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Projects

Utilisation of Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for bridge health monitoring

Aim: Using Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for digital twin development, damage detection and health monitoring of bridges

Research training and work placement:                                          

  • Senior Research Assistant and PhD Student: Mr Masoud Mohammadi
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Dr Yang Yu
  • Research Assistant: Mr  Vahid Mousavi

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Use of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) for modern damage assessment of the structural components

Aim: verifying the reliability and applicability of point cloud data attained from TLS in health monitoring of a structure.

Research training and work placement:                                          

  • Master Students: Pawan Regmi, Ankit Bhattarai
  • Research Assistant: Mr Vahid Mousavi

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Feasibility study of using Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems for bridge inspection

  • Project Category: CAT 2 Industry Project
  • Industry Partner: TfNSW
  • Project Leaders: Dr Maria Rashidi

Aim: Examining the feasibility of utilising RPAs/Drones for inspection and health monitoring of bridges

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Health monitoring of AMP building during its partial demolition and reconstruction

Aim: Structural safety and health evaluation of the central core wall of a 48-storey building during demolition and renovation

Research training and work placement:                                          

  • PhD Student: Shohreh Alaedini

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Digital twin development of McKanes Bridge

  • Project Category: CAT 2 Industry Project
  • Industry Partner: TfNSW
  • Project Leaders: Dr Maria Rashidi

Aim: 3D model creation and accuracy evaluation of TLS and photogrammetry based data points, McKanes Bridge case study

Research training and work placement:                                          

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Estimating corrosion rate of steel elements in transmission towers

Aim: Estimating corrosion rate of steel components in transmission and telecommunication towers

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Design and investigation works for the upgrade and replacement of Cedar Point Bridge

Aim: Design and investigation works for the upgrade and replacement of Cedar Point Bridge

Research Outcomes: Geometrical model of the bridge using drones, flood assessment, material property testing and structural analysis report

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Digitisation and Conservation of Prince Alfred Bridge through Utilisation of RPAs

  • Project Category: CAT 3 Industry Project
  • Industry Partner: Gundagai Historic Bridges
  • Project Leaders: Dr Maria Rashidi

Aim: Digital twin development of Prince Alfred bridge through utilisation of RPAs

Research training and work placement:                                          

  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Dr Hassan Malekzehtab

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Drone inspection and structural assessment of Mt Emu Creek Bridge

Aim: Drone inspection, condition assessment and structural analysis of Mt Emu Creek Bridge

Research training and work placement:                                          

  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Dr Hassan Malekzehtab

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Rehabilitation and strengthening of the Cedar Point Bridge substructure

  • Project Category: CAT 3 Industry Project
  • Industry Partner: Kyogle Council
  • Project Leaders: Dr Kamyar Kildashti

Aim: Rehabilitation design for the substructure of Cedar bridge

Research training and work placement:                                          

  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Dr Hassan Malekzehtab

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Structural health monitoring of Mongarlowe Bridge using Dynamic Frequency Analysis (DFA)

Aim: Structural health monitoring of timber bridges using Dynamic Frequency Analysis (DFA)

Research training and work placement:                                          

  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Dr Amir Azad

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Developing a low-cost accurate bridge weigh in motion system for estimation of gross and axle vehicle weights

Aim: Developing a low-cost accurate bridge weigh in motion system for estimation of gross and axle vehicle weights

Research training and work placement:                                          

  • PhD Student: Solmaz Pourzeinali

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Remotely piloted aircraft and laser scanning survey of John Foord Bridge

  • Project Category: CAT 2 Industry Project
  • Industry Partner: TfNSW
  • Project Leaders: Dr Maria Rashidi

Aim: RPA photogrammetry and laser scanning survey of John Foord Bridge

Research training and work placement:                                          

  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Dr Mohsen Askari

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Digital twin development of Gee Gee Bridge

  • Project Category: CAT 2 Industry Project
  • Industry Partner: TfNSW
  • Project Leaders: Dr Maria Rashidi

Aim: 3D model creation based on RPA photogrammetry

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Digital twin development of Windsor Bridge

  • Project Category: CAT 2 Industry Project
  • Industry Partner: TfNSW
  • Project Leaders: Dr Maria Rashidi

Aim: 3D model creation based on RPA photogrammetry

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Digital twin development of Tunks Creek Bridge

Aim: 

3D model creation based on TLS scanning

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Structural assessment and level 3 inspection of Eight City of Sydney Bridges

Aim: Structural assessment and level 3 inspection of Eight City of Sydney Bridges

Research Outcomes: Comprehensive condition assessment and structural analysis report

Research Training and work placement:

Research Assistant: Dr Amir Azad

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Drone Assisted Traffic Survey for Homebush Bay Drive and Australia Avenue Intersection

  • Project Category: CAT 2 Industry Project
  • Industry Partner: TfNSW
  • Project Leaders: Dr Maria Rashidi

