Structures and Buildings Group

About the Structures and Materials Group

We are internationally recognised as one of the leading groups in the design, modelling and development of advanced materials and structural systems for construction, infrastructure and defence. We work closely with industry and government organisations to carry out research and consulting work in these areas.

History

The group has a long history of excellent teaching and research in materials and structures at Department of Infrastructure Engineering. The Structures and Materials Group is led by Prof Tuan Ngo who has been intensively working on these research areas for more than 20 years.

Research interests

We have long standing expertise in a wide range of areas:

  • Major developments in the application of innovative prefabricated construction via advanced offsite manufacturing techniques
  • Protective engineering developing novel materials and innovative structural systems against structures at high risk of extreme loads including blast, impact and earthquake
  • Advanced digital engineering including finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics, building information modelling and industry standard software for structural design, manufacturing and assembly
  • Development of high performance lightweight, durable, and sustainable materials including concrete and polymers, steel and timber
  • Fire performance of structures including developing fire resistant materials and composite systems
  • Life cycle performance, structural health monitoring and retrofitting of the existing built environment including ageing infrastructure
  • Service life and durability of materials for regular and aggressive environmental conditions
  • Efficient, robust and architecturally-flexible connection system for composite and prefabricated construction
  • Structural bio-engineering for medical applications

Contact us

If you would like to enquire about our consultancy and research capabilities, email:

Facilities and equipment

The facilities and equipment directly managed and operated by the group include:

Structural and material testing facilities

Material characterisation facilities

Collaborations with colleagues within the University include:

Non-destructive testing facilities

  • Pundit Lab - Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) Testers
    • The presence of voids, cracks or other internal imperfections or defects
    • Changes in the concrete which may occur with time (ie: due to the cement hydration) or damage from fire, frost or chemical attack
    • The strength or modulus of a material.
  • Profometer (Advanced Concrete Cover Meter)
    • Measure concrete cover and rebar diameters and the detection of rebar locations using the eddy current principle with pulse induction as the measuring method.
  • Ground Penetrating Radar System (Hi-Bright)
    • For structures which do not have detailed construction drawings.
    • Assess the conditions of slab and bridge decks.
    • Identify any voids in the structural member.
    • Identify rebar and its condition and cover length, cracks and their extent, settlement, and moisture presence.
  • Full imaging system for the interior of concrete
    • Capable of void detection for flaws as small as 30 mm at 400 mm depth the MIRA can also measure slab thickness, test tile or panel bond, confirm grouting behind panels or in post tension ducts and is the only system that can measure cover in steel fibre reinforced concrete.
  • Resipod Resistivity Meter
    • Designed to measure the electrical resistivity of concrete in a completely non-destructive test. It is the most accurate instrument available, extremely fast and stable and packaged in a robust, waterproof housing designed to operate in a demanding site environment.
  • CorroMap
    • Use half-cell potential and galvapulse measurement with many user-friendly features.
    • Offer reliable evaluation of reinforcement corrosion also in wet, carbonated or inhibitor treated concrete so that the half-cell potential and electrical resistance to the cover layer are give.
  • Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves (SASW)
    • Determination of pavement system profiles including the surface layer, base and subgrade materials.
    • Determination of abutment depths of bridges.
    • Condition assessment of concrete liners in tunnels, slabs, and other structural concrete members.
    • Evaluation of alkali-silica, fire, fire, freeze-thaw and other cracking damage.
  • ARAMIS - Optical 3D Deformation Analysis
    • ARAMIS is a non-contact and material-independent measuring system based on digital image correlation.For statically or dynamically loaded specimens and components, ARAMIS provides accurately 3D coordinates, 3D displacements, velocities, accelerations and surface strain.