the rail-wheel contact is typically located at a quite small region, the model specially uses finite elements for the small contact region and infinite elements for the surrounding medium. The moving contact loads with a sliding condition calculated in terms of Hertz contact theory are programmed into two ABAQUS subroutines as a loading function for ABAQUS (commercial FEA package – ABAQUS v6.9). A damage mechanics based model is used to evaluate the damage degradation in rail during the DLCF analysis, and the inelastic hysteresis energy to failure as failure criterion is specially applied for the material model. The numerical study is specially focused on two situations of contact: (I) at an initial location of moving wheel; (II) at an end location of braking wheel to simulate possible squat formation, which is generally found at most frequently start and stop at train stations or signal spots

Month

June

Presenter

Gokhan Yilmaz, Swinburne University of Technology

Title

Climate Change Impact Assessment on Snow Hydrology in Turkey

Abstract

One of the most affected areas by global warming is hydrology and water resources. Regions where majority of runoff consists of snow melt are more sensitive to climate change. It is significant to express climate change and snow hydrology relation and it is imperative to perform climate change impact studies on snow hydrology at global and regional scales. Climate change impacts on mountainous Upper Euphrates Basin were investigated in this study. Firstly, historical data trend analysis of significant hydro-meteorological data was presented. Then, available future climate data were explained and finally, future climate data were assessed in hydrological models which were calibrated & validated by using historical hydro-meteorological data and future streamflow prediction were achieved for the period of 2070-2100.

Month

March

Presenter

Assoc Prof Stefan Romanoschi, University of Texas, Arlington, USA

Title

Summary of the AASHTO Mechanistic Empirical Design Guide

Abstract

The National Academy of Science of the United States, through its NCHRP Program (National Cooperative Highway Research Program) has dedicated significant resources to develop a user-friendly procedure capable of executing mechanistic-empirical design while accounting for local environmental conditions, local highway materials, and actual highway traffic distribution by means of axle load spectra. Since the resulting procedure is very sound and flexible and it considerably surpasses any currently available pavement design and analysis tools, it is expected it will be adopted as the new AASHTO design method for pavement structures. The products of the NCHRP Project are the design software and the documentation supporting the design guide, more commonly known as M-E PDG.

Although national calibration factors were included in the design guide, all models must be validated and/or calibrated for the specific state and/or region. Without region/state specific calibration, the new guide will be ineffective and of limited use for design purposes. Also, assessment of the design reliability can only be attempted after the guide has been calibrated and validated. The presentation will highlight the main features of the design models for new asphalt pavements and will discuss the efforts for model verification and local calibration.