Aim: 

Traffic analysis using RPA data capture and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

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Aerial site inspection of Berowra Reservoir

  • Project Category: CAT 3 Industry Project
  • Industry Partner: GHD Pty Ltd
  • Project Leaders: Dr Maria Rashidi

Aim: 

Aerial site inspection and condition assessment of Berowra Reservoir

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Quantitative Based Protection Coating Assessment Using Digital Imaging and Artificial Intelligence

Project Description:

Protective coatings shield the structure from damaging aspects of the environment including sunlight, humidity, corrosive agents such as salts and windborne abrasives. Without protective coatings, the life of steel structures would be severely shortened. Therefore, it is crucial that the protective coating is always working effectively. Current assessment coatings inspection practises involve qualified inspectors. These inspectors conduct assessments of the coatings using a rating system. These practices are labour intensive and can be subjective in many cases.

Aims:

This project accordingly aims to find a reliable and cost-effective objective methodology to evaluate the corrosion condition of raw coal processing structures and coal handling and preparation plants (CHPP). It is understood that the ability to categorise by the level of damage to coatings and quantify affected areas would greatly improve the ability of plant managers to control risks and manage budgets more efficiently. Thus, the outcome of this research will address the ‘Corrosion’ priority by ensuring quantitative protection coating assessment of coal processing and preparation facilities to enable data-driven decision making.

Development of AI-powered civil infrastructure condition assessment and monitoring system

Project Description and Aims:

This project aims to utilise state-of-the-art computer vision, image/signal processing, information fusion and deep learning techniques to develop a novel data driven-based non-destructive evaluation platform for real-time condition assessment and health monitoring of civil structures. The detailed objectives can be summarised as follows:

  • To develop deep learning algorithms to process the images/videos for condition assessment of civil infrastructure;
  • To design an effective crack characterisation algorithm for extracting and selecting crack-sensitive features;
  • To employ information fusion algorithm for improving the accuracy of condition assessment results;
  • To evaluate the proposed approach based on experimental test results from structural specimens in the laboratory;
  • To integrate the proposed algorithm into the drone platform and then evaluate the integrated system in the practical civil structures.

Development of a self-powered health monitoring system embedded in modular joints

Project Description and Aims:

The main aim of this project is to develop an integrated energy harvesting system in standardised modular volumetric units (Pods) and a self-powered health monitoring system embedded in joints.

Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) survey for development of digital twin of Charleyong Bridge

  • Project Category: CAT 2 Industry Project
  • Industry Partner: Transport for NSW (TfNSW)
  • Project Leaders: Dr Maria Rashidi

Project Description and Aims:

TfNSW is going to replace the Charleyong Bridge over the Mongarlowe River on Main Road 92. The Charleyong Bridge is identified in the Roads and Maritime Timber Truss Bridge Conservation Strategy for replacement as it does not meet current loading standards. The bridge cannot be upgraded to meet the loading standards and is expensive to maintain. Hence, it has been decided to develop the digital twin f the bridge before demolition. Research has been carried out to explore the best integration approach for aerial and terrestrial data capture.

Digitisation of eleven timber truss bridge in New South Wales (NSW)

Project Description and Aims:

The NSW Government manages most of the state’s remaining timber truss road bridges. These bridges have high individual and collective heritage value. Relying on our unique capabilities in terms of utilising emerging technologies such as drones and laser scanners for asset management of civil infrastructure assets, we have been in charge of the digitisation of numerous heritage bridges in NSW.  In this project, the scope of work is going to be a digital twin and BIM development of eleven timber truss bridges in accordance with the Timber Truss Bridge Conservation Strategy and Heritage NSW requirements.  Due to the challenging nature of the work, some researchers are going to be involved in the project.

The list of bridges are as follows:

  • Clarence Town in Hunter Region.
  • Junction Bridge, Rouchel Brook in Hunter Region.
  • Gillies Bridge, Black Creek in Hunter Region.
  • Tooleybuc in South West Region.
  • Cobram Bridge in South West Region.
  • Paytens Bridge in Western Region.
  • Warroo Bridge in Western Region.
  • Rawsonville Bridge in Western Region.
  • Tenterfield Creek in Northern Region – Rail Bridge.
  • Borah Creek in Northern Region – Rail Bridge.
  • Oakey Creek in Northern Region – Rail Bridge.

Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) survey for digitisation and virtual inspection of Brighton Avenue Bridge and Fifth Avenue Bridge

  • Project Category: CAT 2 Industry Project
  • Industry Partner: Canterbury Bankstown City Council
  • Project Leaders: Dr Maria Rashidi

Project Description and Aims:

The project aims to develop the reality model of Brighton Avenue and Fifth Avenue Bridges using an RPA survey which enables the council to identify, assess and measure defects.

