Transformation, adaptation, Resilience

An initiative of the Civil Engineering

Postgraduate Committee

One of the biggest challenges in organising any successful event such as the inaugural Monash
University Civil Engineering Postgraduate Conference is to repeat its success the next time.
Although the 2010 event was memorable we hope that this years event will go one step further.
Already this year we have had an increase in the number of postgraduate student presenters
and we thank them all for their involvement.
We have also generated greater involvement from industry and as a result we would like to
officially welcome the industry sponsors of this years event; AECOM, Bonacci Water, Golder
Associates and Leighton Contractors. We acknowledge both their financial support and the time
given by their representatives who will act as session chairs today. We would like to extend this
gratitude to the Grenda Corporation who once again have supported the event. This year we
are very fortunate to have Mr Scott Grenda, the Managing Director of Grenda Corporation, who
will be present as Keynote Speaker.
The internal support from Monash University is also greatly appreciated. In this regard, we
would like to welcome Dr Alan Finkel, the Chancellor of Monash University who will officially
open this years conference. We also thank the Monash Postgraduate Association, Monash
Sport and Monash Employment and Career Development for their support at this years
conference. Last but not least, we acknowledge the Faculty of Engineering and the Department
of Civil Engineering who once again have contributed to the success of this event. In particular
we thank Professors Xiao-Ling Zhao, Jeff Walker, Bill Young and Malek Bouazza, and
Associate Professors Ranjith Pathegama Gamage and Frank Collins for their assistance in both
the preparation of this years conference and on the day.
Under the key themes of Transformation, Adaptation and Resilience, this years conference
challenges presenters to demonstrate how their research will influence or be influenced by our
transition to a climate change-ready environment. Although the desire to achieve research
success is commonly regarded as an individual pursuit, it is hoped that the conference will truly
demonstrate the integrated approach that is necessary to address ongoing concerns associated
with climate change. At the same time, we are confident that the event will provide great
opportunities for a dialogue between industry partners and the Department of Civil Engineering.
From an academic perspective, we hope student attendees show a genuine interest in their
colleagues work, ask questions, and benefit from being part of a truly multidisciplinary group. In
advance, many thanks for making this conference a success!
Civil Engineering Postgraduate Committee

Melways map ref. 68 F1

Shuttle Bus Stop

Paid Parking Carpark

H 235

H 237

Yellow Permit Parking

H 238

Floor Plan Level 2 H Building

Stairs

Lifts

Floor Plan - Level 2 Building H

Registration Desk

Toilets

8:00 8:30

Main foyer

Registration Breakfast sponsored by AECOM

8:30 8:45

Room H235

Opening address by the Chancellor of Monash University, Dr

Alan Finkel

8:45 9:15

Room H235

Keynote Address by the Managing Director of Grenda

Corporation, Mr Scott Grenda

9:15 9:45

Room H235

Presentations by Postgraduate Support Services (MPA,

Monash Sport, Monash Employment & Career Development,
Hargrave-Andrew Library) & Young Engineers Australia

9:45 10:30

Room H235

Session 1 Climate out there

10:30 11:00

Main foyer

Morning tea sponsored by Leighton Contractors

11:00 12:15

Room H235
Room H237
Room H238

Session 2a Climate out there

Session 2b Climate in front of computers
Session 2c Climate in front of computers

12:15 13:30

Main foyer

Lunch sponsored by Golder Associates

13:30 14:45

Room H235
Room H237
Room H238

Session 3a Climate in the lab

Session 3b Climate in the lab
Session 3c Climate in the lab

14:45 15:15

Main foyer

Afternoon tea sponsored by Bonacci Water

15:15 16:30

Room H235

Session 4 Climate, soil and vegetation

16:30 17:00

Room H235

Conference and Departmental Prizes

17:00

Conference closing Shuttle bus departs to Clayton at 17:05 and 17:30

The postgraduate conference will be the opportunity to celebrate a number of achievements by

postgraduate research students within the Department of Civil Engineering throughout 2011
including at the conference itself.
The following awards will be presented:
Award Type

Award Amount

Publication Awards
(One per Group)

$500
per Individual

Best Departmental Seminar Presentation

$300

Best Departmental Seminar Attendance

$300

Sponsored By

Department of Civil
Engineering

Conference presentation
1st prize

$300

2nd prize

$150

3rd prize

$50

Golder Associates

Three minute thesis

1st prize

$75 book voucher

2nd prize

$50 book voucher

3rd prize

$25 book voucher

Department of Civil
Engineering

Dr Alan Finkel is the Chief Technology Officer of Better Place Australia, a company that will
provide clean energy to run Australias future fleet of electric cars. Previously, for twenty years
Alan ran Axon Instruments, an American company that made electronic instruments used by
pharmaceutical companies in the discovery of new medicines. Between running Axon
Instruments and joining Better Place Australia, Alan established two magazines. The first,
Cosmos magazine, promotes science awareness and the second, G magazine, promotes
environmental sustainability. Alan has a passionate interest in education. He established the
Australian Course in Advanced Neuroscience to provide advanced training to young scientists
and he established a secondary school science program named STELR that is currently
running in nearly 200 secondary schools around Australia. As well as working at Better Place
Australia, Alan is the Chancellor of Monash University and he serves as the Chairman of the
Australian Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics, a research consortium that is
preparing to analyse the data from the worlds largest radio telescope that will be built by the
end of this decade.

Scott is the youngest of five children of Ken and Margaret Grenda, and spent many an hour as
a kid in and around the familys bus depots, the family being bus operators since 1945. In 1988,
Scott completed a Bachelor of Business (BBus) degree at Melbournes Swinburne University..
In 1990, Scott joined the family company as a Salesman for the Groups bus body
manufacturer, Volgren. Following a successful stint in sales, Scott transferred to the Groups
bus operations, working closely with his father Ken in learning the business. In 2005, Scott was
appointed to the positions he continues to occupy today. During his time with the company
Scott has played an integral role in its growth, and is actively involved in the constant
innovations that his company is noted for. He is a strong advocate for public transport of all
modes, and has represented his company and industry at numerous transport related forums.
Scott is also an active industry participant, and now holds various senior positions.
Chairman of Australias Bus Industry Confederation (BIC),
Chairman of the Operators Group of Australias Bus Industry Confederation (BIC),
Vice President of the Bus Association Victoria Council,
Chairman of the Bus Association Victoria Metropolitan Operators Group

Taking You Places

Since its inception, Grenda has always been an innovative leader. Grenda is a third generation
Australian family business which has grown from humble beginnings to become a major player
in the Australian bus and coach industry. With a history in bus operations dating back to 1945,
Grenda Transit is now seen as the leader in its chosen field.
Grenda delivers over 25 per cent of Melbournes public bus system, including most of the
South-East region. Grendas strength is enhanced by its eight depots, strategically located
throughout Melbourne. These depots house over 650 buses and coaches, comprising one of
the youngest fleets in the industry. Grenda also operates as a 50% partner in Australian Transit
Enterprises (ATE) which brings its total fleet of buses up to 1300 in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane
and Melbourne. Grenda employs over 1450 people in Victoria and more than 2000 Australiawide.
The company focuses heavily on passenger comfort and safety, with its contribution being
recognised twice as the winner of the Bus Association Victorias Safety Award. Grenda Transit
is committed to a strategy based on quality service. Grenda delivers buses and transit systems
that epitomise value for money, service excellence, passenger safety, cutting edge technology
and genuine customer focus. Grenda has the skill, knowledge and experience to build on its
long-term business success, and retains its core values of loyalty, honesty and integrity.
Grenda Transit offers the following range of services:
Route Services
School Services
Charter Services
5-Star Luxury Touring Coaches
Corporate and Events services

Special School Services

V-Line Services
Rail Replacement Services
Logistics Management

Travel by land, sea or air just about anywhere in the world and you will encounter transportation
infrastructure and systems that AECOM has planned, designed or managed. As Victorias
population grows, so does demand for safe, practical, cost-effective methods of transportation.
AECOM explores new ways to navigate challenging projects and finds smarter solutions that
deliver better outcomes for clients. This can mean delivering new transportation systems or
restoring ageing infrastructure to find more sustainable ways to move people and freight within
Melbourne and across our State and beyond. This takes a team of planners, designers,
engineers, environmental specialists, advisors, scientists and economists; a local team that
understands local issues and uses the latest tools and technologies from around the globe. This
is AECOM and thats why its
45,000 talented professionals across 125 countries have been ranked by Engineering News
Record as the top global designers in transportation for 10 consecutive years. AECOM
specialises in safe, reliable end-to-end solutions, whether it is transit, highway and bridges,
freight and rail, ports and marine, aviation, or planning and advisory. Its strong track record is
behind its continued growth as it delivers some of the States most iconic transportation
infrastructure, including:
Regional Rail Link
South Morang Rail Extension
Anthonys Cutting Realignment
Spencer Street Station.

