Interested in a PhD with us?
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We welcome top quality students to work in collaboration with us. Currently, there are opportunities to get involved as an advanced Honour Student, Master Student or Ph.D. Student in portions or in whole of our projects, some of which are listed below. For a full overview, click here.
If you are interested in these or other research topics, please click here to complete a short survey to become part of our group.
In order to get information about applying for postgraduate studies, please:
If you are interested in these or other research topics, please click here to complete a short survey to become part of our group.
In order to get information about applying for postgraduate studies, please:
- click here if you are an international student
- click here if you are an Australian or Permanent Resident student
Energy geo-structures: numerical modelling and field testing.
Energy foundations are a rapidly developing technology for the provision of sustainable, renewable and economic space heating and cooling for buildings. They can provide a very effective means of reducing a significant proportion of a building's carbon footprint and can do so relatively maintenance free over a long period of time. Their application is becoming widespread in Europe and North America and they are being seen as a viable alternative in Australia and other parts of the world. Recent studies in Europe suggest that about 80% of the cost of heating and cooling can be provided by energy foundations for a very modest capital outlay. There are even systems involving water pipes wrapped around tunnels to provide heating and cooling for the overlying buildings. Through advanced numerical modelling and field monitoring and testing, this project is aimed at developing guidelines for the design of various forms of energy geo-structures through the consideration of variables such as ground characteristics, foundation type (piles, walls, slabs, tunnel linings, etc), shape and extent, and building requirements for Australian (or other) conditions. Harnessing renewable energy from low-carbon geothermal pavements.
The University of Melbourne and Swinburne University of Technology have secured an Australian Research Council funded project to investigate the extraction of renewable energy from pavements constructed with low-carbon recycled demolition wastes. This research project will generate new knowledge on the thermo-geomechanical responses of pavements when harvesting heat energy under dynamic loads, using experimental and numerical approaches, including field trials. Two (2) PhD scholarships are available for 3 years, in the field of geotechnical engineering, under the supervision of Associate Professor Guillermo Narsilio. The PhD students will conduct research in this project involving numerical modelling and machine learning. They may interact with other students on theoretical modelling and lab and field trials related to the topic: Harnessing renewable energy from low-carbon geothermal pavements. Soil parameter estimation based on 3D imaging: Innovative laboratory testing.
Accurate estimates of soil properties are important for a range of engineering applications, including geotechnical and resources engineering. However, such accurate information is difficult and costly to obtain. This project will develop new methods to measure various porous medium parameters using 3D images from new measurement technologies. MRI and micro-CT scans have been recently used to assess morphologies. We aim to extend this research by using these microstructures to estimate soil properties such as hydraulic, electrical and thermal conductivities. The new methods will allow non-destructive parameter estimations for porous media (e.g., soil, bones, filters), and thus provide new tools to a range of disciplines and industries. |
Near surface geophysics: Automating GPR and EM surveys using all terrain land rovers.
The use of geophysical testing has revolutionised the way geotechnical site investigations are conducted, from identifying soil layering to monitoring land contamination and helping archaeologists in their digs and underground utilities to be found. In addition, there is a growing need to accurately monitor geo-environmental parameters such as soil water quantity (moisture) and quality (salinity) over large regions due to their key roles in agriculture, hydrology and meteorology. These data are vital for sustainable land and water management; leading to a series of microwave satellite missions for global mapping of soil moisture and water salinity: SMOS (launch 2009) by ESA, and Aquarius (2010) and SMAP (2013) by NASA. The success of these missions relies heavily on their calibration and validation using air-borne and ground-based measurements. However, traditional soil sampling and laboratory analyses are expensive, time consuming and limited both in spatial extent and depth. Thus it remains a challenge to produce reliable ground-truth data for satellite calibration at the scales of these missions (50-100 km). This project proposes to develop a geophysical method that can obtain soil information across km-scales in a timely way. The use of robotics in geotechnical engineering has just started to be explored. Be a pioneer! Direct geothermal energy: Reducing the rural industries’ carbon footprint
This project aims to design poultry brooder houses using geothermal technology. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a global priority. The lack of natural gas in rural areas and brooder houses’ heating and cooling needs make geothermal ideal. Direct geothermal systems use shallow ground both as a heat source and as a heat sink for cooling, using heat pumps. Their application to poultry brooder houses could reduce electricity consumption by up to 75% and thus greenhouse gas emissions, since 91% of electricity comes from fossil fuels in Australia; minimise the need for expensive bottled gas heating; reduce the levels of ammonia emissions; and increase farm productivity. Estimation of the electrical conductivity of soils through transient magnetic fields. The electromagnetic properties of soils can be measured using invasive and non-invasive techniques. Soil electrical conductivity (or its inverse, resistivity) is a measure of the movement of ions within its porous space, and is affected by several other factors such as compaction, volumetric water content and porewater fluid composition. This project constitutes an exploratory research on the development of geotechnical tools capable of measuring soil resistivity as an indirect estimation of some engineering parameters. This work involves experimental studies and numerical modeling.
Electrokinetic dewatering of mine tailings: Modelling and design guidelines. The project will develop and refine analytical and numerical models for the design and analysis of electrokinetic dewatering of ultrafine coal tailings and mine tailings in general, which uses a recently tested electrokinetic geosynthetics (EKGs) technology.
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