Automation of compliance checking at early stage of design submission using Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Project Description and Aims:

Automated compliance check of the preliminary drafts against the council guidelines as well Building Code of Australia is the principal aim of this project. Early submitted design drafts can be automatically checked using AI tools and the possible discrepancies can be identified. In addition, the clients can do a quick compliance check and give the report. This helpful practice could be added to BIM in a way of real-time checking the design criteria. The required 3D model can be built using image processing tools.  Not only the new developments can utilize this app but also old documents which are clear enough in the context of figures or some old developments with no digital documents could benefit from this new app.  Python Image Processing which is one of the core areas of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision could be utilized to extract meaningful data from preliminary design documents in order to design this app. The main benefits of this innovation for the industry are as follows:

  • Saving time and cost of compliance checking;
  • Increasing process speed and accuracy;
  • High potential to be added to BIM platforms;
  • Ease of operation and being user friendly.

Digitisation of bridge infrastructures using TLS method: Bridge Information Model (BrIM) development

Project Description and Aims:

This research aims not only to identify, investigate, and discuss the benefits and challenges of using TLS in the field of bridge inspection but also to serve a comprehensive methodology for Bridge Information Model (BrIM) development using TLS data.

Work Health and Safety of Non-Destructive Digging and Asbestos Contaminated Soils

Project Description and Aims:

NDD uses high-pressure water jet to soften soil before being vacuumed. Applying water jet on asbestos contaminated soils is prohibited by the regulation. A preliminary study has shown that the water jet impact does not increase release airborne asbestos fibres. My industry partner, EDP, agrees with this finding. The project is accordingly set to run a series of experiments to collect evidence to enable the regulator issue an industry-wide exemption for NDD industry to excavate on asbestos impacted soils. A safe work procedure guide will be produced as the outcome of the project.

Digitization of Thomas James Bridge using TLS

Project Description and Aims:

Thomas James Bridge built in 1830 is the oldest in-use bridge on mainland Australia. This project is defined as part of an asset management project for rehabilitation of the bridge and its abutment using the development of TLS-derived digital model.

Development of Bridge Components for Rehabilitation
Purposes

  • Industry Partner: TfNSW
  • Project Category: CAT 2 Industry Project
  • Project Leader: Dr. Maria Rashidi

Project Description:

Modelling and manufacturing of bridge components using Ductile Cast Iron (ISO 1083 JS 400-18 LT) , Grey Cast Iron (AS 1830) and Steel (AS 2074 L1B).

Review of Railway Bridge Maintenance Practices

  • Industry Partner: Australian Centre for Rail Innovation (ACRI), Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC)
  • Project Category: CAT 2 Industry Project
  • Project Leader: Dr. Maria Rashidi

Project Description:

This project will review current key railway bridge maintenance practices with a focus and emphasis on the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC). A broad range of existing problem areas will be examined in detail and compared and contrast to other local and international practices and environments and/or scenarios. This work will then inform the proposed development of targeted maintenance frameworks for railway bridge standard/guidance/practice adoption to reduce maintenance costs, improve time between maintenance intervals and interventions.

Effectiveness of shading systems on energy efficiency
and thermal comfort of buildings

  • Industry Partner: CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
  • Project Category: CAT 2 Industry Project
  • Project Leaders: Dr. Ehsan Sorooshnia, Dr. Maria Rashidi, Prof. Bijan Samali

Project Description:

The project is focused on effectiveness of shading systems on energy efficiency and thermal comfort of buildings.

Digital Twin of Reinforced Concrete Bridges for
Intelligent Asset Management

  • Industry Partner: SmartCrete (CRC), RMIT University, University of technology Sydney (UTS)
  • Project Category: CAT 4 Industry Project
  • Project Leaders: Dr. Maria Rashidi, Prof. Bijan Samali

Project Description:

Current bridge asset management at network level utilise data-driven models derived from level 2 visual inspections for bridge deterioration prediction, while load rating assessment is conducted on specific bridges using as-built drawings or limited monitoring when required. We will create a proof of concept for a digital twin of concrete girder bridges which form 60% of the network in Australia through integration of 3D visualisation, deep learning algorithms for crack identification, IoT, sensor/NDT and laser technologies and advanced numerical modelling. Outcome will deliver a digital solution for optimised bridge asset management enhancing safety at a reduced cost. The project will fit within SmartCrete CRC’s goals to guarantee long-term viability of vital concrete infrastructure in Australia. It addresses one of the major program initiatives of SmartCrete which is developing step change technologies in whole life asset management via remote monitoring and intelligent maintenance of concrete structures.

An integrated aerial and terrestrial approach for
digitisation and monitoring of bridges

  • Industry Partner: TfNSW
  • Project Category: CAT 2 Industry Project
  • Project Leader: Dr. Maria Rashidi

Project Description:

An integrated aerial and terrestrial approach will be examined for development of reality model of bridges and structures. IRT thermography will also be carried out for detection of surface anomalies.