Port of Melbourne Channel Deepening

CityLink, EastLink, WestLink and
Peninsula Link

Its all part of AECOMs united purpose of creating, enhancing and sustaining the worlds built,
natural and social environments to create a better world.
Dr Nicholas van Bronswijk (Session Chair 2b)
Nick is an Associate Director with AECOM and an engineer with extensive experience in the
port, maritime, and transport sectors. Nick manages the Planning & Advisory businesses in
Victoria and Tasmania and is responsible for forecasting and business case services. He has
worked on numerous port and port-related projects in an advisory and engineering capacity for
clients including BHP Billiton, Port of Melbourne and Port of Hastings. This has given him a
detailed understanding of the broader maritime industry and how future trends will impact
infrastructure requirements. Nick has completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Aero) (Hons),
University of Sydney, and a Doctor of Philosophy, University of Sydney.
7

Leighton Contractors is one of Australias leading contracting and project

development groups, servicing a range of industries and sectors
including resources, construction, telecommunications, energy,
infrastructure and facility management. With over $12.3 billion of work in
hand, Leighton Contractors employs more than 12,000 people across
Australia and New Zealand. Our clients and partners include some of
Australias highest profile blue chip companies, as well as technical
specialists, financial institutions and government bodies. With diverse
capabilities in engineering and management, our expertise, experience and innovative thinking
allow us to provide industry leadership across the areas in which we operate. Our people value
working closely with clients, contractors and other community and commercial stakeholders to
achieve mutual benefits. We have a can do culture which, together with our experience and
focus on sustaining long term relationships, ensures we are able to adapt to individual client
requirements, market changes and industry cycles.
Sustainability for us means that our business is long lasting, consistently profitable and
corporately responsible. It is not just about results and business performance - it is also about
the way we do business, and the way that we live our values. Our values underscore our
culture and guide the way in which we relate to our people, business partners, environment,
and communities.
Mr Trevor Hall (Session Chair 2c)
Trevor Hall is the Civil Business Manager for Leighton Contractors Southern Region. Trevor
has a degree in civil engineering from the University of Technology, Sydney and a distinguished
track record in the construction industry that spans 20 years. Trevors management experience
covers all stages of the business cycle from planning and development through to tendering
and execution of major projects. Recently, Trevor was the Deputy Project Director on the
CLEM7 tunnel project in Brisbane and subsequently Project Director for the completion stage of
the project. He also has wide experience in alliance contracting, having held leadership roles on
projects such as the Gibson Island Advanced Water Treatment Plant Alliance and the
Maroochydore Wastewater Treatment Plant Alliance in Queensland. A strong advocate for
issues such as construction safety and innovation, Trevor has made a significant contribution to
many projects in the water, transport, energy and resources sectors. Trevor is the immediate
past President of the Queensland Major Contractors Association and the Chairman of the
Building Employees Redundancy Trust. He is a Member of Engineers Australia and a Member
of the Concrete Institute of Australia.

Engineering Earth's Development, Preserving Earth's Integrity

Golder strives to be the most respected global company providing consulting, design, and
construction services in earth, environment, and related areas of energy through technical
excellence, innovative solutions and award winning client service. Today, our clients span the
world's major economic drivers: Oil and Gas, Mining, Manufacturing, Power, Transportation and
more. Employee owned since being founded in 1960, our 7,000 people, operating from 160
offices worldwide, deliver deep technical understanding, cross-disciplinary thinking and a
passion to help our clients succeed.
Golder Associates graduate employees are given the support and opportunities to live Golders
vision the freedom to excel, the knowledge to find the answers, the passion to make a
difference. Golder is a company built on employee ownership, technical and service excellence,
and an award winning company culture based on caring for our people, our clients and our
environment. Our reputation is acknowledged by our peers and clients winning 16 BRW Client
Choice Awards between 2006-2011, including Best Consulting Engineering Firm (revenue
$50m-$200m and winner of the Engineers Australia Queensland Engineering Excellence Award
for an infrastructure project over $50m and the RW Hawken award for the most outstanding
2011 entry. Golder as an organisation strives to consistently maintain five core values, those
being integrity, excellence, teamwork, caring and ownership.
Dr. Chris Haberfield (Session Chair 3b)
Dr. Chris Haberfield is a Principal of Golder Associates Pty Ltd working out of the Melbourne
Office and a Research Associate at Monash University. Chris has a wide range of experience in
geotechnical engineering projects including large buildings, infrastructure and bridges, slope
stability, dispute and arbitration cases. He is internationally known for his research work in the
areas of foundations, ground structure interaction and the behaviour of weak and weathered
rock. Chris is a past National Chairman and Member of the Australian Geomechanics Society,
past Australasian and First Vice-President, and Member of International Society for Rock
Mechanics, and is a current Member of International Society of Soil Mechanics and
Geotechnical Engineering Technical Committee TC 207 and leads the sub-committee working
on foundation-structure interaction. Chris has published in excess of 140 refereed papers and
has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades for his work over the years.

Bonacci Water, a division of Bonacci Group, is a boutique think-tank consulting firm which
provides leading-edge strategic advice, and innovative water design and sustainability solutions
to all levels of government and business. It also conducts research, leading to development and
implementation of new methods of analysis. Bonacci Water is at the forefront of environmental
and sustainable design solutions that recognise the importance of dealing with climate
variability and scarce water resources. The company is an exciting new consulting business,
offering varied and challenging work. Bonacci Water is also a unique company, a place that
embraces the best people, and encourages personal mentoring, shared success and ongoing
career development. Led by Dr Peter Coombes, a leading systems scientist, Bonacci Water
provides services around three core areas.
Creating sustainable communities with particular focus on the water and energy aspects
of a development
Providing technical advice to clients on water and sustainability related topics and solving
critical water challenges facing existing projects, particularly around stormwater and flood
water
Policy and political advice to government and non-government clients on water and
sustainability topics.
Dr. Peter Coombes (Session Chair 3c)
Dr. Peter Coombes has spent more than 30 years dedicated to the development of systems
understanding of the urban, rural and natural water cycles with a view to finding optimum
solutions for the sustainable use of ecosystem services, provision of infrastructure and urban
planning. He has been involved in a wide range of projects, advised a range of clients,
providing strategic design, policy and economic advice to the satisfaction of governments and
the development industry.

10

The Monash Postgraduate Association (MPA) represents postgraduates both collectively and
individually, providing a recognised means of communications between the postgraduate body
and the academic and administrative bodies of the university. Services
include advocacy, seminars, social events, representation and
information dissemination. The MPA staff can provide confidential advice
on a range of HDR topics including intellectual property, supervisor
relationships and authorship.
Subscribe to the MPA Email News to stay informed of postgraduate-specific events and news.
For more information see our website at: mpa.monash.edu.au

The Young Engineers Australia (YEA) is a group within Engineers Australia, representing
approximately 20,000 members (a third of total memberships) who are in the first five or so
years of their career OR under the age of 35 years. The YEA consists of one representative
from each of the nine Divisions of Engineers Australia, and the elected chairperson. The role of
YEA is to represent the needs of young engineers in the Institution, and to promote, encourage,
and coordinate activities at a national level.
The Victoria Division of the YEA includes students, associates, technologists, graduates and
professionals. The Victoria Committee organises various activities for its members to take part
in, such as the annual Career Expo and Gen-X Dinner; social events; site visits; seminars;
tutorials; and workshops. There are also competitions and awards that are held on an annual
basis.
We are committed to providing services that will be of use to our members academic, personal
and professional development. The group has a strong focus on promoting the Engineering
profession to high school students and the general community. The YEA is here for you, and
here to make a difference. Remember that the profession is what YOU make it. Being a part of
Engineers Australia and the YEA is the best way to shape your career and professional
development.

11

Improve your job searching and career planning skills by using the career services offered by
Monash University Employment and Career Development. You can:
Search Career Gateway: Online database of jobs and graduate opportunities, events and a
resume builder can be accessed using your Monash student ID
Receive practical information and advice: Tips on
completing job applications are supported by online
samples and feedback services. Interactive workshops
and jobseeker seminars help build interview skills and
confidence in career planning
Access a range of resources: Information and advice to
help you explore degree related occupations, find out
about professional associations and job profiles are
available as takeaway materials and online
Attend events: Career expos and forums, employer oncampus visits are ways to engage with potential employers and industry representatives
For further information on services and programs visit www.careers.monash.edu.au

Monash Sport is the centre of active lifestyles for Monash University students and staff.
Through our on campus fitness centres and aquatics facilities we provide a wide range of high
quality services to help you achieve your health and wellness goals.
Activities and programs support the University experience through Monash University sporting
clubs, court hire, social sport competitions and elite athlete support which remain unmatched by
any other Australian university. For students, staff, alumni, and the wider community
TeamMONASH provides an opportunity to represent Monash University at premier Australian
Sporting events. Monash Sport is a fresh path to a healthy lifestyle.

