Publications

Vigneswaran, S, Sundaravadivel, M, Kandasamy, JK & Chaudhary, DS 2007, Environmental Management - 2nd Edn., 2, Scitech Publications, Chennai.

Ding, G 2007, 'Contaminated land' in Best, R & de Valence, G (eds), Design and Construction, Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford, pp. 195-210.
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Editorial comment One of the undesirable legacies of the industrial development of the past two centuries is the large amount of prime real estate in cities around the world that has been badly contaminated by industrial activity. In the years of uncontrolled expansion of industry in cities such as London and Manchester, great areas of land, often in what are now highly prized inner city or waterfront locations, were given over to all manner of factories and industrial plant: tanneries, refineries, power stations, forges, mills and foundries. Environmental controls were generally non-existent, chimneys belched thick smoke into the atmosphere, leaks and spills were allowed to simply soak away, all sorts of oils and solvents and toxic chemicals found their way into the soil and by leaching made their way into neighbouring sites, and all manner of human and industrial waste was discharged into local waterways. So bad was the situation that Engels, in 1844, described the River Irk in Manchester as ‘… a narrow, coal black, foul smelling stream full of debris and refuse… disgusting, blackish green slime pools… giving off a stench unendurable…’ (cited in McLaren, 1983), and the average age of death around that time amongst the working classes in London was only 22, in Leeds 21, and in Manchester, an incredible 18 (Dodds, 1953, cited in McLaren, 1983).

Hagare, P & Miller, SC 2007, 'On-Site Sanitation Technologies for Reuse' in Vigneswaran, SV (ed), Wastewater Recycle, Reuse, and Reclamation, Eolss Publishers Co., Ltd.,, UK, pp. 146-178.

Indraratna, B, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2007, 'Finite element modelling of soil-vegetation interaction' in Schanz, T (ed), Theoretical and Numerical Unsaturated Soil Mechanics, SPRINGER-VERLAG BERLIN, Germany, pp. 211-223.
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Behaviour of soils in the vadose zone is closely linked to water balance between ground and atmosphere. It seems that transpiration is the most uncertain and difficult to evaluate of all the terms in the soil water balance. The key variable to estimate the transpiration rate is the rate of root water uptake, which depends on the hydrological, geological and meteorological conditions. A mathematical model for the rate of root water uptake incorporating the root growth rate, ground conditions, type of vegetation and climatic parameters, has been developed. A conical shape is considered to represent the geometry of the tree root zone. Using this proposed model, the distribution of moisture and the matric suction profile adjacent to the tree are numerically analysed. Field measurements taken from literature published previously are compared with the authorsâ numerical model. The predicted results obtained from the numerical analysis, compared favourably with the field measurements, justifying the assumptions upon which the model was developed. The analysis also indicates that soil suction and settlement increase over the time, with the effect being more significant in the first stages of transpiration.

Langston, C & Ding, G 2007, 'Sustainability and environmental assessment' in Best, R, Langston, C & de Valence, G (eds), Workplace Strategies and Facilities Management, Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford, pp. 337-351.
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Editorial comment Taking a whole-of-life approach to the management of facilities is not only an obvious strategy, but an increasingly necessary one. Built facilities have life cycles in excess of several decades, and in some cases, several centuries. It is no longer plausible to ignore future implications of present decisions and yet there is still plenty of evidence that this practice continues. If market forces do not dictate different actions then surely legislative controls will be introduced to ensure that society’s resources are used more wisely.

Shon, HK, Vigneswaran, S, Kim, J-H & Ngo, HH 2007, 'Application of a Photocatalysis System to Wastewater : A Detailed Organic Removal of Different Fractions' in Science and Technology in Catalysis 2006, Elsevier, pp. 559-560.
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AL-mahmoud, F, Castel, A, François, R & Tourneur, C 2007, 'Effect of surface pre-conditioning on bond of carbon fibre reinforced polymer rods to concrete', Cement and Concrete Composites, vol. 29, no. 9, pp. 677-689.
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Areerachakul, N, Vigneswaran, S, Ngo, HH & Kandasamy, J 2007, 'Granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption-photocatalysis hybrid system in the removal of herbicide from water', SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 206-211.
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The performance of the granular activated carbon (GAC) fixed bed adsorption, the continuous photocatalysis systems and a combination of the two were studied to evaluate their capabilities in removing the herbicide of metsulfuron-methyl (MM) from waste wa

Ball, JE 2007, 'Selected papers from The Ninth Annual Environmental Research Conference 2005 (ERE 2005)', The Environmentalist, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 1-2.
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Biswajeet, P & Saro, L 2007, 'Utilization of Optical Remote Sensing Data and GIS Tools for Regional Landslide Hazard Analysis Using an Artificial Neural Network Model', Earth Science Frontiers, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 143-151.
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Castel, A, Vidal, T & FranÇOis, R 2007, 'Effective Tension Active Cross-Section of Reinforced Concrete Beams After Cracking', Materials and Structures, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 115-126.
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Castel, A, Vidal, T & François, R 2007, 'Serviceability model of corroded reinforced concrete based on the CEB-FIP model code', Structural Concrete, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 139-146.
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In this paper, based on the main assumptions of the CEB-FIP model code, a model of corroded reinforced concrete behaviour is proposed. The model allows the quantification of the coupled effect of the steel cross-section reduction and the loss of the steel-concrete bond on deflection of reinforced concrete beams under service loads. To model the bond degradation, an environmental-damage variable is explicitly introduced into the steel-concrete bond relationship in order to take into account the slip between the steel and the concrete and then the reduction of the concrete tension stiffening. A validation is proposed on two 20-year-old corroded beams tested in flexure.

Chakraborty, S & Yeh, C-H 2007, 'Consistency comparison of normalization procedures in multiattribute decision making', WSEAS Transactions on Systems and Control, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 193-200.

Cheah, CH & Ball, JE 2007, 'An alternative approach to modelling stormwater runoff from small urban catchments', International Journal of Water, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 322-322.
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Chindaprasirt, P, Chareerat, T & Sirivivatnanon, V 2007, 'Workability and strength of coarse high calcium fly ash geopolymer', CEMENT & CONCRETE COMPOSITES, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 224-229.
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Chindaprasirt, P, Chotithanorm, C, Cao, HT & Sirivivatnanon, V 2007, 'Influence of fly ash fineness on the chloride penetration of concrete', CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 356-361.
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Choi, FC, Li, J, Samali, B & Crews, K 2007, 'An experimental study on damage detection of structures using a timber beam', Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 903-907.
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Using vibration methods for the damage detection and structural health monitoring in bridge structures is rapidly developing. However, very little work has so far been reported on timber bridges. This paper intends to address such shortcomings by experim

Choi, FC, Li, J, Samali, B & Crews, K 2007, 'Application of modal-based damage-detection method to locate and evaluate damage in timber beams', Journal of Wood Science, vol. 53, no. 5, pp. 394-400.
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Modal-based damage-detection algorithms were used to identify the location of defects commonly found in timber and to estimate their severities. In this study, the authors propose modifications to an existing damage-detection algorithm for locating and e

Choudhury, D & Nimbalkar, S 2007, 'Seismic rotational displacement of gravity walls by pseudo-dynamic method: Passive case', Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 242-249.
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Prediction of the seismic rotational displacements of retaining wall under passive condition is an important aspect of design in earthquake prone region. In this paper, the pseudo-dynamic method is used to compute the rotational displacements of rigid retaining wall supporting cohesionless backfill under seismic loading for the passive earth pressure condition. The proposed method considers time, phase difference and effect of amplification in shear and primary waves propagating through both the backfill and the retaining wall. The influence of ground motion characteristics on rotational displacement of the wall is evaluated. Also the effects of variation of parameters like wall friction angle, soil friction angle, amplification factor, shear wave velocity, primary wave velocity, period of lateral shaking, horizontal and vertical seismic accelerations on the rotational displacements are studied. The rotational displacement of the wall increases substantially with increase in amplification of both shear and primary waves, time of input motion, period of lateral shaking and decreases with increase in soil friction angle, wall friction angle. The rotational displacements of the wall also increase when the effect of wall inertia is taken into account. Results are provided in graphical form. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Choudhury, D & Nimbalkar, S 2007, 'Seismic rotational displacement of gravity walls by pseudo-dynamic method: Passive case', SOIL DYNAMICS AND EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 242-249.
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Choudhury, D, Nimbalkar, SS & Mandal, JN 2007, 'External stability of reinforced soil walls under seismic conditions', Geosynthetics International, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 211-218.
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Determination of the external stability of reinforced soil walls under earthquake condition is an important topic of research for geotechnical engineers. In the present paper, a pseudo-dynamic method, which considers the effect of phase difference in both the shear and primary waves travelling through the backfill due to seismic excitation, is considered to obtain the minimum length of the geosynthetic reinforcement to resist direct sliding and overturning failure of the reinforced soil wall. A two-part wedge mechanism is used for determining the external stability of the reinforced soil wall against direct sliding. Reinforced soil walls with cohesionless backfill soil are considered in the present analysis. Results are presented in both graphical and tabular form to show the required length of the geosynthetic reinforcement to maintain the external stability of the reinforced soil wall under seismic conditions. The effects of variation of parameters such as soil friction angle, horizontal and vertical seismic accelerations on the external stability of the reinforced soil wall have been studied. With increase of seismic accelerations in both the horizontal and vertical directions, the external stability of the reinforced soil wall decreases significantly and a greater length of geosynthetic reinforcement is needed to maintain the external stability of the wall. For most practical cases, the minimum length required to resist direct sliding failure is found to govern the design rather than overturning failure under seismic conditions. Comparisons of the present results with available pseudo-static results found in the literature are shown, and the improvements using the proposed pseudo-dynamic approach are highlighted.

Connan, H, Ray, A, Thomas, P & Guerbois, J-P 2007, 'Effect of autoclaving temperature on calcium silicate-based building products containing clay-brick waste', Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 115-119.
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The utilisation of fired clay-brick waste is of interest in the manufacture of building products due to both socio-economic and technological reasons. Autoclaving is an established process for manufacturing calcium silicate-based building products that affords rapid strength development. Clay-brick waste represents a source of alternative silica, whcih is more reactive than conventionally used silica and also cntains alumina. This paper presents data on the effect of lowering the autoclaving temperature from commonly practised 180 to 170 degrees C on OPC-quartz blends conatining clay-brick fines as direct replacement of quartz at 4.3, 8.6 and 12.9 mass percentages. The hydration products of autoclaved OPC-quartz blends with clay-brick fines were characterised using simultaneous DTA-TG inc ombination with other methods.

Connan, H, Ray, AS & Thomas, PS 2007, 'Autoclaved lime-colloidal silica slurries and formation of Al-tobermorite', Journal of the Australian Ceramic Society, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 150-153.
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Fired clay-brick waste has been the focus of research for utilisation in the hydrothermally treated CaO-Al2O3- SiO2-H2O system. Autoclaved lime-colloidal silica slurries with increasing additions of mullite, the main aluminous source in fired clay-brick were investigated. The effects of the reactivity of this alumina source on the formation and nature of Al-tobermorite were studied from a combination of solid-state 27Al MAS NMR, XRD, DTA-TGA and SEM.

Darestani, MY, Thambiratnam, DP, Nataatmadja, A & Baweja, D 2007, 'Structural response of concrete pavements under moving truck loads', JOURNAL OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING-ASCE, vol. 133, no. 12, pp. 670-676.
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Darmawan, MS & Stewart, MG 2007, 'Effect of pitting corrosion on capacity of prestressing wires', Magazine of Concrete Research, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 131-139.
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The present paper describes accelerated corrosion test results and the development of a probabilistic model to predict the depth and variability of pitting for pretensioned prestressing wires and strands subject to pitting corrosion. From the accelerated corrosion tests in a chloride-concrete environment the mode of wire failure is studied, and the spatial distribution of maximum pit depth along wires for various lengths is obtained. The analysis shows that the maximum pit-depth distribution of prestressing wires can be represented by the Gumbel extreme value distribution. This model can be extended to predict the distribution of maximum pit depth for any length of wire, corrosion rate and time of exposure in real concrete structures. This information can be used to predict minimum cross-sectional area of a corroded wire, wire capacity and the effect of pitting corrosion on the safety of pretensioned prestressed concrete structures.

Darmawan, MS & Stewart, MG 2007, 'Spatial time-dependent reliability analysis of corroding pretensioned prestressed concrete bridge girders', Structural Safety, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 16-31.
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Accelerated pitting corrosion tests have been performed to obtain spatial and temporal maximum pit-depth data for prestressing wires. This data is then used to develop probabilistic models of pitting corrosion and strength capacity of 7-wire strands. The probabilistic model of pitting corrosion for strands is then combined with a non-linear Finite Element Analysis and probabilistic models of corrosion initiation and propagation to study the spatial and temporal effects of pitting corrosion on a typical pretensioned prestressed concrete bridge girder. The limit states considered are flexural strength and serviceability. The spatial time-dependent reliability analysis takes into account the uncertainties and variabilities related to material properties, dimensions, loads and corrosion parameters as well as the spatial variability of pitting corrosion of prestressing strands. Including the spatial variability of pitting corrosion in the reliability analysis increased both the probability of strength and serviceability failure when compared with a mid-span sectional analysis. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

De Silva, P, Bucea, L, Sirivivatnanon, V & Moorehead, DR 2007, 'Carbonate binders by 'cold sintering' of calcium carbonate', JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE, vol. 42, no. 16, pp. 6792-6797.
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De Silva, P, Sagoe-Crenstil, K & Sirivivatnanon, V 2007, 'Kinetics of geopolymerization: Role of Al2O3 and SiO2', CEMENT AND CONCRETE RESEARCH, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 512-518.
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Ding, GKC 2007, 'Life cycle energy assessment of Australian secondary schools', Building Research & Information, vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 487-500.
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The Australian Department of Commerce builds many secondary schools in New South Wales every year, and the impact of energy consumption for such a type of construction has rarely been done before in Australia. Although there is a particular responsibility to ensure that public-owned projects contribute to the future well-being of the natural environment, environmental performance and energy efficiency of public projects are not well studied. In order that more informed design and planning decisions can be made about the future construction of school projects, this research paper uses life cycle energy analysis to study the total energy consumption of 20 public secondary school projects in New South Wales. The results will serve as a model for a more comprehensive analysis of energy consumption in establishing environmental performance criteria for the design and construction of future school projects in New South Wales.

