Browsing by Author "Tran, H"

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item: Article-Full-text
Development of an integrated software tool for whole of life management of concrete storm water pipe assets.
(2015-12-29) Setunge, S; Tran, H
In Australia, there are 500 local councils, each managing 300-1000 km of storm water drainage systems. Majority of the storm water pipes are concrete and are built in 1960’s. Currently the councils use CCTV inspections to assess around 10% of the network and make maintenance decisions for the whole asset stock. This creates a major challenge for asset managers since the decisions are made based on assumed levels of deterioration. Catastrophic failure of pipes due to inefficient management will lead to flooding, which can be a major hazard to the community and infrastructure. The paper presents the outcomes of a study conducted to assess the whole of life performance of concrete storm water pipes. Data from CCTV inspections are converted to a discrete rating and are used to derive Markov chain based deterioration models for the network. Based on these, optimized inspection strategy is developed for the pipe assets combined with a life cycle costing module, tree root invasion model and hydraulic and structural failure modules. The proposed integrated management model is suitable for capturing the whole of life performance of any infrastructure asset
item: Conference-Full-text
Investigation of corrosion induced concrete cracking
(2013-11-13) Ni, Y; Yang, S; Qing Li, C; Tran, H
Concrete is widely used in civil structures. Concrete cracking associated with quasi-brittle feature of concrete is commonly found in concrete structure. Prediction of concrete crack growth is important to maintenance and rehabilitation of concrete structures. Several concrete crack models have been developed in which cohesive crack model (CCM) has been widely used by incorporating with finite element (FE) analysis. One advantage of adopting CCM in modeling concrete crack is that it becomes possible to obtain the crack width information. This paper attempts to predict the concrete crack width by means of a numerical method. A state of the art review on fracture mechanics and its application to concrete structures is presented. In this review, fictitious crack model, two-parameter model and size effect model are briefly discussed as well as numerical modelling techniques for smeared and discrete cracks. A numerical model is then established to predict the fracture behaviour including globe response of specimen, size of fracture process zone, and finally the crack width. The globe response (stress-displacement curve) obtained from the FE analysis will be compared to the experimental data from literature for validation. This model can be possibly used to predict the crack width in other cases, such as corrosion-induced cracks.
item: Conference-Full-text
Pilot study using fibre optics and corrosion sensors for condition monitoring of water pipes
(2013-11-13) Tran, H; Sidiroglou, F; Dissanayake, R; Setunge, S; Qing Li, C
The aging of water infrastructural pipelines and the needs to safely and economically extend the service life are the main drivers for real time monitoring of structural deterioration of water pipelines. Fiber optics sensors provide a means of detecting and monitoring pipeline defects in real time. A common application of fiber optics sensors is to measure the strain and temperature of pipelines by attaching the fiber sensors along the pipelines. Any abnormal change in temperature could be an indication of leak while any excessive change of strain is an indication of tampering or structural damage. This paper presents a pilot study which was aimed to investigate the fibre optics sensors and corrosion sensor as in-situ sensors to provide real time data on corrosion condition of pipelines. Such data would improve the targeting of inspection programs, and allow improved monitoring and decision making for pipe repair or replacement. Furthermore, the data could be used for development of improved deterioration models and thus enhance knowledge of pipe deterioration.