12

8:00 8:30

Main foyer

Registration Breakfast sponsored by AECOM

8:30 9:15

Room H235

Keynote speeches

9:15 9:45

Room H235

Presentations by Postgraduate Support Services

9:45 10:30

Room H235

9:45

Lorelei Schmitt

Do First Trips Matter? Exploring First

Impressions of Public Transport

10:00

Sindu Satasivam

Fibre reinforced polymer composite sandwich

structures for building construction

10:15

Tien-Cuong
Nguyen

Durability of steel/CFRP double strap joints

subjected to harsh environments

10:30 11:00

Main foyer

Morning tea sponsored by Leighton Contractors

11:00 12:15

Room H235

Session 2a Climate out there

11:00

Alastair MacLeod

State-of-the-art in the nanoscale reinforcement

of Portland cement using carbon nanotubes

11:15

Kelvin Goh

Investigating the Road Safety Effects of Priority

Measures for Buses in Metropolitan Melbourne

11:30

Michael Poustie

Validity of the Hybrid water system assumption

11:45

Nadeesha
Ukwattage

Effect of reaction parameters in mineralization of

Australian fly ash for carbon capture and storage

12:00

Perrine Hamel

Raingardens in a grass environment: how much

do they sweat?

Session 1 Climate out there

Session chair: Prof. Xiao-Ling Zhao (Monash

University)

Session chair: Prof. Jeff Walker (Monash University)

13

11:00 12:15

Room H237

Session 2b Climate in front of computers

11:00

Sandy Peischl

Estimation of soil moisture from multi-angle

airborne observations

11:15

Han Fang

Approximation models based on kinetic theory for

steel specific heat at high temperatures

11:30

Felipe Orellana

Effect of root distribution on modelling percolation

and groundwater evapotranspiration

11:45

Kunal Singh

Effect of Grain Geometry on the Fracture

Permeability

12:00

Nan Ye

Impact of urban cover fraction on SMOS and

SMAP surface soil moisture retrieval

11:00 12:15

Room H238

Session 2c Climate in front of computers

11:00

Peter Bach

Characterising a city for integrated performance

assessment of water infrastructure in the
DAnCE4Water model

11:15

Paul Neetzow

Panic analyses applying particle image

velocimetry software on escaping ants

Session chair: Dr. Nicholas van Bronswijk (AECOM)

Session chair: Mr. Trevor Hall (Leighton Contractors)

Nonlinear finite element modelling of flexible Ibeam to square hollow section column
connections subjected to earthquake and
subsequent fire
Towards medium-resolution brightness
temperature retrieval from active and passive
microwave

11:30

Qian-Yi Song

11:45

Xiaoling Wu

12:00

Mahshid
Shahrban

Comparison of weather radar, numerical weather

prediction and gauge-based rainfall estimates

12:15 13:30

Main foyer

Lunch sponsored by Golder Associates

14

13:30 14:45

Room H235

13:30

Yali Li

13:45

Chao Wu

Session 3a Climate in the lab

Session chair: Prof. Bill Young (Monash University)

Copper coated media for pathogen removal in

natural stormwater
Dependence of SIFs of CCT steel plates on CFRP
strengthening configurations
Nitrogen removal from urban stormwater how
plant species and biofilter design can make a
difference
Geothermal energy pile subject to thermalmechanical loading
Impact of stormwater characteristics on clogging
in stormwater filters

14:00

Emily Payne

14:15

Bill Wang

14:30

Harpreet Kandra

13:30 14:45

Room H237

Session 3b Climate in the lab

13:30

David BarryMacaulay

Thermal Conductivity of Melbourne Soils and

Rocks

13:45

Bonnie Glaister

Climate change proofing our cities: optimising

biofilter design for nutrient removal

14:00

Ben Shannon

Tensile strength of compacted clay using Indirect

Diametrical Tension (IDT) tests

14:15

Gayani
Chandrasena

Pathogen and Indicator Microorganism Removal

in Stormwater Biofilters

14:30

Samintha
Perera

Effect of Carbon Dioxide Sequestration on Coals

Flow and Strength Properties

Session chair: Dr. Chris Haberfield (Golder Associates)

15

13:30 14:45

Room H238

13:30

Kai Gong

13:45

Shi Shao

14:00
14:15
14:30

Matthew
Burns
Sasika
Wijesooriya
Navinda De
Silva

Session 3c Climate in the lab

Session chair: Dr. Peter Coombes (Bonacci Water)

OPC-Graphene Oxide: next generation high

performance cement composite
Experimental study on the mechanical properties of
Australian rocks at high temperature
My experience working for Yarra Ranges Council
Study of shrinkage and swelling behaviour of
compacted expansive clay soils
A Study of CO2 Storage Capacity Estimation in Coal
Seams

14:45 15:15

Main foyer

Afternoon tea sponsored by Bonacci Water

15:15 16:30

Room H235

Session 4 Climate, soil and vegetation

Session chair: A/Prof. Malek Bouazza (Monash
University)

15:15

Jason Ellerton

15:30

Ying Gao

15:45

Tracey Pham

16:00

Ranmalee
Bandara

16:15

Katherine
Lizama
Allende

Root Length of Carex appressa Increases When

Grown With Lomandra longifolia in a Stormwater
Biofilter But Does Not Enhance Pollutant Removal
Validation of a - model with Soil Moisture Active
Passive Experiment (SMAPEx) data sets in Australia
How does design influence the hydraulic
performance of stormwater biofilters?
Towards soil hydraulic parameter retrieval from land
Surface Models under different meteorological
conditions
Subsurface flow constructed wetlands for the
removal of arsenic and metals from acidic
contaminated water

16:30 17:00

Room H235

Conference and Departmental Prizes

16

Do First Trips Matter? Exploring First Impressions of Public Transport

Lorelei Schmitt
Attracting and retaining public transport ridership is challenging. Peoples actual experiences
and attitudes about public transport are not well understood, but are presumed to play an
important role in transport decision making and influencing ridership. The contrast between who
is unfamiliar with a system, having never used it previously is much different to that of a service
operator, who knows the system inside and out. This disparity is a fundamental challenge for
public transport operators to achieve satisfaction for customers. This research seeks to better
understand unfamiliar trips of public transport services in terms of when they occur, how
important they are to patrons, and what experiences they are characterised by. In particular,
this research seeks to ascertain what role first impressions of a public transport service play in
development of attitudes toward services, and therefore, re-patronage of services. This
presentation will highlight relevant research across wider fields, explain the research methods
to be utilised and discuss preliminary results from the first stage of primary data collection.
Fibre reinforced polymer composite sandwich structures for building construction
Sindu Satasivam
An innovative glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) modular assembly system for use in
building and bridge construction is presented. Built-up beam or slab modular sections
consisting of GFRP standard pultruded I or box profiles are incorporated between two GFRP
plates to form a sandwich structure, which can then be assembled in the transverse direction
through adhesive bonding and/or mechanical bolting. Compared to pre-existing pultruded
GFRP decks, this structural unit provides greater flexibility in designing floor and deck systems
by allowing the adjustment of various geometric parameters without the need of additional and
expensive moulds. Such a modular sandwich system further allows a high degree of
prefabrication and rapid onsite installation. In this project the major areas of investigation
include the static and dynamic performance of the system, the effective flange width, the
connection detail and degree of composite action. This presentation provides an overview of
these concepts and the proposed research plan.

17

Durability of steel/CFRP double strap joints subjected to harsh environments

Tien-Cuong Nguyen, Yu Bai, Xiao-Ling Zhao, and Riadh Al-Mahaidi
This presentation discusses the mechanical performance of steel/CFRP double strap joint
subjected to harsh environments, including (1) elevated temperatures, (2) simulated sea water
at 20C and 50C up to one year in a temperature-controlled sea water tank, (3) constant and
(4) cyclic temperatures with a high level of relative humidity (RH) up to 1000 hours in an
environmental chamber. Tensile tests were undertaken to determine the mechanical properties
of the unexposed and the exposed specimens. A significant reduction in joint strength and
stiffness were found for the specimens exposed to elevated temperatures and simulated sea
water, while that of the specimens exposed to combinations of temperature and humidity in the
environmental chamber showed a little decrease after 1000 hours of exposure. A model was
developed to predict the strength and stiffness degradation of the joint at elevated temperature
and in sea water and compared well with the experimental results.