Dunphy, A, Beecham, S, Vigneswaran, S, Ngo, HH, McLaughlan, R & Collins, A 2007, 'Development of a confined Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) system using engineered soils', WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 211-218.
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Innovative Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) systems are being investigated at three locations to the north and south of Sydney, Australia. These systems contain porous concrete pipes that are designed so that stormwater exfiltrates through the permeable walls of the pipes into the surrounding substrate media material. The porous pipes and media material treat the passing stormwater. The primary aim of the overall project is to develop a model to describe the treatment effectiveness of confined WSUD systems. This paper focuses on the system located at the Weathertex Industrial Site, Heatherbrae. Due to wood processing operations that occur at this site, it is recognised that the surface runoff will carry a heavy organics loading. Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC) is recognised for its ability to reduce the concentration of dissolved organics present in both wastewater and stormwater. GAC was therefore chosen as a filtration medium to be investigated at this site. To maximise the effectiveness of the GAC, extensive laboratory batch studies were undertaken prior to the field system being constructed to determine the optimum GAC/sand ratio. The purpose of the experimental work was to assess the dissolved organic removal potential through sorption of various concentrations of GAC. The aim of this paper is to describe these laboratory experiments and discuss how they related to the field system. Through these experiments it was determined that a sand/GAC ratio of 25:1 was ideal for the media material at the Heatherbrae site.

Fang, T & Ball, JE 2007, 'Evaluation of spatially variable control parameters in a complex catchment modelling system: a genetic algorithm application', JOURNAL OF HYDROINFORMATICS, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 163-173.
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Successful implementation of a catchment modelling system requires careful consideration of the system calibration which involves evaluation of many spatially and temporally variable control parameters. Evaluation of spatially variable control parameters has been an issue of increasing concern arising from an increased awareness of the inappropriateness of assuming catchment averaged values. Presented herein is the application of a real-value coding genetic algorithm (GA) for evaluation of spatially variable control parameters for implementation with the Storm water Management Model (SWMM). It was found that a real-value coding GA using multiple storms calibration was a robust search technique that was capable of identifying the most promising range of values for spatially variable control parameters. As the selection of appropriate GA operators is an important aspect of the GA efficiency, a comprehensive investigation of the GA operators in a high-dimensional search space was conducted. It was found that a uniform crossover operation was superior to both one-point and two-point crossover operations over the whole range of crossover probabilities, and the optimal uniform crossover and mutation probabilities for the complex system considered were in the range of 0.75-0.90 and 0.01-0.1, respectively. © IWA Publishing 2007.

Fatahi, B, Indraratna, B & Khabbaz, H 2007, 'Soft soil improvement induced by tree root suction', Australian Geomechanics Journal, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 13-18.
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Bioengineering aspects of native vegetation are currently being evolved to improve soil stiffness, slope stabilisation, and erosion control. Tree roots provide three stabilising functions: (a) reinforcement of the soil, (b) dissipation of excess pore pressures and (c) establishing sufficient matric suction to increase the shear strength. The effects of vegetation on soil matric suction, shrinkage and ground settlement are discussed in this paper. A mathematical model for the rate of root water uptake that considers ground conditions, type of vegetation and climatic parameters has been developed. A conical shape is considered to represent the geometry of the tree root zone. Based on this proposed model, the distribution of the moisture and the matric suction profile adjacent to the tree are numerically analysed. Field measurements taken from literature published previously are compared with the authors' numerical model. The predicted results, calculated based on soil, plant, and atmospheric parameters contained in the numerical model, compared favourably with the measured results, justifying the assumptions upon which the model has been developed. The findings of this study indicate that due to significant changes in soil moisture content induced by tree roots, the shear strength of the soil will be enhanced. It is desirable to consider the influence zone of tree roots and the improved soil properties in modern geotechnical designs, benefiting from native vegetation.

François, R, Castel, A & Vidal, T 2007, 'A finite macro-element for corroded reinforced concrete', Materials and Structures, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 571-584.
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This paper proposes a model of the mechanical behaviour of corroded reinforced concrete members subjected to bending under service load. The model is based on the formulation of a macro-element to be used in FEM analysis, having a length equal to the distance between two consecutive ftexural cracks and a cross-section equal to the member cross-section. The mechanical formulation is directly written in generalized variables (bending moment and curvature) and is based on the concept of the transfer length necessary for the transmission of tensile load from re-bar to tensile concrete thanks to the bond. It is thus possible to take into account the effect of reinforcement corrosion on the bond between re-bar and concrete, by increasing the transfer length versus intensity of corrosion. The variation of the transfer length versus corrosion is expressed using a scalar damage parameter. A first experimental validation is performed on a 17-year-old beam kept in a chloride environment under its service load. © RILEM 2006.

Gatidou, G, Thomaidis, NS & Zhou, JL 2007, 'Fate of Irgarol 1051, diuron and their main metabolites in two UK marine systems after restrictions in antifouling paints', Environment International, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 70-77.
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Two major antifouling biocides used worldwide, Irgarol 1051 and diuron, and their degradation products in Shoreham Harbour and Brighton Marina, UK were studied during 2003-2004. The highest concentrations of Irgarol 1051 were 136 and 102 ng L- 1 in water and 40 and 49 ng g- 1 dry weight in sediments for Shoreham Harbour and Brighton Marina, respectively. As the degradation product of Irgarol 1051, M1 was also widespread, with the highest concentration of 59 ng L- 1 in water and 23 ng g- 1 in sediments in Shoreham Harbour, and 37 ng L- 1 in water and 5.6 ng g- 1 in sediments in Brighton Marina. The target compounds showed enhanced concentrations during the boating season (May-July), when boats were being re-painted (January-February), and where the density of pleasure crafts was high. Overall, the concentration of Irgarol 1051 decreased significantly from late 2000 to early 2004, indicating the effectiveness of controlling its concentrations in the marine environment following restricted use. Diuron was only detected in 14% of water samples, and mostly absent from sediment samples. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Georgiades, G, Oyadiji, SO, Zhu, XQ, Wright, JR & Turner, JT 2007, 'Characterization of the Core Properties of a Shock Absorbing Composite', Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology, vol. 129, no. 4, pp. 497-504.
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This paper is on the characterization of the mechanical properties of Newtonian-type shock absorbing elastomeric composites. This composite material is a blend of elastomeric capsules or beads in a matrix of a Newtonian liquid. The material can be considered as a liquid analogy to elastomeric foams. It exhibits bulk compression characteristics and acts like an elastic liquid during an impact, unlike elastic foams, which exhibit uniaxial compression characteristics. A test cell consisting of an instrumented metal cylinder and a piston was designed. A sample of the material was placed in the instrumented cylinder, which was located at the base of a drop test rig. A drop mass of 17.3kg was subsequently released from a desired height to impact the piston. From measurements of the acceleration histories of the drop mass and the piston, and from the displacement history of the piston, the force-displacement curves and the associated impact energies absorbed were derived. These are compared to the corresponding characteristics derived from measurements of pressure of the fluid medium inside the cylinder. The results are compared for blends of different bead types, and the different aspects contributing to their performance are discussed. It is shown that the performance curves derived from the accelerometer measurements matched those derived from the pressure measurements. Blends of this composite material of different types of beads showed distinctively different characteristics.

Grace, ND, Loganathan, P & Hedley, MJ 2007, 'The effect of a temporal change in ingestion rates of fluorine (F) in soil on the concentration of F in serum and bone of young sheep', NEW ZEALAND VETERINARY JOURNAL, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 77-80.
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Aim: To determine the changes in concentrations of fluorine (F) in serum and bone of young sheep given a high intake of F, as F in soil, followed by a low intake of F, to simulate the varying intakes experienced by grazing sheep. Methods: Sixty autumn-born, weaned, mixed-sex lambs were randomly divided into two groups (n=30). One group (Control) was fed a low-F (12 mg/kg dry matter; DM) lucerne/grain diet for 345 days, while the other group (High soil-F) was fed a high-F (224 mg/kg DM) lucerne/grain diet containing 10% soil for 94 days and then a low-F diet for a further 251 days. Blood samples were collected on Days 1, 32, 94, 108, 153, 214, 280 and 345, to determine concentrations of F in serum. Groups of five or six animals from each group were killed on Days 1, 94, 153, 214, 280 and 345, to collect radii and hu- meri for determination of F content. The sheep were weighed at about 6–8-weekly intervals. Results: Initial liveweight of the sheep was 22.1 (standard error (SE) 1.12) kg and the mean liveweight gains were 270 (SE 22.1) and 170 (SE 12.4) g/day from Days 1 to 94 and 95 to 330, respectively. The mean initial (Day 1) concentration of F in serum was 0.03 (SE 0.005) mg/L, and this changed very little for animals on the low-F diet. In sheep on the high soil-F diet, the concentration of F in serum reached 0.38 (SE 0.021) mg/L at Day 94 but after being placed on the low-F diet concentrations decreased to 0.04 (SE 0.006) mg/L after 14 days (Day 108) and then remained at about this low level for the remainder of the duration of the study. The mean concentrations of F in the humerus and radius of the lambs at Day 1 were 161 (SE 19.4) and 159 (SE 20.4) mg/kg DM, respectively, which increased to 2, 784 (SE 80.6) and 1, 805 (SE 51.5) mg/kg DM, respectively, at Day 94 in lambs fed the high soil-F diet, then decreased to 1, 075 (SE 58.1) and 1, 064 (SE 61.6) mg/kg DM at Day 153, and then progressively increased to 1, 669 (SE 57.7) and 1, 312 (SE 30.8) mg/kg DM at Day...

Guo, WS, Vigneswaran, S, Ngo, HH & Xing, W 2007, 'Experimental investigation on acclimatized wastewater for membrane bioreactors', DESALINATION, vol. 207, no. 1-3, pp. 383-391.
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The inoculation and acclimatization of activated sludge (AS) is one of the vital components to provide preferably suspended aerobic growth and desired treatment mechanism for a treated wastewater using MBR. The performance of a floating media biofilter-s

Hong, S, Nguyen, M, Kwok, N, Ha, QP & Li, J 2007, 'Hysteretic model for magnetorheological fluid dampers using a curve fitting approach', Journal of JSAEM, Japanese Society of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics, vol. 15, pp. 176-179.

Hossain, Z, Indraratna, B, Darve, F & Thakur, PK 2007, 'DEM analysis of angular ballast breakage under cyclic loading', Geomechanics and Geoengineering, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 175-181.
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Railway ballast particles undergo significant amount of breakage under repeated train load. Breakage of ballast particles, especially highly angular fresh ones, causes an increase in settlement, contributing to track degradation. The quantitative analysis of the influence of breakage on the stress-strain properties of ballast can be performed either experimentally or numerically. Numerical modeling has the advantage of simulating ballast breakage subject to various types of loading and different boundary conditions for a range of material properties. In this paper, ballast breakage under cyclic loading is simulated using a 2D discrete element method (DEM) utilizing the software PFC2D. A new subroutine is developed and incorporated in the PFC2D analysis to study ballast breakage and to quantify breakage in relation to particle size distribution. The influence of confining pressure on both breakage and permanent deformation is also studied and compared with laboratory observations. The findings of this paper provide an insight into the true ballast behavior under cyclic loading and are expected to assist railway practitioners in developing suitable design criteria for track stability.

Huang, Z, Calka, A & Liu, H 2007, 'Effects of milling conditions on hydrogen storage properties of graphite', Journal of Materials Science, vol. 42, no. 14, pp. 5437-5441.
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Huang, ZG, Guo, ZP, Calka, A, Wexler, D & Liu, HK 2007, 'Effects of carbon black, graphite and carbon nanotube additives on hydrogen storage properties of magnesium', Journal of Alloys and Compounds, vol. 427, no. 1-2, pp. 94-100.
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Huang, ZG, Guo, ZP, Calka, A, Wexler, D & Liu, HK 2007, 'Improvement in hydrogen cycling properties of magnesium through added graphite', Materials Letters, vol. 61, no. 14-15, pp. 3163-3166.
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Huang, ZG, Guo, ZP, Calka, A, Wexler, D, Wu, J, Notten, PHL & Liu, HK 2007, 'Noticeable improvement in the desorption temperature from graphite in rehydrogenated MgH2/graphite composite', Materials Science and Engineering: A, vol. 447, no. 1-2, pp. 180-185.
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Indraratna, B, Raut, AK & Khabbaz, H 2007, 'Constriction-based retention criterion for granular filter design', JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, vol. 133, no. 3, pp. 266-276.
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The filter design criteria in practice are currently based on laboratory tests that were carried out on uniform base soil and filter materials. These criteria mostly involve specific particle size ratios, where the system of base soil and filter is represented by some characteristic particle sizes. Consequently, these criteria have limitations when applied to nonuniform materials. In filters, it is the constriction size rather than the particle size that affects filtration. In this paper, a mathematical procedure to determine the controlling constriction size is introduced, and subsequently, a constriction-based retention criterion for granular filters is presented. The model also incorporates the effect of nonuniformity of base soil in terms of its particle size distribution, considering the surface area of the particles. The proposed retention criterion is verified based on experimental data taken from past studies plus large-scale filtration tests carried out by the authors. The model successfully and distinctly demarcates the boundary between effective and ineffective filters in the case of cohensionless base soils. © 2007 ASCE.

