Researchers hit the Roads
Professor Arun Kumar
QUT
In October, the CRC for Construction Innovation sponsored a stream entitledRoads Research into Practice at the ARRB Conference held at the National Conference Centre, Canberra.
Chaired by Arun Kumar, Professor of Infrastructure Management at QUT, the stream showcased three speakers to present their areas of roads research as follows:
Neil Robertson Director Road System Management - Queensland Dept of Main Roads
Title: Reliability in Whole of Life Investment Assessment for Road Infrastructure
Outline:
The Development of a Procedure for Optimising Data Collection
The Development of a Method for Risk-Adjusted Expenditure and Reliability Assessment
The Development of Pavement Prediction Models of road conditions for Queensland
Cedric Roberts - Principal Engineer, Road Traffic Noise Management (RTNM) Section, Queensland Department of Main Roads
Title: Decision Support Tool (DST) An Urban Noise Analysis Tool for the Assessment of Road Traffic Noise.
Outline:
The DST is a stand alone tool that radically simplifies the analysis and assessment of noise impacts.
DST is a software package developed by Noise Mapping Australia under a commission from CRC Construction Innovation and developed for QDMR.
The tool has been primarily designed for assessment of road traffic noise although the process is applicable to the assessment of most environmental noise issues.
Sujeeva Setunge - Senior Lecturer, Civil Engineering RMIT
Title: Decision Support Tools for Optimal Life Cycle Management of Concrete Bridges
Specific research outcomes covered:
User friendly guide for strengthening of bridge structures using FRP composites
Challenges in strengthening of existing bridges FRP composites
Case study
Development of the design guide
Life cycle analysis software tool for evaluating life cycle cost of treatment options for aging bridges including risk and uncertainty
Challenges in life cycle costing including risk and uncertainty
Conceptual framework
Software tool
Rule based software tool for diagnosis of distress mechanisms in bridges exposed to aggressive environments
Objectives of the research and the proposed tool
Mind map and rule base developed from QDMR case studies
Software tool
Road specialists in the audience provided interesting questions for the speakers to expand on their presentations and generate interest in the research being undertaken by Construction Innovation and its Roads Research partners.