State-of-the-art in the nanoscale reinforcement of Portland cement using carbon

nanotubes
Alastair MacLeod
Portland cement (OPC) is one of the most popular and versatile construction materials in the
world, but it suffers from poor tensile strength and a high level of embodied carbon due to its
fabrication method. For many years, the poor tensile performance of OPC has been enhanced
through the addition of small (mm and m scale) fibres to the cement matrix, most notably
steel, carbon, glass and polymer fibres. However, with the continuous demand for stronger and
more durable cement-based materials and the transition to a more sustainable and climate
change ready environment, more novel solutions have been sought, particularly from the
emerging field of nanotechnology.
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), similar to other nanomaterials, exhibit dramatically different
properties to those of bulk carbon, and even engineered carbon fibre; with a failure stress of up
to 63 GPa, a typical Youngs modulus of 1 TPa and a fracture strain in excess of 15%, these
fibres, with a typical diameter less than 1/1000th of a human hair and aspect ratios often in
excess of 10, are amongst the strongest known materials. A review of the state-of-the-art in
experimental results for OPC-CNT composites will be presented, highlighting the potential that
CNTs have in acting as nanoscale tensile reinforcement for OPC, along with the significant
challenges that remain, and the implications for current research.
18

Investigating the Road Safety Effects of Priority Measures for Buses in Metropolitan
Melbourne
Kelvin Goh
Bus priority including Traffic Signal Priority (TSP) and non-TSP (e.g. bus lanes) are a major
factor in on-street Bus Rapid Transit design. However, very little research has been undertaken
to measure the road safety implications of these schemes. This paper reviews bus priority
impacts for both TSP and non-TSP projects using an empirical analysis of before and after
impacts of the SmartBus BRT system in Melbourne, Australia. Preliminary results suggest that
the bus priority measures bring about significant positive safety effects to corridors and
junctions on which they were implemented. In comparison to non-TSP treatments, TSP appears
to bring about higher safety benefits. A modelling analysis considering wider influences on
traffic and accident rates also shows significant though slightly lower safety benefits than direct
before and after comparison. In identifying the future directions for this research, it is
acknowledged that there is scope for the use of more sophisticated methodology to improve the
precision of the estimated safety effects of the TSP and non-TSP treatments. For now, a major
implication of this early research is that bus priority measures act to improve road safety and
should be a major rationale for implementing transit priority schemes. Current practice has
generally ignored these effects to date.
Validity of the Hybrid water system assumption
Mike Poustie
Academic literature on the future of the urban water system has endorsed the concept of
utilising a hybrid system comprising both centralised and decentralised components. However,
to date this implicit assumption that a fully centralised or decentralised urban water system will
be out performed by a hybrid model has not been empirically validated. This paper utilises
multi-criteria assessments followed by scenario generation to assess the performance of
alternative urban water systems suitable for small urban centres in the rapidly developing AsiaPacific region, which will be disproportionately affected by climate change.
Following the identification of suitable infrastructure alternatives for the urban water system, a
multi-criteria scoring system was developed from literature. Urban water experts and water
development experts were asked to assess the performance of each infrastructural alternative
against the criteria matrix. These results were then utilised to generate all possible
combinations of water supply, wastewater and stormwater systems ranging from a fully
centralised to fully decentralised approach.

19

Different combinations of infrastructure were assessed and results statistically analysed. The
initial results have validated the assumption that neither fully centralised nor decentralised
urban water systems result in the best system performance. The water supply, wastewater and
stormwater systems all have different degrees of decentralisation that result in the overall best
performance; with water supply requiring a highest level of centralisation and the stormwater
system the most decentralised. These results will assist urban water planners in promoting a
hybrid model for the urban water system in the cities of the future.
Effect of reaction parameters in mineralization of Australian fly ash for carbon capture
and storage
Nadeesha Ukwattage
Capture and storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide is practised all over the world as a way of
reducing the level of CO2 in the atmosphere. This can be done by various means such as
injecting captured CO2 into terrestrial reservoirs and rection of atmospheric CO2 with alkaline
minerals. Coal combustion fly ash is one of the alkaline waste materials which has the potential
of reacting with atmospheric C to form geologically stable forms of minerals. This reaction which
takes long time to occur under atmospheric conditions can be accelerated inside reactors by
manipulating several reaction parameters. This paper discusses how well the manipulation of
reaction parameters can contribute in speeding up mineral form of CO2 sequestration in
australian fly ash.
Raingardens in a grass environment: how much do they sweat?
Perrine Hamel
Biofilters, commonly referred to as raingardens, have received increased interest over the last
decades. Through the control of stormwater at the source, they have a great potential to restore
natural fluxes from a catchment (e.g. evapotranspiration and infiltration) back to their predevelopment levels, therefore mitigating stormwater impacts on receiving waters. However, the
extent to which a large-scale implementation of raingardens may affect the catchment
hydrology is still uncertain. One reason for this is the uncertainty on their individual water
balance, which depends on both operational and environmental factors.
To gain a better understanding of a raingardens water balance, an experiment is being
conducted in Mount Evelyn, 40 km from Melbourne, on a system designed to treat the runoff
from a private property. Long-term soil moisture monitoring in the surrounding of the raingarden
allowed the development of a conceptual soil model that predicts the evapotranspiration from
both the system and its surroundings. Recently, this set-up was complemented by a direct
20

measurement of evapotranspiration: custom-made chambers have been deployed for a week in

and around the raingarden, making it possible to refine and validate the soil model. Ultimately,
the study provides a better estimate of the total water budget of the raingarden, suggesting that
during the wet season in Melbourne, the evapotranspiration flux is negligible compared to the
infiltration

Estimation of soil moisture from multi-angle airborne observations

Sandy Peischl
The usage of radiometers mounted on towers, aircraft or even satellite platforms has been
proven a promising concept to produce spatial maps of near-surface soil moisture. However,
the modelling of soil moisture from microwave observations over vegetated areas is relatively
complex compared to bare soil conditions, since the additional vegetation contribution on the
emission signal needs to be accounted for within the model. Ancillary data such as vegetation
water content, vegetation temperature and surface roughness might be obtained from different
ground and space borne instruments but causes spatial or temporal discrepancies between the
different data sources. Consequently, the retrieval of soil moisture together with ancillary model
data using dual-polarized multi-angle observations from the same sensor may enhance the
overall retrieval process. Thus, we have tested the multi-parameter retrieval quality over a
wheat canopy site using airborne radiometer data collected at different ranges of incidence
angles. The effect of i) changing moisture conditions and ii) the type and number of
simultaneously retrieved parameters on the model performance are also investigated.
Approximation models based on kinetic theory for steel specific heat at high
temperatures
Han Fang
The determination of steel structure fire resistance level in a building requires the estimation of
steel temperature development in a fire environment. The temperature development of steel
members is controlled by steel thermo-physical properties among which specific heat is an
essential parameter. Complex equations of various forms obtained from the fitting of measured
steel specific heat are provided in different practice codes for structure fire resistance design.
However, the way that steel specific heat varies is not unique but dependent on the heating rate
as a result of kinetic reaction in solid state phase transformation. Instead of using high order
equations, models of simple linear equations and average specific heat for phase
transformation can be adopted to simplify the calculation of specific heat. Those models are
21

based on the latent heat principle, meaning that the latent heat consumed by steel for phase
transformation to occur is constant. Furthermore, the approximation models provide good
simulations in steel temperature development modelling compared with that obtained by using
other specific heat models in practice codes. Therefore, the proposed models are well suited for
practice engineers for structure fire design as the models can effectively simplify the estimation
of steel temperature development.
Effect of root distribution on modelling percolation and groundwater evapotranspiration.
Felipe Orellana
In groundwater-dependent ecosystems, vegetation is able to extend its root system deep in the
soil to wet zones strongly influenced by the water table. As a result, either part or all transpired
water is supplied by groundwater. In many models, roots are assumed to be submerged in
groundwater; however, this is not the case for many species. We analised the effect of using
different root systems in estimating evapotranspiration and recharge in groundwater-dependent
ecosystems. A 2D finite-elements model was developed using the program SEEP\W to
simulate the interaction between saturated and unsaturated soil in a riparian area. The domain
of the model consists in a soil layer 8 meters deep and 100 meters long, with a constant water
table outside of the vegetated area and a variable water table in the opposite side, controlled by
the stage level of a river. Five root distributions were simulated: homogeneous in the saturated
zone, homogeneous in the unsaturated zone, concentrated in the top layer of the soil,
concentrated in the capillary fringe and a dimorphic distribution. Preliminary results show a
significant impact of differing root distributions on the modelled water-table levels. The daily
pattern of transpiration produces daily fluctuations in the water-table level, whose amplitude is
higher when the total transpiration is uptaken from groundwater, and is considerably smaller
when the root system is only in the unsaturated zone. These differences are also reflected in
the net recharge and groundwater evapotranspiration. When transpiration comes directly from
groundwater, most of the infiltrated water reaches the water table. However, when roots are
distributed in the unsaturated zone, they are able to intercep part of the infiltration, with a
decrease in percolation. Likewise, groundwater evapotranspiration reduces when the roots are
positioned far from the water table.
Effect of Grain Geometry on the Fracture Permeability
Kunal Kumar Singh
Investigation on permeability of the hard and crystalline rock is essential for the safe execution
of any engineering projects. Many researchers have found that permeability of rock depends on
the properties of fluid (density and viscosity) as well as on the properties of rock such as
22