Indraratna, B, Shahin, MA & Salim, W 2007, 'Stabilisation of granular media and formation soil using geosynthetics with special reference to railway engineering', Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Ground Improvement, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 27-43.
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Railway ballast breaks down and deteriorates progressively under train cyclic loading, and soft formation soil fails due to repetitive stress, leading to costly rail track maintenance. Using geosynthetics, track conditions can be improved and maintenance costs can be reduced. This paper addresses the potential use of geosynthetics for improving the deformation characteristics of rail ballast and formation soil. The prospective use of different types of geosynthetics was investigated using a large-scale prismoidal triaxial rig, and a plane strain finite element analysis (PLAXIS) of the rig was carried out to obtain the optimum location of geosynthetics in rail track substructure. A large-scale consolidometer was also employed to determine the effect of prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) in optimising the accelerated primary consolidation of track soft formation. This paper also includes a section where recommendations are made on how to prepare the stability of rail tracks on surface formation soils considerably disturbed/remoulded by the Asian tsunami in Sri Lanka. The research findings reveal that geosynthetics have a good potential for resilient track construction and for reducing the cost of track maintenance. Le ballast d'infrastructure ferroviaire se fracture et se détériore progressivement sous le chargement cyclique des trains et le sol de formation molle se fracture en raison de la charge répétée. Ces dégradations sont à l'origine d'une maintenance coûteuse des voies ferrées. Les conditions de ces infrastructures peuvent s'améliorer et le coût de leur maintenance diminuer grâce à l'utilisation de la géosynthétique. Cet article illustre l'application potentielle de la géosynthétique pour l'amélioration des caractéristiques de déformation du ballast des voies ferroviaires et du sol de formation. L'utilisation prospective de différents types de géosynthétique est étudiée au moyen d'un montage triaxial prismoïde et une a...

Jahirul, MI, Saidur, R, Hasanuzzaman, M, Masjuki, HH & Kalam, MA 2007, 'A comparison of the air pollution of gasoline and CNG driven car for Malaysia', International Journal of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 130-138.
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In order for saving the constrained resources and preservation of environment, the natural gas is a proven low cost and low emission alternative fuel to petroleum fuels for all types of motor vehicles. It is being widely used throughout the globe. In Malaysia, still millions of vehicles are plying on use of petroleum fuels. These fuels release huge emissions to the environment. Definitely, this adversely affects the natural ecosystem. In this backdrop, a study is felt important to predict the trend of emissions of anti-body gases released by cars in Malaysia for use of liquid fuels and natural gas between 2006 and 2020. The growth of vehicles demand has been considered alongside. The study reveals that current emission levels of different anti-body gases are huge and these can be significantly reduced by converting liquid fuel based engine into the natural gas based engine.

Kannapiran, A, Chanan, AP, Singh, G, Tambosis, P, Jeyakumaran, JM & Kandasamy, JK 2007, 'An innovative model for sustainable cost effective management of stormwater drainage assets', Water Asset Management International, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 4-11.
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Stormwater drainage is one of the important infrastructures of any modern urban city. A well planned, operated and maintained stormwater system should drain stormwater runoff effectively during normal periods and during floods. However, with rapidly expanding cities, unanticipated problems from changinf land usage, system overloading, pollution and deteriorating environment cause problems to stormwater assets and contribute to its failure. These issues are more problematic in larger and older cities where replacement is costly. Kogarah Council, a local government authority in Sydney, Australia, is anticipated to face many of the challenges this problem poses as it manages the urban water cycle system in an integrated manner to protect, restore and enhance the stormwater assets. The council owns a significant part of these assets that were constructed back in the 1930s.

Kim, S-H & Ngo, H-H 2007, 'Adsorption characteristics and pH-dependence of metsulfuron-methyl onto activated carbons', SEPARATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, vol. 42, no. 8, pp. 1731-1745.
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The adsorption characteristics of metsulfuron-methyl (MM) onto powdered activated carbon (PAC) and granular activated carbon (GAC) were studied at varying solution pHs (4–9) and temperatures (20–408C). The dependence of pH was observed in aqueous solution with MM. The film mass transfer and intraparticle diffusion coefficients were estimated from concentration decay curves obtained in the batch adsorber. The maximum adsorption capacity decreased with increasing pH and temperature. Among the PAC used, the coconut based PAC had the best adsorption capacity. The adsorption isotherms could be plotted using the Freundlich and Toth models with a reasonable degree of accuracy. The overall adsorption isotherm such as the modified-Toth model should be applied. The performances of the fixed-bed GAC system was also simulated by a model developed. The objective of the present study was to investigate the adsorption and pH dependence behavior of MM onto PAC and GAC in order to diminish the environmental risk of MM pollution.

King, AJ, Readman, JW & Zhou, JL 2007, 'Behaviour of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in dissolved, colloidal, and particulate phases in sedimentary cores', International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, vol. 87, no. 3, pp. 211-225.
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Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) has been successfully used for extracting polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from porewater samples from the Mersey Estuary, UK. The majority of the PAHs in porewater samples are associated with colloids due to the high DOC concentrations. The truly dissolved PAH concentrations varied from 66 to 1050 ng L-1 in core 2 and from 95 to 740 ng L-1 in core 3, and were dominated by naphthalene, fluoranthene, and pyrene. Although absent in the dissolved phase, the high-molecular-mass compounds were found in the colloid-associated fraction of porewater. PAHs in sediments arose from a range of compounds with 4- and 5-ring PAHs dominating. The partitioning of PAHs between sediment and porewater shows that PAHs are enriched in the sediment phase. When the soot carbon content was considered, predictions of the partition behaviour were found to agree more closely with the observed distribution. The results reiterate the importance of evaluating the speciation of organic pollutants in both porewater and sediments in order to accurately predict their environmental fate and potential toxicity. © 2007 Taylor & Francis.

Kumar, S, Nageswara Rao, B & Pradhan, B 2007, 'Effect of Impactor Parameters and Laminate Characteristics on Impact Response and Damage in Curved Composite Laminates', Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites, vol. 26, no. 13, pp. 1273-1290.
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The impact response and the impact-induced damage in a curved composite laminate subjected to transverse impact by a metallic impactor are studied using a three-dimensional finite element method. Several example problems of a graphite/epoxy cylindrical shell are considered and effects of impactor parameter (impactor velocity and impactor mass) and laminate characteristics (shell curvature and fiber orientation of plies) are established. Impact-induced damages (matrix cracking and delamination) are predicted using appropriate three-dimensional stress-based failure criteria. In order to take account of degradation of material due to damage during the impact, the stiffness matrix of the failed region of the laminate is reduced as the solution progresses.

Kwok, NM, Ha, QP, Nguyen, MT, Li, J & Samali, B 2007, 'Bouc-Wen model parameter identification for a MR fluid damper using computationally efficient GA', ISA TRANSACTIONS, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 167-179.
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A non-symmetrical Bouc-Wen model is proposed in this paper for magnetorheological (MR) fluid dampers. The model considers the effect of non-symmetrical hysteresis which has not been taken into account in the original Bouc-Wen model. The model parameters are identified with a Genetic Algorithm (GA) using its flexibility in identification of complex dynamics. The computational efficiency of the proposed GA is improved with the absorption of the selection stage into the crossover and mutation operations. Crossover and mutation are also made adaptive to the fitness values such that their probabilities need not be user-specified. Instead of using a sufficiently number of generations or a pre-determined fitness value, the algorithm termination criterion is formulated on the basis of a statistical hypothesis test, thus enhancing the performance of the parameter identification. Experimental test data of the damper displacement and force are used to verify the proposed approach with satisfactory parameter identification results. © 2007 ISA.

Lackenby, J, Indraratna, B, McDowell, G & Christie, D 2007, 'Effect of confining pressure on ballast degradation and deformation under cyclic triaxial loading', Géotechnique, vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 527-536.
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Traditional railway foundations or substructures have become increasingly overloaded in recent years, owing to the introduction of faster and heavier trains. A lack of substructure re-engineering has resulted in maintenance cycles becoming more frequent and increasingly expensive. Two significant problems arising from increasing axle loads are differential track settlement and ballast degradation. One potential method of enhancing the substructure is to manipulate the level of ballast confinement. To investigate this possibility, a series of high-frequency cyclic triaxial tests has been conducted to examine the effects of confining pressure and deviator stress magnitude on ballast deformation (permanent and resilient) and degradation. Experimental results indicate that, for each deviator stress considered, an 'optimum' range of confining pressures exists such that degradation is minimised. This range was found to vary from 15–65 kPa for a maximum deviator stress of 230 kPa to 50–140 kPa when deviatoric stresses increase to 750 kPa. Ballast specimens tested at low confining pressures indicative of current in situ conditions were characterised by excessive axial deformations, volumetric dilation, and an unacceptable degree of degradation associated mainly with angular corner breakage. The results suggest that in situ lateral pressures should be increased to counteract the axle loads of heavier trains, and practical methods of achieving increased confinement are suggested.

Law, SS, Bu, JQ, Zhu, XQ & Chan, SL 2007, 'Moving load identification on a simply supported orthotropic plate', International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, vol. 49, no. 11, pp. 1262-1275.
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Lee, S & Pradhan, B 2007, 'Landslide hazard mapping at Selangor, Malaysia using frequency ratio and logistic regression models', Landslides, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 33-41.
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Li, J, Choi, FC, Samali, B & Crews, K 2007, 'Damage localisation and severity evaluation of a beam-like timber structure based on modal strain energy and flexibility approaches', Journal of Building Appraisal, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 323-334.
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Liu, A, Wu, C, Yu, KF & Yuan, W 2007, 'Completeness and unbiased estimation of mean vector in the multivariate group sequential case', Journal of Multivariate Analysis, vol. 98, no. 3, pp. 505-516.
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We consider estimation after a group sequential test about a multivariate normal mean, such as a χ2 test or a sequential version of the Bonferroni procedure. We derive the density function of the sufficient statistics and show that the sample mean remains to be the maximum likelihood estimator but is no longer unbiased. We propose an alternative Rao-Blackwell type unbiased estimator. We show that the family of distributions of the sufficient statistic is not complete, and there exist infinitely many unbiased estimators of the mean vector and none has uniformly minimum variance. However, when restricted to truncation-adaptable statistics, completeness holds and the Rao-Blackwell estimator has uniformly minimum variance.

Liu, B, Ray, A, Thomas, PS, Klimesch, D & Guerbois, JP 2007, 'Mechanical properties of hydrothermally treated alumina-silica rich industrial waste cement systems - Effect of magnesia addition', Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 61-66.
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The utilisation of industrial waste products such as fly ash, blast furnace slag and fired claybrick, as supplementary cementing materials to produce blended Portland cement (PC) has increased worldwide in recent years. The incentive was directed towards the utilisation of wastes and industrial by-products in order to minimise PC consumption, thus reduce CO2 emissions. This study aims to investigate the potential of magnesia (MgO) as a supplementary material in combination with alumina-silica rich fired clay brick waste fines. Compressive strength results showed adverse effects on the additions of brick waste fines and MgO. However, for blended PC with the addition of both brick waste and magnesia, an apparent synergy, indicating a minimising of strength reduction, was observed. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data revealed the presence of brucite, a hydration product of MgO, in the MgO blended PC suggesting a lack of pozzolanic activity of MgO.

Liu, B, Ray, AS & Thomas, PS 2007, 'Strength development in autoclaved aluminosilicate rich industrial waste-cement systems containing reactive magnesia', Journal of the Australian Ceramic Society, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 82-87.
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Addition of supplementary cementing materials (SCM) to produce blended Portland cements (PC) is a well established practice in the manufacture of construction materials since they permit less overall consumption of PC thereby reducing CO2 emissions. This study reports findings on the strength development of autoclaved Portland cement (PC) - quartz blends where PC was partially replaced by alumina-silica rich fired clay brick waste frees, a proven SCM, and reactive magnesia. Chemical and physical properties of the mixes were characterised by means of compressive strength testing thermal analysis, x-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Liu, B, Thomas, PS, Ray, AS & Guerbois, JP 2007, 'A TG analysis of the effect of calcination conditions on the properties of reactive magnesia', JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 145-149.
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The reactivity of MgO obtained from calcination of magnesium carbonate at different temperatures has been investigated by means of hydration in a constant relative humidity environment at 40 degrees C for periods up to 24 days. Natural magnesite and AR g grade basic MgCO3 calcinated in the range of 500-1000 degrees C was characterised in terms of surface area, crystallite size, morphology, and hydration rate. It was foudn that the hydration rate is dependent on the surface area and crystallite size wwhere temperature was the main variable affecting them. The most reactive MgO was produced at the lowest calcination temperature with the highest surface area and the smallest crystallite size. The basic MgO specimens showed higher degree of hydration compared to the natural mgO specimens due to the smaller surface area and larger cyrstallite size. The low MgO content of the starting natural magnesite is also attributable to the lower reactivity. This preliminary study serves as a mean to investigate poetntial utilisation of reactive MgO asa supplementary cementitious material in eco-freindly cements.

