Natural fibre-reinforced concrete containing waste-based materials

Project description

With traditional concrete materials and steel reinforcement long been used due to its strong mechanical properties, the construction industry needs to keep up with the world when it comes to the impact humans have on global warming. As a result, there is a need to consider alternative materials for creating more sustainable concrete. This project will focus on using recycled materials as a viable alternative to cement, sand, and coarse aggregate, while natural fibres, such as sugarcane, bamboo, ..., will be added as an alternative to steel reinforcement. This project will look to compare the mechanical and durability properties of an alternative concrete mix that is more sustainable than traditional concrete. The use of this concrete in 3D printing is also assessed.

Supervisors research focus

I have extensive experience in research on the development of sustainable construction/building materials and technologies. I worked in ARC-Training Centre for Advanced Manufacturing of Prefabricated Housing (ARC-CAMPH) at the University of Melbourne and have been project manager and research leader of three research projects in $2.7M Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) round 8. Research Interests: - Infrastructure Materials Engineering: *Recycling waste materials, industrial by-products and natural fibres for the development of sustainable construction materials *Cementitious composites containing nanomaterials *Smart and multi-functional materials for construction *3D printable concrete for automated construction *High performance and ultra-high performance composite *Fibre-reinforced concrete composite *Constitutive and finite element modelling of fibre-reinforced concrete - Structural Engineering: *Behaviour, performance and design of civil infrastructure *Assessment and management of deteriorating civil infrastructure *Infrastructure resilience and sustainability *Construction, repair and rehabilitation practices for civil infrastructure

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