porosity, grain size, shape, packing, density, and presence of discontinuities. It is well known
fact that grain geometry (grain size and shape) is one of the fundamental independent
parameter, which influences the permeability. Therefore, correlation between grain geometry
and permeability of fractured rockmass is essential in simulating fluid flow behaviour. Although
several methodologies (field and laboratory) have been advised by the earlier researcher to
determine the permeability of the fractured rockmass, however, the relationship between grain
size, shape, permeability and effective stresses are still poorly understood and requires further
quantification. The objective of this paper is to describe the development of a methodology to
simulate the effect of grain geometry on permeability of single fractured rockmass. The paper
also discusses procedures adopted for the measurements and calculations of flow of water
through a single fractured sample using the FWP setup. It is believed that, such a methodology
is quite handy, less time consuming and cost effective in simulating the effect of grain geometry
on the fluid flow.
Impact of urban cover fraction on SMOS and SMAP surface soil moisture retrieval
Nan Ye
Soil moisture plays a significant role in water, energy, and carbon circles at the interface
between air and ground. Its temporal and spatial variations are required in many research areas
such as hydrology, meteorology, and agriculture. One objective of recently launched ESAs
(European Space Agency) Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission and NASAs
(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP)
mission, scheduled to be launched in the near future, is to measure top ~5cm soil moisture at
global scale in every 2 or 3 days with a target accuracy of ~0.04 m3/m3. L-band (~21cm)
passive microwave remote sensing technique is applied to both missions due to its all weather
capacity, reduced sensitivity to vegetation layer and surface roughness, and direct relationship
to soil moisture. Using this technique, L-band microwave radiation emitted from ground can be
measured by radiometric sensors, and then soil moisture can be retrieved from brightness
temperature observations through a radiometric transfer model assuming homogeneous land
surface within sensors field-of-views. However, the best spatial resolution that current satellite
antenna technology can achieve is ~40km, thus soil moisture retrieval may suffer from the
presence of non-soil targets (like urban areas) at this coarse scale, if its impacts are ignored. To
assess the impacts of urban area on SMOS and SMAP soil moisture retrieval, the pixels with
urban induced brightness temperature uncertainties exceeding the error budgets were identified
in this study by 1) establishing the relationship between urban cover fraction and urban induced
brightness temperature uncertainty; 2) setting up urban fraction thresholds for negligible
brightness temperature in accordance with SMOS and SMAP error budgets; and 3) applying
the thresholds globally to identify the pixels with likely non-negligible urban impacts. Airborne
23

brightness temperature observations from three field campaigns in the Murrumbidgee

catchment, in southeast of Australia, were used in this work: i) the NAFE06 (National Airborne
Field Experiment in 2006), ii) the AACES-1 (Australian Airborne Cal/val Experiment for SMOS),
and iii) the AACES-2. Additionally, the NSW (New South Wales, Australia) Land use map with
50 m resolution and MODIS Urban Land Cover 500-m product were used as well to distinguish
the urban area and surrounding natural land surface. The result shows that without accounting
for the impacts of urban areas, ~0.2% SMOS and SMAP pixels potentially have non-negligible
uncertainties on brightness temperature.

Characterising a city for integrated performance assessment of water infrastructure in

the DAnCE4Water model
Peter Bach
DAnCE4Water is a strategic planning tool that simulates the dynamics of both urban
development and societal systems with respect to the integrated water infrastructure. The
Biophysical Modules building block routine creates a conceptual description of the urban form
(using a flexible typology) and integrated water infrastructure allowing its performance to be
efficiently modelled. A prototype of this routine is presented using a hypothetical case study of a
mixed residential land use block. Common urban planning parameters (derived from planning
documents) and demographic information (from census data) are used to establish urban form
geometry in the model and assess opportunities for lot-scale Water Sensitive Urban Design
(WSUD) based on conceptual design curves and social inputs. The ability of the model to
aggregate fine-scale information to a coarse resolution that allows its efficient performance
assessment was tested. Running the Biophysical Module in exploratory mode allows for
interactions between, for example, urban density, the environment and opportunities for WSUD
to be investigated. This component will not only aid DAnCE4Water in the assessment of
adaptation strategies for urban water systems, but also become a powerful standalone
exploratory tool.
Panic analyses applying particle image velocimetry software on escaping ants
Paul Neetzow, University of Applied Science Bremen (Germany), intern at Monash
University
In order to secure events involving large crowds a deep understanding of human movements
and panic behaviour is important. However, there is a lack of empirical data available and
experiments with humans cannot create real panic conditions for ethnical reasons. In addition to
24

computer simulations it is interesting to observe other biological entities to predict human

behaviour. Therefore argentine ants were used to study and compare data on escape in panic
situations to human experiment and simulation models.
Particle image velocimetry software was applied to analyse velocity distribution within escaping
channels of different angles and within intersections in order to find critical points where
clogging or slowing down may appear. By gaining a clearer understanding of the influence of
geometrical conditions, as for example turning angles, we hope to find architectural principles
that can passively provide more security in case of human panic and a more efficient way for
pedestrian movement.
Nonlinear finite element modelling of flexible I-beam to square hollow section column
connections subjected to earthquake and subsequent fire
Qian-Yi Song
In the variety of cases of structural damage caused by extreme loads such as earthquake, a
most prominent one occurred in steel beam-to-column connections. While steel I-beam to
square hollow section column connections are widely used in steel frame structures, hitherto
the behaviour of these connections subjected to the combined actions of earthquake and
subsequent fire has not been investigated. This paper addresses a robust nonlinear 3D Finite
Element Modelling (FEM) which is able to incorporate the behaviour of flexible I-beam to square
hollow section column connections subjected to post-earthquake fire. The geometric and
material nonlinearities are taken into account. The nonlinear analysis is conducted in three
steps, including gravity load, cyclic load and thermal load, to simulate the similar events which
occur in real earthquakes. A comprehensive parametric study is performed in which the effects
of different parameters such as the size of beam sections and column hollow sections, bolts
strength, thermal profile and thermal gradients, and degree of damage due to seismic loading
are investigated. The developed finite element model will provide benchmark data for further
experimental investigations and numerical models and has a potential to be used in evaluating
of existing steel beam-to-column connection subjected to post-earthquake fire events.
Towards medium-resolution brightness temperature retrieval from active and passive
microwave
Xiaoling Wu
The importance of soil moisture for hydrologic applications, including weather and flood
forecasting, has led to the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission launched by the
European Space Agency in 2009. This dedicated soil moisture mapping mission uses a passive
25

microwave remote sensing approach, due to its high sensitivity to near-surface soil moisture,
applicability to all weather conditions, and reduced effects by vegetation and roughness.
However, these passive microwave (radiometer) observations suffer from being relatively low
spatial resolution, on the order of 40 km. Consequently, it has been proposed by NASAs Soil
Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission that the spatial resolution may be increased by using
active microwave (radar) observations. The rationale behind SMAP, scheduled for launch in
2014, is that the synergy between active and passive observations can be used to overcome
the individual limitations of each observation type, and ultimately provide a soil moisture data
set at intermediate resolution (~10 km) with a target accuracy of 0.04 m3m-3. The objective of
this study is to test the proposed downscaling approach with available data, thus analyzing its
viability for application. The proposed near-linear relationship between active and passive
observations is assessed using data from the C-band Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar
(ASAR) with approximately 1 km resolution to downscale L-band SMOS passive microwave
data. The downscaled results are then evaluated using airborne passive microwave data
collected at 1 km resolution within the framework of the Soil Moisture Active Passive
Experiments (SMAPEx) project over a 40 km area in south-eastern Australia.
Comparison of weather radar, numerical weather prediction and gauge-based rainfall
estimates
Mahshid Shahrbana, J.P. Walker, Q.J. Wang, A. Seed and P. Steinle
Hydrological modelling can be used to effectively manage the extensive impact of flood events.
However, this relies on accurate knowledge of its primary input variables for flood predictions:
observed and forecast precipitation. The most common source of precipitation data in Australia
is the Bureau of Meteorologys rain gauge network. As spatial coverage of theses gauges is
limited for much of Australia, an interpolation is commonly required between locations. In
contrast, weather radars can measure precipitation data with good spatial and temporal
resolution while requiring repeated adjustments against the gauge network and these data
suffer from a decline in the accuracy with the distance from the radar. Numerical weather
prediction (NWP) models, on the other hand, can provide nationwide information on
precipitation for different spatial and temporal resolutions with lead times out to several days.
However, the accuracy of this information is equally uncertain. Consequently, the best
estimation of rainfall data for flood forecasting in Australia is likely to include a combination of all
three approaches, but the uncertainty in each must be understood through longitudinal studies
using independent data. In this study, the errors between radar/NWP and independent rain
gauges in the Murrumbidgee catchment in Australia were estimated using statistical metrics for
the period January to August 2010. It was found that the usefulness of radar data for
hydrological modelling in the catchment is limited by the radar coverage, the large amount of
26

missing data, and the poor performance relative to the model predictions. However, further
studies of radar and model predictions in large experimental areas are required.