Liu, B, Thomas, PS, Ray, AS, Williams, RP & Donne, SW 2007, 'DSC characterisation of chemically reduced electrolytic manganese dioxide', JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 177-180.
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The thermal decomposition of electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD), in an inert atmosphere, and the effect of chemical reduction on EMD, using 2-propanol under reflux (82 degrees C), was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). This study

Loganathan, P, Bretherton, MR & Hedley, MJ 2007, 'Effect of soil cultivation and winter pugging on fluorine distribution in soil profiles under pasture following long-term applications of phosphate fertilisers', AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF SOIL RESEARCH, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 41-47.
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In situations where large amounts of soil are ingested, elevated fluorine (F) concentrations in topsoil under pasture may pose a potential F risk to grazing livestock. A study conducted on a Pallic Soil (Aeric Fragiaqualf in US Soil Taxonomy) under pasture in New Zealand showed that 21 years of annual applications of phosphate fertilisers (mostly single superphosphate; mean P rate of 27 kg/ha.year; 1985-2005) significantly increased total soil F concentrations down to 150 mm soil depth but had no effect at 180-210 mm depth. The topsoil (0-30 mm depth) F concentration increased from 140 to approximately 210 mg F/kg. For agricultural soils, these topsoil F concentrations are low and are unlikely to present any risk of chronic F toxicity to livestock at present, but continuous inputs of large amounts of F through P fertiliser applications will increase topsoil F concentrations to levels that may cause F toxicity in the future if accompanied by large amounts of soil ingestion. Cultivation of soil to 150 mm depth using a mouldboard plough once every 6-9 years during pasture renovation significantly increased total soil F concentration at 60-150 mm depth but had no effect on the surface and deeper soil horizons (0-60 and 150-210 mm depths). However, the amount of post-1985 fertiliser-derived F in the 0-60 mm depth as a percentage of the total amount of post-1985 fertiliser-derived F recovered in all depths within 210 mm was less for cultivated soil (31%) than for uncultivated soil (51%), indicating that cultivation can reduce the topsoil F concentration and hence the F risk to grazing animals. Moderate winter pugging of soil caused by dairy cattle had no effect on F distribution in soil profiles. The F distribution in the surface soil horizons (0-30 and 30-60 mm depths) predicted by an empirical computer-based F model corresponded reasonably well with the measured F values. © CSIRO 2007.

Loganathan, P, Liu, Q, Hedley, MJ & Gray, CW 2007, 'Chemical fractionation of fluorine in soils with a long-term phosphate fertiliser history', AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF SOIL RESEARCH, vol. 45, no. 5, pp. 390-396.
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Elevated concentrations of fluorine (F) in pasture topsoils resulting from phosphorus (P) fertiliser (1-4% F) use are potentially toxic to grazing livestock if F absorption from ingested soil is high. Fluorine absorption by animals and the potential F toxicity is expected to vary depending on the chemical nature of the F in the ingested soil. In this paper we assess the solubility of F in 6 acidic topsoils (0-75 mm depth) under grazed pastures in New Zealand with widely different chemical characteristics, using a sequential soil P fractionation technique involving a cation/anion exchange resin, 0.1 m NaOH, 0.5 m H2SO4, and a residual fraction (17 m NaOH fusion). The results showed that F accumulates mainly in the NaOH-Fi fraction (inorganic F (Fi) adsorbed to Fe and Al oxides) and residual fractions (occluded F and recalcitrant organic F). In contrast, P accumulates mainly in the NaOH-Po (labile organic P fraction) and H2SO4-P (calcium phosphate compounds) fractions, with minor amounts in the NaOH-Pi fraction. The NaOH-Fo (labile organic F) fraction was not determined but the total F concentration calculated by summing all the extracted F fractions, except NaOH-Fo, was approximately equal to the total F concentration determined by NaOH fusion, indicating negligible F was in the NaOH-Fo fraction. Therefore, we suggest that the mechanisms of release of P and F in soils are different. Some of the F found in the residual fraction may have been derived from the previously extracted H2SO4-F fraction which was precipitated by the Al dissolved during H2SO4 extraction. It may therefore have been an artefact of the fractionation method. © CSIRO 2007.

Mahlia, TMI, Taufiq, BN, Ismail & Masjuki, HH 2007, 'Correlation between thermal conductivity and the thickness of selected insulation materials for building wall', Energy and Buildings, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 182-187.
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Manoharan, V, Loganathan, P, Tillman, RW & Parfitt, RL 2007, 'Interactive effects of soil acidity and fluoride on soil solution aluminium chemistry and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) root growth', ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION, vol. 145, no. 3, pp. 778-786.
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A greenhouse study was conducted to determine if concentrations of fluoride (F), which would be added to acid soils via P fertilisers, were detrimental to barley root growth. Increasing rates of F additions to soil significantly increased the soil solution concentrations of aluminium (Al) and F irrespective of the initial adjusted soil pH, which ranged from 4.25 to 5.48. High rates of F addition severely restricted root growth; the effect was more pronounced in the strongly acidic soil. Speciation calculations demonstrated that increasing rates of F additions substantially increased the concentrations of Al-F complexes in the soil. Stepwise regression analysis showed that it was the combination of the activities of AlF21+ and AlF2+ complexes that primarily controlled barley root growth. The results suggested that continuous input of F to soils, and increased soil acidification, may become an F risk issue in the future. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Maskaoui, K, Hibberd, A & Zhou, JL 2007, 'Assessment of the Interaction between Aquatic Colloids and Pharmaceuticals Facilitated by Cross-Flow Ultrafiltration', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 41, no. 23, pp. 8038-8043.
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Interactions between pharmaceuticals and aquatic colloids are a key process regulating their environmental fate, but poorly understood. A validated cross-flow ultrafiltration (CFUF) system was used to isolate river colloids and to determine the partition of selected pharmaceuticals between colloidal (>1 kDa but <0.7 μm) and dissolved phases (<1 kDa) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). The kinetics of pharmaceutical binding to colloids was rapid, reaching equilibrium within 5 min. The mass balance of chosen pharmaceuticals through CFLUF system was satisfactory for propranolol, sulfamethoxazole, meberverine, carbamazepine, indomethacine, diclofenac, and meclofenamic acid. The partition coefficient normalized to colloidal organic carbon content (Kcoc) varied from 5.45 × 104 to 7.54 × 105 mL/g for the chosen pharmaceuticals, which are greater than those for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), suggesting substantially stronger colloidal interactions with pharmaceuticals than with EDCs. Linear relationships were demonstrated between log-Kcoc and pharmaceutical properties such as log Kow (octanol-water partition coefficient), highlighting the importance of compound hydrophobicity in controlling their binding with colloids. Such a finding is in contrast to that for EDCs whose Kcoc values were independent of their Kow values. The CFUF-LC-MS technique has the potential to become a widely applicable tool for quantifying the distribution of emerging organic pollutants between nanoparticles and the dissolved phase. © 2007 American Chemical Society.

Maskaoui, K, Hu, Z, Zhou, J & Han, Y 2007, 'Distribution and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in main aquacultural areas in Guangdong, China', Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 166-173.
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The environmental quality status of Daya Bay (22.56-22.77°N, 114.51-114.73°E), a main aquaculture area in Guangdong of China, was investigated using 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) sediment samples of the bay. The total concentrations of 16 PAHs varied from 115 to 1 134 ng/g dry weight. The PAH composition pattern in sediments suggest dominance of 4-ring PAHs in Sites 2 and 4, and the ratio of certain related PAHs indicated important pyrolytic and petrogenic sources. The results enhance the understanding of current contamination levels and make a better assessment of likely impacts of organic contamination on ecosystems and the sustainability of local aquaculture in the area especially after the establishment of the Nuclear Power Station by the bay. © 2007 Science Press.

Memon, LA, Mahlia, TMI & Masjuki, HH 2007, 'A Review on Fuel Economy Standards and Labels for Motor Vehicles: Implementation Possibility in Pakistan', Journal of Applied Sciences, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 626-632.
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This research investigates the possibilities of potential savings and reduction in Green House Gas (GHG) emissions caused by road transport in general and private cars in particular. Private cars use a large share of the transport fuel, thus these are the major and ever increasing contributor to the GHG emissions. An extensive review of international experiences on fuel economy standards and labels, in order to encounter the problem, is carried. The possibilities of the implementation of fuel economy standards and labels for motor vehicles in Pakistan are examined. Based on the studies carried out in developed countries, results have shown that the implementation of fuel economy standards and labels for motor vehicles in developing countries like Pakistan would be beneficial for the society, government as well as environment. © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information.

Ni, B-J & Yu, H-Q 2007, 'A new kinetic approach to microbial storage process', Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, vol. 76, no. 6, pp. 1431-1438.
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Ni, B-J & Yu, H-Q 2007, 'Model-based analysis on growth of activated sludge in a sequencing batch reactor', Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, vol. 77, no. 3, pp. 723-731.
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Nimbalkar, S & Choudhury, D 2007, 'Sliding stability and seismic design of retaining wall by pseudo-dynamic method for passive case', Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 497-505.
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Onishi, A, Thomas, PS, Stuart, BH, Guerbois, JP & Forbes, S 2007, 'TG-MS characterisation of pig bone in an inert atmosphere', JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY, vol. 88, no. 2, pp. 405-409.
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A challenge for forensic examiners is the ageing and characterisation of bone fragments or decomposed skeletal remains. Due to the sensitivity of thermal methods to morphological states, thermal analysis has been selected as a technique which could overcome the difficulties. In this preliminary study, TG-MS was applied to the characterisation of bone fragments derived from the compact bone of pig rib specimens. TG-MS curves were collected by heating bone samples to 1000 degrees C in an argon atmosphere. under these conditions, both the organic and inorganic phases decomposed, producing a variety of organic fragments and carbon dioxide. Pyrolysis of the organic phase, which is composed predominantly of collagen, occurred resulting in the observation of ion fragments up to 110 amu. Selected fragments were monited and their observation is discussed in terms of the decomposition of both the collagen phase and the inorganic carbonated hydroxyapatite phase.

Petrie, J, Cohen, B & Stewart, M 2007, 'Decision support frameworks and metrics for sustainable development of minerals and metals', Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 133-145.
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Pradhan, B, Dini Hairi Bin Suliman, M & Arshad Bin Awang, M 2007, 'Forest fire susceptibility and risk mapping using remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS)', Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 344-352.
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PurposeIn a tropical country like Malaysia, forest fire is a very common natural and man‐made disaster that prevails in the whole South East Asian region throughout the year. Recently, the haze problem in Malaysia has created a lot of awareness among the government and eco‐tourism sectors. Therefore, detection of the hotspot is very important to delineate the forest fire susceptibility mapping. In this study, remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS) have been used to evaluate forest fire susceptibility at Sungai Karang and Raja Muda Musa Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia. Frequency ratio model has been applied for the delineation of forest fire mapping for the study area.Design/methodology/approachForest fire locations were identified in the study area from historical hotspots data from year 2000 to 2005 using AVHRR NOAA 12 and NOAA 16 satellite images. Various other supported data such as soil map, topographic data, and agro climate were collected and created using GIS. These data were constructed into a spatial database using GIS. The factors that influence fire occurrence, such as fuel type and Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI), were extracted from classified Landsat‐7 ETM imagery. Slope and aspect of topography were calculated from topographic database. Soil type was extracted from soil database and dry month code from agroclimate data. Forest fire susceptibility was analyzed using the forest fire occurrence factors by likelihood ratio method.FindingsA new statistical method has been applied for the forest fire susceptibility mapping. The results of the analysis were verified using forest fire location data with the help of a newly written programming code. ...

Pradhan, B, Sandeep, K, Mansor, S, Rahman Ramli, A & Sharif, ARBM 2007, 'Second generation wavelets based GIS terrain data compression using Delaunay triangulation', Engineering Computations, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 200-213.
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PurposeIn GIS applications for a realistic representation of a terrain a great number of triangles are needed that ultimately increases the data size. For online GIS interactive programs it has become highly essential to reduce the number of triangles in order to save more storing space. Therefore, there is need to visualize terrains at different levels of detail, for example, a region of high interest should be in higher resolution than a region of low or no interest. Wavelet technology provides an efficient approach to achieve this. Using this technology, one can decompose a terrain data into hierarchy. On the other hand, the reduction of the number of triangles in subsequent levels should not be too small; otherwise leading to poor representation of terrain.Design/methodology/approachThis paper proposes a new computational code (please see Appendix for the flow chart and pseudo code) for triangulated irregular network (TIN) using Delaunay triangulation methods. The algorithms have proved to be efficient tools in numerical methods such as finite element method and image processing. Further, second generation wavelet techniques popularly known as “lifting schemes” have been applied to compress the TIN data.FindingsA new interpolation wavelet filter for TIN has been applied in two steps, namely splitting and elevation. In the splitting step, a triangle has been divided into several sub‐triangles and the elevation step has been used to “modify” the point values (point coordinates for geometry) after the splitting. Then, this data set is compressed at the desired locations by using second generation wavelets.Originality/va...

Ray, A, Sriravindrarajah, R, Guerbois, J-P, Thomas, PS, Border, S, Ray, HN, Haggman, J & Joyce, P 2007, 'Evaluation ofwaste perlite fines in the production of construction materials', Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 279-283.
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The use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) is a well established practice worldwide in the manufacture of Portland cement (PC)-based construction materials. While utilisation of industrial by-products has been successful, the potential of mining wastes is yet yo receive adequate attention in the context of construction materials. In an expanded form perlite, which is a naturally occurring, hydrated volcanic siliceous glass, is an adeal material as a lightweight aggregate for usein a wide range of construction materials including concrete. The mining and processing of the grades of perlite required for the production of lightweight aggregate results inthe cereation of a fine grained waste wjhich currently hasno economic value. This paper reports preliminary data on the utilisation of waste perlite fines as a SCM in calcium silicate-based construction material and discusses the potential of this mining waste to reduce the environmental impact of the production of conventional cement-based consturction materials.

Rujikiatkamjorn, C & Indraratna, B 2007, 'Analytical solutions and design curves for vacuum-assisted consolidation with both vertical and horizontal drainage', Canadian Geotechnical Journal, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 188-200.
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A system of vertical drains combined with vacuum preloading is an effective method for promoting radial flow to accelerate soil consolidation. This study presents the analytical modeling of the consolidation of vertical drains incorporating vacuum preloading considering both vertical and horizontal drainage. The effects of a number of dimensionless parameters involving the drain length, soil permeability, and vacuum pressure are examined through average excess pore pressure, degree of consolidation, associated settlement, and time factor analyses. An analysis of selected case histories compliments the use of the proposed solutions. Design charts are also presented for practical use.Key words: analytical solution, consolidation, design charts, vertical drains.

Rujikiatkamjorn, C & Indraratna, B 2007, 'Soft ground improvement by vacuum-assisted preloading', Australian Geomechanics Journal, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 19-29.
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This paper describes the behaviour of soft soil foundation stabilized with vacuum-assisted preloading at the New Bangkok International Airport, Thailand. An analytical solution considering the variation of soil permeability and compressibility and a finite element analysis based on an equivalent plane strain model developed by the authors are employed to investigate the performance of the test embankment. The converted equivalent plane strain parameters are incorporated in the finite element code ABAQUS. The associated settlement, excess pore pressure and lateral movement are predicted and compared with the available field measurements. The data indicate that the efficiency of the prefabricated vertical drains depends on the magnitude and distribution of vacuum pressure as well as on the extent of air leak protection provided in practice. The height of sand surcharge and consolidation time are significantly reduced in comparison with the conventional method of surcharge alone. The effectiveness of this method, its economies and its merit potential are also discussed.

Rujikiatkamjorn, C, Indraratna, B & Chu, J 2007, 'Numerical modelling of soft soil stabilized by vertical drains, combining surcharge and vacuum preloading for a storage yard', Canadian Geotechnical Journal, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 326-342.
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This paper presents a finite element analysis of a case study of a combined vacuum and surcharge load through prefabricated vertical drains (PVD) at a storage yard at Port of Tianjin, China. The top 15 m of soil at this site was very soft to soft and needed to be improved using preloading surcharges of more than 140 kPa. To avoid any stability problems associated with a high surcharge embankment, 80 kPa vacuum pressure combined with fill surcharge was applied (40 and 58 kPa for sections I and II, respectively). A plane strain analysis was performed using equivalent permeability and transformed unit-cell geometry. The converted (equivalent) parameters were incorporated in the finite element code ABAQUS, using the modified Cam-Clay theory. The performance of a trial embankment at the site of the storage yard is predicted on the basis of a constant vacuum pressure applied on the soil surface and distributed along the length of the drain. The predictions of settlement, pore-water pressure, and lateral displacement were compared with the available field data, and an acceptable agreement was found based on this numerical approach. The combination of vacuum and surcharge load can effectively shorten the preloading period, reduce the height of the embankment, and counterbalance excessive lateral displacements.Key words: consolidation, finite element analysis, plane strain method, soil improvement, vertical drains.

Samali, B, Li, J, Crews, KI & Al-dawod, M 2007, 'Load rating of impaired bridges using a dynamic method', Electronic Journal of Structural Engineering, vol. 7, pp. 66-75.
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Local Government in Australia is responsible for the operational management and maintenance of over 20,000 bridges. More than 70% of these bridges comprise aging timber bridges, the load capacity and structural adequacy of many of which have been impaired over time. This is partly due to increased vehicular loads with little attention to consequence of such increases. It is now necessary to determine the load carrying capacity of these bridges using simple yet reliable methods to allow local authorities to upgrade, replace or sign post at-risk bridges. In this paper a novel dynamic based method is presented by which the in-service stiffness of the bridge is estimated first. From this stiffness the load carrying capacity of the bridge is estimated following a statistically based analysis.

Sheng, D, Wriggers, P & Sloan, SW 2007, 'Application of Frictional Contact in Geotechnical Engineering', International Journal of Geomechanics, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 176-185.
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Soil-structure interaction is traditionally simplified to prescribed boundary conditions or modeled by joint elements. Both of these approaches are limited to small and continuous relative displacements at the interface. The use of contact constraints opens up a fresh range of possibilities for geotechnical analysis, especially for cases involving large interfacial deformation. This paper demonstrates the application of computational contact mechanics in geotechnical engineering. It first outlines a general description of kinematic constraints for frictional contact and the associated numerical algorithms. A number of classical geotechnical problems are then analyzed using finite-element contact methods. These problems include a strip footing under eccentric and inclined loads and a cone penetration test. It is shown that the finite-element method with frictional contact is indeed very useful in geotechnical analysis, and can provide solutions to problems that are otherwise very difficult to analyze. © 2007 ASCE.

Shon, H, Vigneswaran, S, Kim, JH & Ngo, H 2007, 'Application of a Photocatalysis System to Wastewater: A Detailed Organic Removal of different fractions', Studies in Surface Science and Catalysis, vol. 172, pp. 559-560.
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A removal of detailed organic matter by photocatalysis was investigated in terms of molecular weight (MW) distribution and fraction (hydrophobic (HP), transphilic (TP) and hydrophilic (HL)). The photooxidation with TiO, removed the majority of MW (263 daltons, 580, 865, and 43109). Effluent organic matter (EfOM) removal in wastewater was high (80%) for HP and TP components. EfOM removal from the HL fraction was however minimum, suggesting that the HL fraction may be the fraction of low activity in photocatalytic degradation. Thus, the HL fraction has to be removed from BTSE in the application of photocatalysis for the purpose of wastewater reuse

Shon, HK, Smith, PJ, Vigneswaran, S & Ngo, HH 2007, 'Effect of a hydrodynamic cleaning of a cross-flow membrane system with a novel automated approach', DESALINATION, vol. 202, no. 1-3, pp. 351-360.
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The effect of different hydraulic cleaning methods was investigated in terms of flux decline and resistance using the cross-flow UF unit. The use of varied production intervals, varied ratios of periodic relaxation and the use of a periodic high-rate cro

Shon, HK, Vigneswaran, S, Kim, IS, Cho, J, Kim, GJ, Kim, JB & Kim, J-H 2007, 'Preparation of titanium dioxide (TiO2) from sludge produced by titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) flocculation of wastewater', ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 1372-1377.
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Sludge disposal is one of the most costly and environmentally problematic challenges of modern wastewater treatment worldwide. In this study, a new process was developed, which has a significant potential for lower cost of waste disposal, protection of the environment and public health, and yield of economically useful byproducts. Titanium oxide (TiO2), which is the most widely used metal oxide, was produced from the wastewater sludge generated by the flocculation of secondary wastewater with titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4). Detailed analyses were conducted to compare TiCl 4, ferric chloride (FeCl3), and aluminum sulfate (Al 2(SO4)3) flocculation. Removal of organic matter and different molecular sizes by Ti-salt flocculation was similar to that of the most widely used Fe- and Al-salt flocculation. The mean size of Ti-, Fe-, and Al-salt flocs was 47.5, 42.5, and 16.9 μm, respectively. The decantability of the settled flocs by TiCl4 coagulant was similar to that by FeCl3 coagulant and much higher than that of Al 2(SO4)3. The photocatalyst from wastewater (PFW) produced by TiCl4 flocculation was characterized by X-ray diffraction, BET surface area, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray, transmission electron microscopy, photocatalytic activity, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The resulting PFW was found to be superior to commercial TiO2 (P-25) in terms of photocatalytic activity and surface area. The PFW was also found to be mainly doped with C and P atoms. The atomic percentage of the PFW was TiO1.42C0.44P 0.14. © 2007 American Chemical Society.

Shon, HK, Vigneswaran, S, Kim, J-H & Ngo, HH 2007, 'Application of hybrid photocatalysis systems coupled with flocculation and adsorption to biologically treated sewage effluent for organic removal', KOREAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 618-623.
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The application of a photocatalysis hybrid system coupled with flocculation and adsorption in treating biologically treated sewage effluent (BTSE) was investigated. The removal of organic matter was studied in terms of dissolved organic matter (DOC), removal of hydrophobic (HP), transphilic (TP) and hydrophilic (HL) fractions, and molecular weight (MW) distribution. The photooxidation removed the majority of MW (263, 580, 865, and 43109 daltons) within the first 30 minutes of operation. The removal of MW range of organic matter of 330 daltons was low. DOC removal of HP and TP was high (80%). DOC removal from HL fraction was, however, minimum. The photocatalytic system with simultaneous PAC adsorption and FeCl3 flocculation removed the effluent organic matter (EfOM) up to 90%. Therefore, photocatalysis with the ferric chloride (FeCl3) flocculation and PAC adsorption hybrid system can be a possible option in the removal of DOC from BTSE for water reuse. © 2007 Springer.

Shon, HK, Vigneswaran, S, Ngo, HH, Kim, J-H & Kandasamy, J 2007, 'Effect of flocculation as a pretreatment to photocatalysis in the removal of organic matter from wastewater', SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 388-391.
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Effects of different flocculants (chloride-based salts and ferric and ferrous salts) and initial organic concentration of wastewater on flocculation-photocatalysis hybrid process were investigated. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) adsorption alone, flocculation a

Sirivivatnanon, V, Castel, A, Francois, R, Li, CQ & Zheng, JJ 2007, 'Propagation of reinforcement corrosion in concrete and its effects on structural deterioration - Discussion', MAGAZINE OF CONCRETE RESEARCH, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 151-154.

Smallwood, A, Thomas, PS, Ray, AS & Simon, P 2007, 'TMA and SEM characterization of the thermal dehydration of australian sedimentary opal', JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 185-188.
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The dehydration of samples of a Coober Pedy, South Australian sedimentary white opal, displaying play of colour, was investigated using TMA by heating the samples of the specimen to a range of temperatures between room temperature and 1000 at 200 degrees

Stewart, MG & Mullard, JA 2007, 'Spatial time-dependent reliability analysis of corrosion damage and the timing of first repair for RC structures', Engineering Structures, vol. 29, no. 7, pp. 1457-1464.
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This paper presents a spatial time-dependent reliability analysis to predict the likelihood and extent of cracking for reinforced concrete structures exposed to chloride ion attack. A reinforced concrete surface is discretised into a large number of smaller elements and random field methods used to simulate the variability of the concrete damage over the entire area. Models predicting corrosion initiation and propagation, crack initiation and crack growth are used to track the evolution of the corrosion process for each element and thus allow the extent of damage as a function of time to be determined. A range of durability design specifications are investigated and maintenance thresholds are defined as being reached when a specified proportion of the bridge deck is damaged, say 1%. This will enable the minimum time to first repair to be estimated. The results provide a comparative tool to assist designers in selecting design specifications and possible maintenance regimes to achieve an optimal outcome in terms of service-life and life-cycle cost of the structure. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stewart, MG, Mullard, JA, Drake, BJ & Al-Harthy, AS 2007, 'Utility of spatially variable damage performance indicators for improved safety and maintenance decisions of deteriorating infrastructure', Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 149-163.
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Corrosion of concrete and structural steel is a primary cause of deterioration of built infrastructure. This deterioration can cause reduced load capacity and on-going and costly maintenance and repair. Typically, this corrosion can be seen on structures to be spatially variable. Few studies have considered the effect of spatial variability of corrosion on structural performance and its effect on structural reliability. Random fields may be used to consider the temporal and spatial deterioration effects on structural performance, and performance indicators may include probability of extent of damage or structural reliability. In the present article, four case studies showing the benefits of using spatially variable damage performance indicators are discussed, for structural steel and reinforced concrete structures. It will be shown how spatially variable damage performance indicators will allow for more informed decision-making about the level of safety and the selection of optimal maintenance and repair strategies.