Copper coated media for pathogen removal in natural stormwater

Yali Li
The key technological challenge for current stormwater harvesting systems is the requirement
of disinfection for non-potable uses, such as non-restricted irrigation. One promising solution is
the development of antimicrobial filter media to achieve passive removal of pathogens, which
can be conducted through modifying low cost filter materials with known antimicrobial
chemicals.
A previous study by this group showed that antimicrobial filter media (e.g. copper coated-zeolite
or activated carbon) provided consistently high removal efficiency for E. coli and the removed E.
coli was inactivated. However, leaching of copper from the media was observed, which from
zeolite based media was significantly higher than that from activated carbon based media.
Nevertheless, since the new media is targeted for large scale application, cost-effectiveness is
a very important consideration. Therefore, further attention is given to optimize the copper
coated-zeolite due its much lower cost than copper-coated activated carbon. One objective of
this study is to improve the coating stability of copper coated-zeolite. Another objective of this
study is to control leaching from copper-coated media by optimizing operational conditions.
Strategies such as calcinations at high temperature, copper oxide coating on the outside
surface of the materials proved to be effective to improve coating stability. Infiltration rate was
not an important factor for leaching. However, antecedent dry events negatively affected
leaching. Future study will involve optimizing filter design to further control the leaching.
Dependence of SIFs of CCT steel plates on CFRP strengthening configurations
Chao Wu, XiaoLing Zhao, Riadh Al-Mahaidi, Wenhui Duan
Advanced carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) has been demonstrated promising for fatigue
strengthening of steel structures. By decreasing the stress field at the crack tip, the stress
intensity factors (SIFs) can be effectively reduced by CFRP reinforcement. In practice, different
CFRP strengthening configurations may be adopted. In this paper, the dependence of SIFs of
centre cracked tensile (CCT) steel plates on the CFRP strengthening configurations is
investigated. A series of fatigue tests with CFRP reinforced CCT steel plates are conducted. 5
CFRP strengthening configurations are considered. The SIFs are then obtained from the
27

experimental crack growth curves. The experimental SIFs are then compared with classical SIF
solutions for CCT steel plates without CFRP strengthening. A reduction factor is introduced in
the classical SIF solutions of CCT steel plates, depending on the CFRP strengthening
configurations. Another reduction factor is also introduced considering the effects of CFRP
bond length on the crack growth behaviour of CFRP reinforced CCT steel plates. Then a simple
modified SIF formula for CCT steel plates with CFRP reinforcement is proposed. The proposed
SIFs formula is then validated by experimental results from literature. Good agreement is
achieved. Base on this formula, quick assessment of SIFs of CCT steel plates with various
CFRP strengthening configurations and CFRP bond length become possible.
Nitrogen removal from urban stormwater how plant species and biofilter design can
make a difference
Emily Payne
Human activities have grossly distorted the natural nitrogen cycle, in large part due to the
production of fertiliser and fossil fuels. In an urban environment stormwater runoff transports
this excess nitrogen to sensitive receiving waters. Biofiltration systems are one of a range of
engineered solutions that can reduce the nitrogen load carried by stormwater, in addition to
other pollutants. Effective nitrogen removal requires interaction between the plants, soil (or filter
media) and microbial community within a biofilter, across both wet and dry climatic extremes. In
this way, biofiltration harnesses the adaptive and resilient characteristics of plants and microbes
to improve the health of downstream waterways. This presentation will discuss the implications
of biofilter design on performance, including desirable plant species traits and use of a
saturated zone.
Geothermal energy pile subject to thermal-mechanical loading
Bill Wang
The growth of population in urban metropolis has increased the energy consumption demand in
many regions throughout the world. The usage of geothermal energy piles has rapidly
increased in the past two decades, establishing an efficient energy source that can reduce the
use of fossil fuels and the reduction of harmful greenhouse gases. The use of geothermal
energy techniques integrated in structural pile foundations has the capability of being an
efficient and cost effective solution in civil engineering projects. However, limited information is
available on the effects of temperature on the pile geotechnical capacity. The thermalmechanical coupled load condition highlights the need to have a clear understanding of

28

temperature effects between the soil structure interaction mechanism and the geothermal
energy piles.
Laboratory and full scale pile tests were conducted to investigate the loading behaviour of the
energy piles in terms of the temperature effects on the shaft friction resistance. A purposedmade model pile acting as a load pile and a heating element was constructed for the model pile
load tests. The full scale in situ field geothermal energy pile were installed at Monash
University, it is equipped with ground loops for thermal load and multi-level Osterberg cells for
static mechanical load testing. Subsequently, to investigate the shaft resistance changes at the
pile/soil interface, testing of the laboratory and full scale pile under thermal and mechanical
loads was carried out at different vertical stress levels, temperature gradients and heat
exchanger modes.
Impact of stormwater characteristics on clogging in stormwater filters
Harpreet Kandra, McCarthy D., and Deletic A.
Existing studies on clogging suggest that hydraulic performance of granular filter media is
specific to the characteristics of inflows. This article, using a laboratory-based approach, aims
to study the effect of variations in stormwater characteristics on filter beds clogging and its
treatment performance. In the base design, stormwater inflow was made up of particles less
than 1000 and the total suspended solids concentration (TSS) in stormwater was targeted
around 150mg/L with daily stormwater application rate of 15 litres (L). These inflow
characteristics have been varied amongst experiments by altering the inflow TSS concentration
(to about 25mg/L and 500mg/L); composition of inflow (adding nutrient and heavy metals);
particle size distribution of sediment in the inflow (to particles less than 75); daily stormwater
application rate (5 L/day and 45 L/day) and; frequency of stormwater application (twice per
week and weekly). While the TSS concentration in inflow, stormwater application rate and,
particle size distribution of sediment in the stormwater had significant effect on the clogging
phenomenon; the addition of nutrients and heavy metals had limited effect on the performance
of filter bed. While the treatment performance of these designs did not vary significantly, the
range of particle sizes removed showed some differences. Experimentation with these variables
has improved understanding of the effect of nature of stormwater on clogging in granular filters.
This understanding would help be in improved design of stormwater filtration systems for
different applications and/or locations.

29

Thermal conductivity of Melbourne soils and rocks

David Barry-Macaulay
The thermal conductivity of soil and rock is an important property for the design of thermally
active ground structures such as geothermal energy foundations and borehole heat exchange
systems. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive laboratory study of the thermal
conductivity of soils and rocks from around Melbourne, Australia. Thermal conductivity tests of
more than 200 samples of eight different soil types and three rock types were experimentally
measured using both a thermal needle probe and divided bar apparatus. Soil samples were
tested at a wide range of moisture contents and densities, the results showed that thermal
conductivity varied with soil moisture content, dry density, mineralogical composition and
particle size. It was observed that course grained soils had larger thermal conductivitys than
fine grain soils and that the thermal conductivity of soil increased with an increase in dry density
and moisture content. The rock samples showed an increase in thermal conductivity with an
increase in density when pores were filled with air. However when the pores were saturated
with water the siltstone and sandstone samples showed no significant correlation between
moisture content, density and thermal conductivity. This was attributed to the different
mineralogical composition of each sample. Siltstone, sandstone, and Brighton group sands and
clayey sands were identified at the best founding materials for geothermal foundations. The
thermal conductivity data obtained from this study enables reliable estimates of soil and rock
thermal conductivity for the design of thermally active ground structures installed throughout
Melbourne, Australia.
Climate change proofing our cities: optimising biofilter design for nutrient removal
Bonnie Glaister
Climate change is predicted to alter the character of daily rainfall resulting in implications for
stormwater management. Biofiltration has proven to be a successful technology for the
treatment of urban stormwater. Through a series of biogeochemical interactions, biofilters
reduce nutrient concentrations, protecting receiving waters against algal bloom proliferation and
eutrophication. Monitoring of existing systems shows that biofilters are capable of meeting
phosphorus load reduction targets, however, effluent concentrations still exceed typical water
quality guidelines. Additionally, these systems are not yet optimised for the removal of both
nitrogen and phosphorus.

30

A preliminary study found that enriching filter media with an iron-oxide coated sand (Skye sand)
increases the capacity to retain phosphorus. To investigate the use of Skye sand further we
constructed twenty laboratory scale biofilter columns comparing four design configurations (five
replicates of each). Over twelve months the columns are dosed with semi-synthetic stormwater,
with volumes reflecting both wet and dry weather periods, based on average Melbourne rainfall.
Water quality samples collected at five week intervals are analysed for total nitrogen, total
phosphorus and their species. Oxygen consumption in the saturated zone, plant growth and
infiltration rates are also measured. Preliminary results indicate that biofilters containing Skye
sand, in particular those which are vegetated and inclusive of a saturated zone, show an
improved capacity to remove phosphorus and produce total nitrogen removal results
comparable to the traditional filter medium. Continued monitoring will provide greater insight
into the longevity and performance of the systems over time.
Tensile strength of compacted clay using Indirect Diametrical Tension (IDT) tests
Ben Shannon
Tensile cracking is of great importance in design of clay liners for waste contaminant systems,
earth dam engineering and applications that involve soil cracking in general. Most previous
work on compacted soils only compare the water content of compacted soils or dry density to
tensile strength. Less work has focussed on determining a general relationship between these
three key variables. The following presents an insight into the tensile strength of compacted
clay soils using Indirect Diametrical Tensile (IDT) or Brazilian tests. The tests were performed
on compacted clay soil disk specimens with varying void ratio and moisture ratio. Specimens
were compacted to known void ratios using predetermined moisture content to a diameter of 76
mm and height of 26 mm. Two different soil types were tested and compared. The results show
a distinct tensile strength envelope for different void ratios and moisture ratios. A semilogarithmic plot of void ratio vs. tensile strength fits soil behaviour well however is misleading
without the moisture ratio profile. The use of this new method can provide a better overall
picture into the tensile strength profile of compacted clays.
Pathogen and Indicator Microorganism Removal in Stormwater Biofilters
Gayani Chandrasena
Biofilters are common Water Sensitive Urban Design systems used for stormwater treatment.
Current studies based on stormwater biofilter pathogen removal are mainly limited to bacterial
indicators and hence, there is a paucity of data on pathogen removal by stormwater biofilters as
well as the correlation between pathogen and indicator microorganisms removal capacities.
Furthermore, there is limited knowledge in how the pathogen removal capacity varies in

31

biofilters with different design parameters (e.g. inclusion of submerged zone (SZ)). Hence, this
study investigates the pathogen (Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Adenovirus and
Enterovirus) and indicator microorganisms (E. coli, Enterococci, C. perfringens and FRNA
coliphage) removal capacity of two field biofilter cells (with and without SZ) dosed with semi
synthetic stormwater. Outflow sampling was designed to capture the variation in microbial
concentration with the outflow volume. Two composite samples were taken per biofilter cell to
represent the 'old' water retained within the biofilter since the last event and the 'new' water
resulting from the current event. Pollutographs were derived for the four indicators and
Campylobacter. Bacterial indicator, E. coli log removal was different to that of other indicator
microorganisms (FRNA coliphage) and pathogens. Biofilter with SZ generally had lower outflow
microbial concentrations compared to that of the biofilter without SZ. The two composite
samples in each cell had different outflow microbial concentrations, generally a lower
concentration in old water, indicating different levels of treatment in old and new water.
Effect of Carbon Dioxide Sequestration on Coals Flow and Strength Properties
Samintha Perera, P.G. Ranjith, S.K. Choi
The main objective of this study is to understand the effects of sub-critical and super-critical
CO2 injections on coal flow and strength properties through experimental, numerical, theoretical
and analytical investigations. Firstly, triaxial experiments were conducted to examine the flow
behaviour of CO2 in coal. According to the tests results, the amount of swelling due to CO2
adsorption depends on the CO2 phase state and confining and injecting pressures, and supercritical CO2 adsorption creates approximately double the swelling effect compared to subcritical CO2. In addition, super-critical CO2 exhibits somewhat lower permeability values
compared to sub-critical CO2, and this permeability reduction increases with increasing
injecting pressure. Interestingly, N2 has the potential to reverse the CO2 induced swelling areas
to some extent. Then, UCS strength tests were then conducted for both high rank (black) and
low rank (lignite) coals under different saturation conditions; sub-critical and super-critical CO2,
N2 and moisture. According to the test results, the UCS strength and Youngs modulus of both
types of coals are reduced due to CO2 saturation and N2 saturation does not have much
influence on coal strength. After the experimental works, both laboratory and field-scale model
developments were considered in the numerical modelling approach to coal CO2 sequestration.

32

OPC-Graphene Oxide: next generation High performance cement composite

Kai Gong
Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), as the second most consumed material by human beings,
has been extensively used worldwide for buildings and structures over a century. Its popularity
as a construction material has never been surpassed duo to its inexpensive source of raw
material, highly stable and durable mechanical properties and excellent formability. However,
the inferior tensile strength and brittleness nature of OPC has greatly restricted its wider
structural applications. Recent advancement in nano-technology provides new possibilities to
reinforce OPC from nano-scale. By mimic natures bottom-up construction process, emerging
nano material like Graphene Oxide (GO) has great potential to produce new generation high
strength cement composite. Compared with traditional fibre reinforcement (glass, wood, steel,
polypropylene and carbon fibres etc.) used in cement composite, GO has three main
advantages. First of all, the strength and elastic modulus of GO are 130Gpa and 1TPa,
respectively, which is much higher than any other traditional fibres. This means GO can share
more load from cement matrix than other fibres. In addition, the interfacial bond strength of GOOPC composite is superior over traditional fibre composite as the functional groups on GO
surface could form covalent bond with cement matrix. Also, the 2 dimensional structure of GO
and its intrinsic wrinkles significantly increase contact area with matrix and the frictional forces
as a result. Thirdly, duo to the high aspect ratio (2000) and surface area (2600m2/g) of GO, the
spacing between adjacent GO sheets will be much smaller than traditional fibres. Whenever a
nano-crack is started in a GO-OPC composite, it will meet a GO sheet soon. When the crack
cannot pass the strong GO, it will go around it along the interface. Therefore, there will be more
nano-cracks with high tortuosity instead of one macro crack formed in the matrix. As a result,
the strength and toughness of OPC is enhanced. All these three advantages offer OPC-GO
great potential to exhibit higher mechanical performance than traditional fibre cement
composite. Our preliminary results shows an addition of 0.02% GO (by weight) into OPC can
increase its 7day compressive strength by more than 60%. It is astonishing to have such a
great improvement at such a low weight faction of GO. It is even more appealing when we know
the production prices for GO is potentially cheap.
Experimental study on the mechanical properties of Australian rocks at high temperature
Shishi Shao, Ranjith P. G. and Viete D.
The effect of temperature on the mechanical properties of rocks has been an important study in
rock mechanics especially to high-level radioactive disposal, productions of geothermal energy
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and underground coal gasification projects. This study focuses to see how temperature controls
peak strength, Youngs modulus and total stain development of rocks. Rock samples include
Barrabool sandstones, Sydney sandstones, basalts and Strathbogie granites. Rock specimens
were heated for varying degree of temperature (from room temperature to 1000 C). From
preliminary findings, it is observed that tensile strength, uniaxial strength and elastic modulus of
both sandstones and granites are linearly increased with increasing temperature up to a certain
temperature and decreased sharply above this temperature, in which brittle-ductile transition
was observed. Moreover, the influence of rock grain size and its mineralogical composition on
the thermo-mechanical behaviour will be discussed in the final paper.
My experience working for Yarra Ranges Council
Matthew Burns and The Little Stringybark Creek Project Team
Yarra Ranges Council (YRC) is a local government east of Melbourne which is responsible for
the management of stormwater in many high valued water catchments. Some of these
catchments are degraded because a hard-engineering approach was used to manage
stormwater. One of these catchments is currently the focus of a worlds first attempt at restoring
the health of a degraded catchment by addressing its biggest problem: stormwater runoff. Our
project is trialling a new, soft-engineering approach to stormwater management. This approach
aims to restore and protect natural hydrologic processes at small scales using systems such as
rain-gardens and rainwater tanks, with the aim of restoring natural flow regimes at large scales
downstream. To undertake our project, the assistance of YRC was required because systems
were required to be constructed on their land. From the onset, it became apparent that YRC did
not have the capacity or expertise to facilitate the construction of these systems. Coincidently,
some of these systems planned for construction, were envisaged to be monitored as part of my
PhD studies. With the support of my supervisor Tim Fletcher and Melbourne Water, I came up
with the idea of going on secondment to YRC to assist them with the delivery of these systems.
In this presentation, I will share with you my experience working for YRC.
Study of shrinkage and swelling behaviour of compacted expansive clay soils
Sasika Wijesooriya
Expansive soils are considered as problematic soil in geotechnical applications due to its
changing behaviour, during wetting and drying. In literature, several studies have been
published indicating that expansive soils stabilise to a stable structure and shows predominantly
elastic behaviour after a sufficient number of wet/dry cycles. However, the experimental data
were lacking specially in the dry side of optimum for compacted soils. The present study
investigates further results on this issue using basaltic soil from North Altona in Melbourne. The

34

tests have been conducted on soils compacted to a known dry density on the dry side of line of
optimums. The tests included wetting and drying performed under stress using a specially
designed apparatus. These test results will be discussed along with the results from other
researchers within the void ratio-moisture content-pressure relationship. The test results will be
used to examine the behaviour of soil during wetting and drying of compacted expansive soils,
especially during first few cycles. The results will be interpreted for possibility of cracking during
restrained shrinkage.
A Study of CO2 Storage Capacity Estimation in Coal Seams
Navinda De Silva
In the recent years, the influx of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has increased
extensively. There has been an increase of CO2 influx in atmosphere from 280 ppm in 1850 to
360 ppm in 1998. Therefore, methods such as CO2 sequestration, consuming less carbon
intensive fuels by switching to alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, nuclear, and tidal
power are suggested. However, the potential of CO2 sequestration is not understood especially
for various types of coals and also in terms of important in situ properties. In this study, an
advanced custom designed core flooding apparatus is designed and constructed to model
effects on important mechanical properties due CO2 sequestration. This setup can test
samples of 203.2 mm diameter with lengths up to 1000 mm. Therefore, scaling effect can also
be understood as previously determined CO2 sequestration related formulae are based on coal
samples of sizes ranging up to about 100 mm only. This setup will also enable to identify
effects such as permeability, swelling / shrinkage and pore pressure drop along the length of
the sample due to injection as well. Overall, this study will contribute towards enhancing the
existing knowledge on CO2 sequestration.