Sun, D, Sheng, D & Sloan, SW 2007, 'Elastoplastic modelling of hydraulic and stress–strain behaviour of unsaturated soils', Mechanics of Materials, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 212-221.
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Sun, D, Sheng, D & Xu, Y 2007, 'Collapse behaviour of unsaturated compacted soil with different initial densities', Canadian Geotechnical Journal, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 673-686.
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Very few experimental data on the mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils exists, particularly on the collapse behaviour under general stress states, because of the technical difficulties and time-consuming nature of measuring suction and deformation. This paper presents the results of a series of controlled-suction triaxial tests on the collapse behaviour of an unsaturated compacted clay with different initial dry densities and suctions. The collapse behaviour here includes deformation characteristics, such as volume changes, and hydraulic characteristics, such as saturation changes. It is found that the wetting-caused collapse mainly depends on the mean net stress and the initial density, and that the volume decrease reaches a maximum when the specimen is under the initial yielding mean net stress. It is also found that the soil-water characteristic curve in terms of suction and degree of saturation shifts upwards with increasing specimen density. The soil-water characteristic curve of a compacted soil mainly depends upon the current density, not directly upon the stress state. In addition, experimental data show that the collapse occurs mainly in an intermediate range of suction levels, which are neither very high nor very low, and that the wetting-caused volume decrease is accompanied by an increase in the degree of saturation.Key words: unsaturated soil, density, triaxial test, suction, collapse, degree of saturation.

Sun, DA, Cui, HB, Matsuoka, H & Sheng, DC 2007, 'A Three-Dimensional Elastoplastic Model for Unsaturated Compacted Soils with Hydraulic Hysteresis', Soils and Foundations, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 253-264.
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Sun, DA, Sheng, DC, Cui, HB & Sloan, SW 2007, 'A density‐dependent elastoplastic hydro‐mechanical model for unsaturated compacted soils', International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, vol. 31, no. 11, pp. 1257-1279.
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AbstractThis paper presents a three‐dimensional elastoplastic constitutive model for predicting the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils. It is based on experimental results obtained from a series of controlled‐suction triaxial tests on unsaturated compacted clay with different initial densities. Hydraulic hysteresis in the water‐retention behaviour is modelled as an elastoplastic process, with the elastic part modelled by a series of scanning curves and the elastoplastic part modelled by the main drying and wetting curves. The effect of void ratio on the water‐retention behaviour is studied using data obtained from controlled‐suction wetting–drying cyclic tests on unsaturated compacted clay with different initial densities. The effect of the degree of saturation on the stress–strain‐strength behaviour and the effect of void ratio on the water‐retention behaviour are considered in the model, as is the effect of suction on the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour. The initial density dependency of the compacted soil behaviour is modelled by experimental relationships between the initial density and the corresponding yield stress and, thereby, between the initial density and the normal compression line. The model is generalized to three‐dimensional stress states by assuming that the shapes of the failure and yield surfaces in the deviatoric stress plane are given by the Matsuoka–Nakai criterion. Model predictions of the stress–strain and water‐retention behaviour are compared with those obtained from triaxial tests with different initial densities under isotropic compression, triaxial compression and triaxial extension, with or without variation in suction. The comparisons indicate that the model accurately predicts the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of unsaturated compacted soils with different initial densities using the same material constant. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Taufiq, BN, Masjuki, HH, Mahlia, TMI, Saidur, R, Faizul, MS & Niza Mohamad, E 2007, 'Second law analysis for optimal thermal design of radial fin geometry by convection', Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 27, no. 8-9, pp. 1363-1370.
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Thomas, PS, Simon, P, Smallwood, A & Ray, AS 2007, 'Estimation of the diffusion coefficient of water evolved during the non-isothermal dehydration of Australian sedimentary opal', JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 231-235.
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The dehydration of an opal specimen was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TG) in powder and bulk forms. The change in geometry resulted in a significant difference in the temperature range in which dehydration occurred with peak temperatures in the differential TG (DTG) curve for the hand ground opal at 203 degrees Cand for the bulk opal at 340 degrees C. This difference waa attributed to time taken for diffusion of feree water in the bulk opal tothe specimen surface prior to evolution as a registered mass loss. A model was proposed to account for the diffusion of water and was used to estimate the diffusion coefficient.

Tijing, LD, Pak, BC, Baek, BJ, Lee, DH & Cho, YI 2007, 'An experimental study on the bulk precipitation mechanism of physical water treatment for the mitigation of mineral fouling', International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 34, no. 6, pp. 673-681.
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Vidal, T, Castel, A & François, R 2007, 'Corrosion process and structural performance of a 17 year old reinforced concrete beam stored in chloride environment', Cement and Concrete Research, vol. 37, no. 11, pp. 1551-1561.
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Vigneswaran, S, Guo, WS, Smith, P & Ngo, HH 2007, 'Submerged membrane adsorption hybrid system (SMAHS): process control and optimization of operating parameters', DESALINATION, vol. 202, no. 1-3, pp. 392-399.
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This study is to investigate the effect of operating parameters of submerged membrane adsorption hybrid system (SMAHS) such as preadsorption and powdered activated carbon requirement, aeration, filtration flux; There is an optimum value for each of the o

Vigneswaran, S, Shon, HK, Kandasamy, J & Shim, WG 2007, 'Performance of granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption and Biofiltration in the treatment of biologically treated sewage effluent', SEPARATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, vol. 42, no. 14, pp. 3101-3116.
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In this study, the performance of GAC adsorption and biofiltration systems in treating biological treated sewage effluent (BTSE) was evaluated in terms of organic removal efficiency, organic fractions, and molecular weight distribution (MW) of organic matter (OM) removed. The GAC biofilter removed 23.5% and 61% of the hydrophobic fractions and hydrophilic fractions of OM in the BTSE respectively. MW distribution studies of GAC filter and GAC adsorption revealed the following: Hydrophobic fraction of the effluent showed a peak at 345 dalton after GAC biofiltration and 256 dalton after GAC adsorption, whereas, with hydrophilic fractions, peaks at 46,178 and 345 daltons were observed after GAC biofiltration and peaks at 46,178 and 256 daltons after GAC adsorption. Transphilic fraction showed the peaks at 12,783 dalton with GAC biofiltration, and 1,463 dalton with GAC adsorption. The performance of the GAC biofilter was successfully mathematically modelled.

Walker, R & Indraratna, B 2007, 'Vertical drain consolidation with overlapping smear zones', Géotechnique, vol. 57, no. 5, pp. 463-467.
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Wang, JG & Wang, J 2007, 'Adaptive Tropospheric Delay Modelling in GPS/INS/Pseudolite Integration for Airborne Surveying', Journal of Global Positioning Systems, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 142-148.
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Integrated GPS/INS systems have been used for geo-referencing airborne surveying and mapping platforms. However, due to the limited constellation of GPS satellites and their geometric distribution, the accuracy of such integraed systems cannot meet the requirements of precise airborne surveying. This problem can be addressed by including additional GPS-like ranging signals transmitted from the ground-based pseudolites (PLs). As GPS measurement geometry can be strengthened dramatically by the PL augmentation, systems accuracy and reliability can be improved, especially in the vertical component. Nevertheless, some challenges exist for PLs augmentation. As PLs are relatively close to the receivers, the unit vectors from a PL to reference and rover receivers can be significantly different. PL tropospheric delay modelling errors cannot be effectively mitigated in differencing procedure. Furthermore, PL signals propagate through the lower troposphere, where it is very difficult to accurately model the signal delay due to temporal and spatial variations of meteorological parameters. An adaptive PL tropospheric delay modelling method is developed to reduce modelling error by estimating meteorological parameters in a model. The performance of this method is evaluated with field test data. The testing has shown that the PL tropospheric delay modelling error can be effectively mitigated by the proposed method.

White, R, Thomas, PS, Philips, MR, Wuhrer, R & Guerbois, JP 2007, 'TG-MS characterization of the reaction products of cadmium yellow and malachite artist's pigments', JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 181-184.
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The deleterious interaction of some traditional sulphide artists pigments and copper ions results in the formation of black copper sulphides, in particular, covellite (CuS), and, hence, the discolouration of valuable artworks. In this paper the interaction of malachite, a source of copper(II) ions, with the pigment cadmium yellow, a sulphide pigment comprising of a solid solution of cadmium and zinc sulphides, is investigated by XRD and TG-MS. XRD showed the presence of the copper sulphide and cadmium carbonate phases, produced by a simple ion exchange mechanism. TG-MS showed the complexity of the range of metastable phases produced. The identification of these phases, however, requires further work. © Springer-Verlag 2007.

Widjaja, J, Samali, B & Li, J 2007, 'Erratum: The use of displacement threshold for switching frequency strategy for structural vibration mitigation (Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology (2007) 21 (865-869))', Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, vol. 21, no. 10, p. 1756.
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Widjaja, J, Samali, B & Li, J 2007, 'The use of displacement threshold for switching frequency strategy for structural vibration mitigation', Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 865-869.
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Wu, C & Hao, H 2007, 'Numerical simulation of structural response and damage to simultaneous ground shock and airblast loads', International Journal of Impact Engineering, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 556-572.
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Wu, C & Hao, H 2007, 'Safe Scaled Distance for Masonry Infilled RC Frame Structures Subjected to Airblast Loads', Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 422-431.
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Wu, C & Liu, A 2007, 'An adaptive approach for bivariate phase II clinical trial designs', Contemporary Clinical Trials, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 482-486.
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In designing a phase II cancer clinical trial monitoring simultaneously the response and toxicity rate of a therapeutic agent, the odds ratio has to be specified. The false positive or Type I error rate, however, can be substantially inflated if the specified value is considerably larger than the true odds ratio. To overcome the sensitivity of the error rates to the odds ratio, an adaptive procedure is proposed which allows the sample size to be re-estimated based on observed odds ratio. Simulation results show that the procedure is robust against the odds ratio assumptions and controls effectively the Type I error rate. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Wu, C, Liu, A & Yu, KF 2007, 'An Adaptive Approach to Designing Comparative Diagnostic Accuracy Studies', Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 116-125.
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Comparative diagnostic studies usually involve comparison of the area under receiver operating characteristic curves when biomarkers are measured on a continuous or ordinal scales. In designing such studies, specification of a number of nuisance parameters is often required to compute sample sizes. When these parameters are incorrectly specified, statistical power to detect a meaningful difference in area can be substantially adversely affected. We propose an adaptive method to calculate the sample size and show these procedures to be effective in controlling error rates. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Wu, C, Oehlers, DJ, Wachl, J, Glynn, C, Spencer, A, Merrigan, M & Day, I 2007, 'Blast Testing of RC Slabs Retrofitted with NSM CFRP Plates', Advances in Structural Engineering, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 397-414.
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In this paper, blast testing was performed on two reinforced concrete specimens: a plain reinforced concrete (RC) specimen; and an identical RC specimen retrofitted with near surface mounted (NSM) carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates. Each specimen was subjected to two separate explosive loads at a standoff distance of 0.6m, with the aim of investigating the performances of both specimens within both their elastic and plastic response ranges. The first blast (Blast 1) and second blast (Blast 2) consisted of an equivalent TNT charge weight of 0.079kg and 2.09kg respectively. The elastic-range responses of both specimens after the small shot (Blast 1), such as acceleration and deflection were obtained and comparisons were made between the specimens. The plastic performances of both specimens, such as tension face scabbing, crack patterns, plastic hinges and permanent deflection, after the large shot (Blast 2) were also analysed and compared. A number of unique failures and behaviours of both specimens were observed, investigated and analyzed. The test results provide a vital direction in the development of an optimal retrofit in future research.

Wu, CQ, Sun, WB & John, OD 2007, 'Optimal design of RC panels against blast loads using energy-based approach', Jiefangjun Ligong Daxue Xuebao/Journal of PLA University of Science and Technology (Natural Science Edition), vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 645-651.
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Displacement-controlled approach is now being used by current guidelines such as TM5 and ASCE to design RC structures against blast loads. Although this method is easy to use, it may not obtain an optimal design. Actually the area under the resistance-deflection curve of a RC member represents its energy-absorption and thus a slab with different reinforcement ratios absorbs energy differently. The optimal reinforcement ratio for a slab corresponds to its maximum energy absorption capacity. A layered analytical model which allows for the varying strain rates over the cross-section was used to calculate a bilinear resistance-deflection relationship for a simply supported slab with different ratios so that the maximum energy absorption capacity of the slab as well as its optimal reinforcement ratio could be determined. Geometric size of the slab on the influence of the optimal reinforcement ratio was also investigated. The developed method is very useful to facilitate an optimal design to resist air-blast loads.

Zhang, R, Vigneswaran, S, Ngo, H & Nguyen, H 2007, 'A submerged membrane hybrid system coupled with magnetic ion exchange (MIEX®) and flocculation in wastewater treatment', Desalination, vol. 216, no. 1-3, pp. 325-333.
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Wastewater treated by conventional secondary and tertiary processes cannot be reused directly without further treatment. The membrane process can achieve a high quality effluent, but membrane fouling caused by organic matter affects membrane performance and operating cost. MIEX® resin can effectively remove the majority of small MW dissolved organic in wastewater (345-688 Dalton). Flocculation with an optimum dose of ferric chloride (24 mg/L as Fe) gave a higher removal of DOC, especially for removing the middle range of MW organics in wastewater (688-1421 Dalton). MIEX® and flocculation followed by submerged membrane system led to a very high DOC removal of more than 90-95% UVabs. This membrane hybrid system could maintain a transmembrane pressure of less than 8 kPa even after 8 h of operation thus reducing membrane fouling. © 2007.

Zhang, Y, Zhou, JL & Ning, B 2007, 'Photodegradation of estrone and 17β-estradiol in water', Water Research, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 19-26.
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The TiO2-assisted photodegradation of two natural female hormones, estrone (E1) and 17β-estradiol (E2), was investigated in two UV-photo-reactors, followed by solid-phase extraction and analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The degradation of E1 and E2 in both reactors followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. In reactor 1 (150 W), 97% of compounds were degraded within 4 h of irradiation. Even more rapid degradation was observed in reactor 2 (15 W) where 98% of both compounds disappeared within 1 h, due to the shorter wavelength of UV-light in reactor 2 (fixed at 253 nm) than reactor 1 (238-579 nm). The influences of different initial chemical concentrations, pH value, the presence of dissolved organic matter and hydrogen dioxide, and the catalyst concentration on the degradation rate of E1 and E2 in aqueous solutions were investigated. The results show that the extent of photo-induced degradation of E1 and E2 strongly depends on the water constituents in solution. The degradation rate was increased when pH value was increased from 2 to 7.6, beyond which the degradation rate started to decrease. The presence of humic acid enhanced the degradation of E1 and E2 in both reactors as a result of photosensitisation effect of humic acid chromophore. The degradation rate increased with an increase in H2O2 concentration. The degradation rate was also enhanced by increasing catalyst concentration up to 2 g/l. The findings therefore suggest that photocatalysis can be a very effective method of rapidly removing certain EDCs from water. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Zhang, ZL & Zhou, JL 2007, 'Simultaneous determination of various pharmaceutical compounds in water by solid-phase extraction–liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry', Journal of Chromatography A, vol. 1154, no. 1-2, pp. 205-213.
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A solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS-MS) method was developed and validated for simultaneous analysis of 11 pharmaceutical residues (propranolol, sulfamethoxazole, meberverine, thioridazine, carbamazepine, tamoxifen, mecoprop, indomethacine, diclofenac, meclofenamic acid and monensin) in environmental water samples. The collision energy chosen for the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) experiment was optimised. A number of parameters that may affect the recovery of the pharmaceuticals, such as the type of SPE cartridges, eluents, as well as water properties including pH value, salinity and concentration of colloid and surfactant were investigated. It is shown that the Oasis HLB SPE cartridge produced the best recoveries of the target pharmaceuticals while methanol was efficient in eluting pharmaceuticals from SPE cartridges. The recovery of some target compounds was enhanced with increasing salinity, but reduced by increasing pH value, and unaffected by surfactant concentration (0-10 μg/l). The recovery of most compounds was slightly increased by the presence of colloids (0-10 mg/l), which however caused a reduction in recovery for sulfamethoxazole and meberverine. The optimised method was further verified by performing spiking experiments in river water and seawater matrices, with good recovery and reproducibility for all except two compounds. The established method was successfully applied to environmental water samples from East Sussex, UK, for the determination of the target pharmaceuticals. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Zhou, JL, Liu, R, Wilding, A & Hibberd, A 2007, 'Sorption of Selected Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals to Different Aquatic Colloids', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 206-213.
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The sorption of seven endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) to aquatic colloids was determined by cross-flow ultrafiltration (CFUF) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results show that the colloidal organic carbon normalized sorption coefficient (Kcoc) of EDCs to different aquatic colloids varies by a factor of 6-12 because such colloids are of different origin. Through characterization of colloidal samples, a significant relationship was established between Kcoc values and the molar extinction coefficient of colloids at 280 nm, whereas no other colloidal properties such as elemental ratios were correlated with Kcoc values. The results are consistent with other reports of the importance of the quality of sorbents such as their aromatic carbon content in sorbing various organic pollutants. The presence of a surfactant was found to increase Kcoc values for estrone (E1) and 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2). The method was subsequently applied for determining EDC concentrations in field samples, where both conventional and truly dissolved EDCs showed higher concentrations close to sewage outfalls than either upstream or downstream, confirming the source-concentration relationship. In addition, the truly dissolved EDC concentrations were lower than the conventional dissolved concentrations, confirming that there were interactions between aquatic colloids and EDCs. It is estimated that between 10 and 29% of EDCs are associated with aquatic colloids. As colloids are highly abundant in rivers and ocean, they will therefore play a significant role in the environmental behavior and fate of EDCs. © 2007 American Chemical Society.

Zhu, XQ & Law, SS 2007, 'A concrete–steel interface element for damage detection of reinforced concrete structures', Engineering Structures, vol. 29, no. 12, pp. 3515-3524.
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Zhu, XQ & Law, SS 2007, 'Damage Detection in Simply Supported Concrete Bridge Structure Under Moving Vehicular Loads', Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, vol. 129, no. 1, pp. 58-65.
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A method for damage detection of a simply supported concrete bridge structure in time domain is presented using the interaction forces from the moving vehicles as excitation. The vehicular loads are modeled as a group of vehicle-bridge interaction forces moving at a prescribed velocity, and the bridge is modeled as an Euler-Bernoulli beam simply supported at both ends. A damage function is used to simulate the crack damage in the reinforced concrete beam. The vehicle-bridge interaction forces and the structural damage in the bridge deck are identified from the measured responses in sequence of iteration without prior knowledge of the moving loads. The effects of parameters of the vehicle-bridge system and measurement noise on the damage detection result are studied. Simulation results show that the method is effective and noise insensitive to damage detection in the concrete bridge structure under moving vehicular loads.

Zhu, XQ & Law, SS 2007, 'Nonlinear Characteristics of Damaged Reinforced Concrete Beam from Hilbert-Huang Transform', Journal of Structural Engineering, vol. 133, no. 8, pp. 1186-1191.
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Ball, JE 1970, 'Assessing the Quantity and Quality of Runoff From An Urban Roof Catchment', Proc. 7th International Rainwater Conference, Proc. 7th International Rainwater Conference, Sydney, Australia.

Ball, JE & Alexander, M 1970, 'Modelling Street Surface Runoff', Hydroinformatics 2006, International Conference on Hydroinformatics, Research Publishing Services, Nice, France, pp. 288-295.

Ball, JE & Choi, KS 1970, 'Hydroinformatics and its influence on the parameter estimation problem in catchment simulation', Proc. Workshop on Advances in Hydroinformatics, Proc. Workshop on Advances in Hydroinformatics, Niagara Falls, ON, Canada.

Chakraborty, S & Yeh, CH 1970, 'Comparing normalization procedures in multiattribute decision making under various problem settings', Proceedings of CITA'07 : The fifth international conference on information technology in Asia 2007, Fifth International Conference on Information Technology in Asia, Universiti Malaysia sarawak, Malaysia, pp. 36-42.

Chakraborty, S & Yeh, C-H 1970, 'A simulation based comparative study of normalization procedures in multiattribute decision making', AIKED'07 Proceedings of the 6th Conference on 6th WSEAS Int. Conf. on Artificial Intelligence, Knowledge Engineering and Data Bases - Volume 6, World Scientific and Engineering Academy and Society (WSEAS), Corfu Island, Greece, pp. 102-109.
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Normalization procedures are required in multiattribute decision making (MADM) to transform performance ratings with different data measurement units in a decision matrix into a compatible unit. MADM methods generally use one particular normalization procedure without considering the suitability of other available procedures. This study compares four commonly known normalization procedures in terms of their ranking consistency and overall preference value consistency when used with the most widely used simple additive weight method. To achieve this, new performance measure indices are introduced and new simulation settings are devised for dealing with various measurement settings. A wide range of MADM problems with various measurement scales are generated by simulation for the comparison study. The experiment result shows that vector normalization and linear scale transformation (the max method) outperforms other normalization procedures when used with SAW.

Choi, FC, Li, J, Samali, B & Crews, K 1970, 'Damage evaluation of a timber beam using a modal-based method', Progress in Mechanics of Structures and Materials - Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, ACMSM19, Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, Taylor and Francis, Christchurch, New Zealand, pp. 1005-1010.
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In Australia, many timber bridges are old and increasingly experience deterioration, aging and traffic overloading problems. These have attracted attention of researchers to evaluate the current state of such bridges. Whilst proof-load testing and traditional nondestructive evaluation (NDE) provide valuable tools, such procedures are often time consuming and costly. For bridge structures, to develop effective NDE at global level viz damage identification and structural health monitoring using modal-based damage identification methods have engrossed recent worldwide research efforts. However, to date there are few works reported on timber bridges using modal-based damage identification methods to evaluate their state of health. In this paper, modal-based damage identification methods for localization of damage in timber bridges are presented based on finite element analysis (FEA) and test results of a timber beam. Two algorithms of global NDE for identifying local damage and decay in timber structures are investigated. The methods employ modal parameters that monitor changes in modal strain energy (MSE) based on curvature mode shapes of a damaged beam with respect to the undamaged one. The aim of the study is to investigate the capability and limitations of the proposed algorithms for detecting damage with multiple damage scenarios in timber structures. Between the two proposed modal based damage identification algorithms, the modified method has shown better results in solving multiple damage problems. © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, London.

Crews, K 1970, 'Defining appropriate limit states for design of timber connections in Australia and New Zealand', Progress in Mechanics of Structures and Materials - Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, ACMSM19, Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, Taylor & Francis (Balkema), Christchurch, New Zealand, pp. 1011-1016.
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Both Australia and New Zealand design standards for timber structures are in limit states format, but these are first generation soft conversions of previous working stress design standards. It is anticipated that development of a new combined Australian and New Zealand standard for design of timber structures will commence shortly. There is a shared view amongst some researchers that the current approach is limited, since it does not distinguish between serviceability and 'ultimate' strength events and is not particularly relevant for connections in high performance timber structures. This paper discusses these matters and presents an overview of relevant literature and research work that has been undertaken to date, with recommendations for future development. © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, London.

Dempsey, T, Ngo, H, Palmer, CG & Guo, W 1970, 'Application of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to a Typical Nursery Industry in Australia', Proceedings of International Conference on Cleaner Technologies and Environmental Management, International Conference on Cleaner Technologies and Environmental Management, Allied Publishers Pvt. Ltd., India, pp. 15-20.
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Ding, GK, Smith, PV & Yan, L 1970, 'The cost management system in China - The impact of social and economic reforms in the construction industry', Proceedings of CRIOCM 2007 International Research Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate, Construction Management and Real Estate International Symposium, The Chinese Research Institute of Construction Management, Sydney, pp. 660-669.

Ding, GKC 1970, 'The evaluation of environmentally sustainable residential development using a building sustainability index', Association of Researchers in Construction Management, ARCOM 2007 - Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Conference, Association of Researchers in Construction Management Annual Conference, ARCOM Association of Researchers in Construction Management, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK, pp. 851-860.
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Green homes or eco-homes have been built in many countries and have played an important role in setting a benchmark in ecologically sensitive housing and guiding industry in the design and construction of sustainable houses. According to the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources a new dwelling is built every 14 minutes in New South Wales, Australia. This paper examines the introduction of an online tool the Building and Sustainability Index (BASIX) as mandatory to all residential developments in New South Wales. It is two and half years since the introduction of the index and yet no attempt has been made to ascertain its impact on the construction industry. An online survey was conducted to ascertain this impact and it was found that free access to the tool via internet was one of the main reasons for its success. It was also generally accepted that the tool has played a significant role in providing a general guideline for the sustainability performance of a proposed development. This paper discusses the results of the survey.

Ding, GKC & Runeson, G 1970, 'A basix tool for environmental assessment of residential buildings - An australian approach', CME 2007 Conference - Construction Management and Economics: 'Past, Present and Future', Construction Management and Economics Conference, University of Reading, UK, Reading, UK, pp. 931-939.
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The rapidly growing population in New South Wales (NSW) is the driving force behind the growth in new housing. The environmental impact in terms of land use, energy and resource consumption will significantly impede the supply of new housing. In NSW, sustainable housing has become an important focus of the government's housing policy. In response to the need for sustainable housing, the government launched a sustainability assessment tool called BASIX in July 2004 to assess and establish indoor thermal comfort, water and energy efficiency targets, and sustainability levels. The introduction of BASIX has had a profound impact on the construction industry. In order to ascertain the extent of impact, an online survey was conducted among construction professionals in NSW in March 2006. The tool has played a significant role in providing a general guideline for the sustainability performance of proposed developments. It serves as a means to make people think about water and energy saving initiatives, and to encourage good design practice without excessive additions to the cost of a new building. However, there is the opinion that there is more to be done such as control of waste and energy usage in the manufacturing of building materials.

Ding, L-N, Hao, H & Zhu, X-Q 1970, 'Evaluation of dynamic vehicle axle loads on bridges of different surface conditions', STRUCTURAL CONDITION ASSESSMENT, MONITORING AND IMPROVEMENT, VOLS 1 AND 2, 2nd International Conference on Structural Condition Assessment, Monitoring and Improvement (SCAMI-2), SCIENCE PRESS BEIJING, PEOPLES R CHINA, Changsha, pp. 670-676.

Fang, T & Ball, JE 1970, 'Genetic Algorithms for Calibrating a Catchment Modelling System with Spatially Variable Parameters', Hydroinformatics 2006, International Conference on Hydroinformatics, Research Publishing Services, Nice, France, pp. 1251-1258.