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Root Length of Carex appressa Increases When Grown With Lomandra longifolia in a
Stormwater Biofilter But Does Not Enhance Pollutant Removal
Jason Ellerton
The testing of plants for use in stormwater biofilters has only been attempted as single plant
experiments with reduction of effluent pollutants as the main criteria for evaluation. This
presentation investigates the effects of multi taxa planting and uses total root length to reveal
how the relationship between two plants commonly used in biofilters influences water quality.
Carex appressa and Lomandra longifolia plants were grown together in groups of four in
laboratory scale stormwater biofilters over five different planting ratios (C0/L4, C1/L3, C2/L2,
C3/L1 and C4/L0). The plants were watered with semi synthetic stormwater for 54 weeks,
followed by destructive analysis. Effluent was analysed for total nitrogen (TN) and total
phosphorus (TP); and plants were assessed for total root length per plant, and per group. The
total root length of C.appressa increased by 17, 83 and 102% over monoculture when grown at
75, 50 and 25% of the plant mix respectively. At the same planting ratios, total root length of
L.longifolia decreased by 70, 79 and 52% respectively, over monoculture. Total root length per
group increased by 25 to 76% as the proportion of Carex increased from 25 to 100%. Removal
rates of TN and TP remained above 88% across all planting ratios. This work indicates that
multi taxa plantings in biofilters may have minimal effect on water quality treatment, but can
impose competitive restraints on particular species which may impact on plant longevity and
community structure.
Validation of a - model with Soil Moisture Active Passive Experiment (SMAPEx) data
sets in Australia
Ying Gao
There is a strong demand for soil moisture information in establishing efficient irrigation
scheduling, climate change prediction, and sustainable land and water management. However,
such data are not readily available with an appropriate accuracy or spatial and temporal
resolution. Addressing this need, the European Space Agency (ESA) has developed the Soil
Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission which provides the first satellite dedicated to near
surface soil moisture measurement at 40-km resolution. Moreover, NASA is developing the Soil
Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. Scheduled for launch in November 2014, SMAP will
deploy active and passive microwave instruments simultaneously to enhance soil moisture
retrieval capabilities to a 10-km resolution. Both the SMOS and SMAP missions use a -
36

model as the key component of their passive microwave soil moisture retrieval algorithms. This
study presents an independent validation of the currently accepted version of the - model
using data from the first Soil Moisture Active Passive Experiment (SMAPEx-1) airborne
campaign undertaken in south-eastern Australia in July 2010.
Designed specifically to support the development of soil moisture retrieval algorithms for the
SMAP mission, SMAPEx-1 includes a series of intensive monitoring periods at the Yanco study
area in NSW. During these periods, data were collected from airborne radar and radiometer
instruments concurrently with ground measurements of soil moisture, vegetation water content
and surface roughness. In this paper, 1-km soil moisture values of the intensive monitoring
areas were derived from airborne L-band radiometer data, and validated using extensive
ground measurements of soil moisture. The comparison between measured and retrieved soil
moisture content was presented and discussed.
How does design influence the hydraulic performance of stormwater biofilters?
Tracey Pham
Biofiltration systems are able to mitigate the unintended effects of urban drainage (such as
increased peak flows, increased runoff volumes and higher runoff frequencies) generated by
impervious areas. While these systems are effective at attenuating urban stormwater runoff,
their performance is strongly dependant on the inflow hydrograph. Consequently, in the event of
a major natural disaster, biofilters will do little to buffer the receiving waterway from high flows.
Furthermore, the design of a saturated-zone (a permanent pool of water) in biofilters is being
increasingly encouraged to improve their pollutant removal performance, especially for nitrogen.
Yet, there is little discussion on how this alteration will affect their hydraulic performance overall,
as compared to traditional designs. This presentation will examine the infiltration rate between
laboratory columns with saturated and non-saturated zones to predict the implications of this
new design on the hydraulic performance of field biofilters.
Towards soil hydraulic parameter retrieval from Land Surface Models under different
meteorological conditions
Ranmalee Bandara
The soil moisture content imposes a significant control on evaporation, infiltration and runoff.
However, temporal soil moisture evolution is not easy to measure or monitor at large scales due
to its spatial variability, which is largely driven by the local variation in soil properties and the
vegetation cover. Consequently, soil moisture dynamics are often estimated using land surface
models, with model physics based on low-resolution soil property maps. Such estimates may
37

be significantly in error due to the spatial scale and uncertainty related to soil property
information. Consequently, for the model to perform reliably there is a need for more accurate
and detailed soil parameter data sets than are currently available. To overcome this limitation, it
is proposed that soil hydraulic properties be estimated through model calibration to remotely
sensed near-surface soil moisture observations. Such a methodology is tested here through a
synthetic twin experiment using the Particle Swarm Optimizing (PSO) method and the Joint UK
Land Exchange Simulator (JULES) land surface model. This study explores the retrieval
capability of this approach through five different scenarios: (a) short dry-down period, (b) short
dry period, (c) short wet-up period, (d) short wet period and (e) full 12-months with multiple wet
and dry periods and two homogeneous soil types, clay and sand. From this analysis, it was
identified that hydraulic parameter retrieval performed better under clay soil conditions than for
sand, and that the full 12-month period gave the best results.
Subsurface flow constructed wetlands for the removal of arsenic and metals from acidic
contaminated water
Katherine Lizama Allende, Tim Fletcher and Guangzhi Sun
Arsenic and heavy metals pollution in water is a worldwide problem. Onsite, cost-effective, low
impact treatment technologies are required to remove heavy metals to avoid further
degradation of aquatic ecosystems. In particular, subsurface flow constructed wetlands have
the potential to remove different pollutants including arsenic (As), boron (B) and iron (Fe), but
very little is known about their efficiency and reliability for this purpose. This study investigated
the performance of subsurface flow constructed wetlands in the removal of As (3 mg/L), B (30
mg/L) and Fe (100 mg/L) from acidic contaminated water (pH 2), using four different supporting
media: gravel, cocopeat, zeolite and limestone. Limestone wetlands were the most effective
among the wetland media for removal of As (99%) and Fe (98%), followed by zeolite wetlands
(92% As removal and 86% Fe removal). While gravel wetlands were able to remove As (45%),
they were not able to remove Fe. On the other hand, cocopeat wetlands did not show great
ability to remove As (9%), but they did remove Fe quite effectively (46%), and they were the
only substrate that showed potential to remove B. The most effective As removal mechanism
was found to be coprecipitation with Fe, enhanced by the use of limestone and its capability to
raise pH. These results suggest that alternative substrates such as limestone and zeolite can
be used as wetland media to enhance the removal of As and Fe from acidic environment.

38

Many options, including taking the shuttle bus (see p.40), riding a bike, jumping on a train,
taking a bus, walking (or driving a car, paid parking available in Building J).

The conference day is fully catered thanks to our sponsors. For lunch, there will be vegetarian
options, and all the meat will be halal.

No. The Postgraduate committee decided not to make audio or video records of the
presentations, although pictures will be taken during the event. However, we encourage
presenters to ask a fellow student in the audience to record the presentation as this could be a
useful support to improve ones public speaking skills.

No. For some presentations may include confidential data, the slides wont be published online.
However, feel free to go and ask the presenter for its own presentation.

Yes. You can easily access the Monash Guest or Eduroam wireless networks on Caulfield
campus. Just use your Monash Authcate.

Yes! You could be the winner! Prizes will be awarded for top three presenters. This years
prizes have been kindly sponsored by Golder Associates. Also presented will be a number of
post-graduate awards, courtesy of the Department of Civil Engineering (see p.4).

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A free shuttle bus between Monash Clayton and Caulfield campuses is available. All
passengers must travel with a valid Monash University student or staff card.
This service operates with two buses, runs consecutively in both directions and can be boarded
at the first bus stop on the left entering the bus loop on Clayton campus and at the bus stop
located on the Princess Highway (Dandenong Rd) outside Building H on Caulfield campus.
Departure times below are from both campuses at the same time. Each trip should take
between 15-25 minutes, depending on the time of day and direction of travel.

Departure Time

Departure Time

Departure Time

Departure Time

7:30 AM

10:25 AM

1:20 PM

4:15 PM

7:55 AM

10:50 AM

1:45 PM

4:40 PM

8:20 AM

11:15 AM

2:10 PM

5:05 PM

8:45 AM

11:40 AM

2:35 PM

5:30 PM

9:10 AM

12:05 PM

3:00 PM

5:55 PM

9:35 AM

12:30 PM

3:25 PM

6:20 PM

10:00 AM

12:55 PM

3:50 PM

6:45 PM

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