Far, H 1970, 'Effects of SoilStructure Interaction on Seismic Behavior of Ductile Reinforced Concrete Moment Resisting Frames', Proceedings of World Housing Congress on Affordable Quality Housing (WHC2007), World Housing Congress on Affordable Quality Housing (WHC2007), University Putra Malaysia (UPM), Terengganu, Malaysia.
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Neglecting of the effects of soil-structure interaction in modelling of building structures founded on a non-rigid ground as fixed-base columns on a rigid base, creates this concern that the responds obtained from seismic analyses may differ from those on actual structures. As the Iranian Code of Practice for Seismic Resistant Design of Buildings (Standard No. 2800-05) does not address the soil-structure interaction explicitly, the effects of such interaction on behaviour of reinforced concrete buildings with ductile moment-resisting frames, loaded and designed according to the Iranian Building Codes, are studied in this research, using direct soil-structure interaction method. To achieve this objective, four types of structures consisting of 3, 5, 7 and 10 story buildings, which represent the typical buildings in a high risk earthquake prone zone, have been selected in conjunction with three types of soil, representing types II, III and IV, as classified in the Iranian Standard No. 2800-05. Ductile Reinforced Concrete Moment-Resisting Frames, as fixed-base structures, once without soil interaction and the next time considering their soil interaction by direct method are modelled and subjected to different earthquake records. The results of the two cases subjected each to different earthquake records are studied and compared. The Results obtained from these studies indicate that consideration of soil-structure interaction for seismic design, in buildings higher than five stories on soil type IV (Vs<175 m/s) as well as buildings higher than seven stories on soil type III (175

Fatahi, B, Indraratna, B & Khabbaz, H 1970, 'Analysing Soft Ground Improvement Caused by Tree Root Suction', Advances in Measurement and Modeling of Soil Behavior, Geo-Denver 2007, American Society of Civil Engineers, Denver, Colorado, USA, pp. 6-10.
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Bioengineering aspects of native vegetation are currently being evolved to improve soil stiffness, slope stabilisation, and erosion control. Vegetation contributes to weak soil stabilisation through reinforcement of the soil, dissipation of excess pore pressures, and increasing the shear strength by induced matric suction. This paper looks at the way that vegetation influences soil matric suction, shrinkage, and ground settlement. A theoretical model previously developed by the authors for the rate of tree root water uptake together with an associated numerical simulation is used in this study. A conical shape is considered to represent the geometry of the tree root zone. Based on this proposed model, the distribution of moisture and the matric suction profile adjacent to the tree are numerically analysed. Field measurements taken from previously published literature are compared with numerical predictions for further validation. The predicted results compared favourably with the measured results, justifying the assumptions upon which the model was developed. It is desirable to consider the influence zone of tree roots and the improved soil properties in modern geotechnical designs, benefiting from native vegetation. Copyright ASCE 2007.

Fatahi, B, Indraratna, B & Khabbaz, H 1970, 'Enhanced numerical analysis of ground behaviour influenced by tree root suction', Common Ground: Proceedings of the 10th Australia and New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics, Australia New Zealand Geomechanics conference, Coffey Geotechnics, Brisbane, Australia, pp. 142-147.
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Tree roots provide three stabilising functions: (a) reinforcement of the soil, (b) dissipation of excess pore pressures, (c) establishing sufficient matric suction to increase the shear strength. This paper looks at the way that vegetation influences soil moisture content distribution, and ground settlement. A theoretical model previously developed by the authors for the rate of tree root water uptake together with an associated numerical simulation is used in this study. Field measurements taken from literature published previously are compared with the authors' numerical model. The predicted results obtained from the numerical analysis, compared favourably with the field measurements, justifying the assumptions upon which the model was developed.

Gerber, C, Crews, K & Sigrist, C 1970, 'Accessible and reliable design of stressed-skin panels - An Australian perspective', Progress in Mechanics of Structures and Materials - Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, ACMSM19, Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, Taylor & Francis (Balkema), Christchurch, New Zealand, pp. 1017-1022.
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Stressed-skin panel (SSP) technology possesses many advantages and the subject research program has increased the understanding of SSP structures with respect to serviceability and ultimate resistance performance. In order for the building industry to capitalise on the results of this research, it is essential that the codes i.e. AS 1720.1-1997 (Australian Standard™ 1997) should embrace a design procedure enabling the use of the full potential of SSP systems. This paper outlines an amendment proposal to Section 5 of AS 1720.1-1997 that will enable designers to achieve a problem-free and efficient implementation of SSP technology. It focuses on the aspects of the tributary width of the sheathing and the stress determinations in the composite section. The proposed design procedure is both useable and straightforward to implement and satisfies requirements of structural safety and comfortable serviceability. It is based on a solid research background and relates to EC5 (European Committee for Standardisation 1995), which will necessitate some adjustments to fully comply with Australian design standard. © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, London.

Gerber, C, Crews, K & Sigrist, C 1970, 'Screw- and nail-gluing techniques for wood composite structures', Progress in Mechanics of Structures and Materials - Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, ACMSM19, Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, Taylor & Francis (Balkema), Christchurch, New Zealand, pp. 1023-1029.
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Composite systems enhance the structural capacity and reliability of wood solutions for structures. With today engineered wood products and structural adhesives, high performing structures can be constructed. Hybrid assembly techniques that combine mechanical fasteners and an adhesive (screw- and nailgluing techniques) allow manufacturing large dimension composite structures with reasonable infrastructure. They also give full composite properties to the interlayers. Furthermore, these hybrid connections can experience ductility. This paper presents a research on small-scale glued assemblies which were manufactured using screw- and nail-gluing techniques. It discusses qualitative and quantitative analyses that confirmed the full-composite properties and ductility of the interlayers. The analyses also show that superposing the behaviour of both connectors is reasonable to predict the strength and slip modulus of hybrid connections. © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, London.

Haskett, M, Oehlers, D & Wu, C 1970, 'Comparison of the interfacial bond and slip behaviour of steel and FRP reinforcement', Proceedings of the 1st Asia-Pacific Conference on FRP in Structures, APFIS 2007, pp. 731-737.
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Ductility of FRP plated reinforced concrete (RC) structures is essential to provide structural members with the ability to sustain deformation without the subsequent loss of strength prior to collapse. Often this is achieved in RC structures by prescribing the sections to be under-reinforced, and dictated by the neutral axis factor ku, which assumes a concrete crushing type failure. In FRP plated structures, often concrete crushing does not occur and instead the plates fracture or debond prior to this occurring. As such the ductility of plated structures is much more difficult to quantify in terms of a dimensionless property, such as the neutral axis factor ku. This paper reports on the development of a local bond-stress slip (τ−δ) relationship for steel reinforcing bars that has been attained independent of embedment length. Subsequently the use of this relationship in a numerical simulation package compares the behaviour of steel and FRP reinforcing bars to failure, indicating the influence of yielding on the global load-slip (P−Δ) response.

Indraratna, B, Golab, A, Glamore, W & Blunden, B 1970, 'Acid sulphate soil remediation techniques on the Broughton Creek Floodplain, New South Wales, Australia', Geotechnical and Environmental Aspects of Waste Disposal Sites - Proceedings of Green4 International Symposium on Geotechnics Related to the Environment, pp. 349-357.
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One-way floodgates were commonly installed on flood mitigation drains in coastal areas of Australia during the late 1960s. In acid sulphate soil affected regions, the floodgates create reservoirs of acidic water that discharge at low tide. Several successful remediation techniques have been used in south-eastern NSW, Australia. Groundwater elevation and quality were monitored and modelled using finite element software and fixed level v-notch weirs were installed at three elevations in a drain. The weirs successfully maintained the groundwater elevation above the acid sulphate soil layer and reduced the acid discharge rate to the drain. Following geochemi-cal modelling, modified two-way floodgates that allow tidal ingress were installed. The modified floodgates buffer the drain water pH before discharging into adjacent waterways. Monitoring proved that saline intrusion into the surrounding soil from the drains was not a major concern for the pastureland or other agricultural activities. © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, London.

Indraratna, B, Rujikiatkamjorn, C & Chu, J 1970, 'Soft Clay Stabilization with Geosynthetic Vertical Drains beneath Road and Railway Embankments: A Critical Review of Analytical Solutions and Numerical Analysis', Advances in Measurement and Modeling of Soil Behavior, Geo-Denver 2007, American Society of Civil Engineers, p. 7.
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In the wide array of existing ground improvement schemes, the use of vertical drains with vacuum preloading is considered as the most effective and economical method for improving soft clays (normally consolidated to lightly over-consolidated) prior to construction of infrastructure. Vertical drains installed to significant depths promote radial flow inducing consolidation rapidly enhancing the shear strength of the compressed ground. In this paper, the analytical solutions based on lateral soil permeability (parabolic variation) are discussed considering the variation of vacuum pressure with depth along the prefabricated vertical drains (PVD). Using the Cavity Expansion Theory (CET), the smear zone caused by the installation of PVD by steal mandrel was predicted and compared with laboratory measurements obtained from large-scale radial consolidation tests. The effects of drain unsaturation and vacuum pressure along the drain length are also discussed. The numerical analyses incorporating equivalent plane strain solutions were performed to predict the soil responses based on two selected case histories in Thailand. The research findings provided insight as to which of the above aspects needed to be simulated accurately in numerical modelling. The application of cyclic loading on PVD stabilized ground was also examined using a finite element approach under railway embankment. It is demonstrated that short drains less than 8 m installed beneath tracks are still useful for effective dissipation of cyclic pore pressures and curtailing unacceptable lateral movement immediately below the track level, at the same time avoiding excessive settlement of the track in the short-term. Copyright ASCE 2007.

Indraratna, B, Rujikiatkamjorn, C, Wijeyakulasuriya, V, Shahin, MA & Christie, D 1970, 'Soft soil stabilisation with special reference to road and railway embankments', Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Soft Soil Engineering - Soft Soil Engineering, 4th International Conference on Soft Soil Engineering, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, Vancouver, CANADA, pp. 35-55.
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Much of Australian railway tracks traverse coastal areas containing soft soils and marine deposits. Pre-construction stabilization of soft formation soils by applying a surcharge load alone often takes too long. The installation of prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) can reduce the preloading period significantly by decreasing the drainage path length, sometimes by a factor of 10 or more. The analytical solution based on actual radial soil permeability is proposed considering the variation of vacuum pressure, and the Cavity Expansion Theory is employed to predict the smear zone caused by the installation of mandrel driven vertical drains. The predicted smear zone and the effect of drain unsaturation are compared with data obtained from a large-scale radial consolidation tests and the results are explained. When a higher load is required to meet the desired rate of settlement and the cost of surcharge is also significant, the application of vacuum pressure with reduced surcharge loading can be used. In this method, an external negative load is applied to the soil surface in the form of vacuum pressure through a sealed membrane system. The applied vacuum pressure generates negative pore water pressure, resulting in an increase in effective stress and accelerated consolidation, also avoiding the need for a high surcharge embankment. The analytical and numerical analyses incorporating the authors' equivalent plane strain solution for both Darcian and non-Dracian flow are conducted to predict the excess pore pressures, lateral and vertical displacements and several selected case histories are analysed and presented. Cyclic loading of PVDs is also examined in the laboratory in a manner appropriate for railway environments. It is shown that short PVDs can dissipate excess pore pressure as fast as they are built up under repeated loading conditions. The research findings verify that the impact of smear and vacuum pressure can significantly affect soil consolidation, and...

Ip, K, Thomas, P, Stuart, BH & Ray, AS 1970, 'Thermal characterisation of the clay binder of heritage Sydney sandstone', Medicta 2007: The 8th Mediterranean Conference on Calorimetry and Thermal Analysis Book of Abstracts, 8th Mediterranean Conference on Calorimetry and Thermal Analysis, Palermo.

Jupp, J, Langdon, P & Godsill, S 1970, 'Mobile Computing in Maintenance Activities: A ’Situational Induced Impairments and Disabilities’ Perspective', Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 696-705.
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This paper examines the context of mobile computing within facilities maintenance activities on the basis of an analysis of cursor movement and point and click disruptions that may occur when a number of perturbations are induced by the computing environment. An analysis based on context-aware computing distinguishes between situational induced impairments and disabilities (SIID) whose properties are related to Health Induced Impairments and Disabilities (HIID) such as motion impairment, tremor or spasm. A number of technology solutions based on Assistive Technology interventions for motion impaired cursor movement stabilization are possible approaches to counter SIID in Mobile computing for maintenance environments. A software based cursor movement smoothing method based on statistical state space filtering is presented as an example of a new development of one such approach. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.

Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Haseeb, ASMA, Redzuan, MA & Syazly, M 1970, 'Friction and wear characteristics of biodiesel contaminated lubricants', Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers - 62nd Annual Meeting of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers 2007, pp. 1001-1003.
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Three samples were explicitly prepared as Sample A - normal lubricant SAE4O grade, Sample B - consists of SAE4O grade with 0.5% additive (Amine phosphate), and Sample C - consists of SAE4O grade with 0.5% additive (octylated/butylated diphenylamine). Each of the samples was contaminated with biodiesel from 1 to 5% and evaluated as a biodegradable lubricant to be used for biodiesel fuelled engines. Based on four ball testing, palm oil diesel based lubricant showed promising result as compared to conventional lubricant. For sample C, coefficient of friction (COF) increased from 0.8 to 0.24 with the increase of load from 50 to 90 kg. However, the samples A and B showed lower COF throughout the load range. The additive (0.5% octylated/butylated diphenylamine) had an adverse effect on COF. Increasing percentage of POD did not have much affect on COF as all the samples showed almost constant level of COF in their individual trend. Thus, palm oil diesel could be used as additive in the developing of new biodegradable lubricant. The sample C showed some fluctuation of COF as compared to samples A and B. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers - 62nd Annual Meeting of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers 2007 (Philadelphia, PA 5/6-10/2007).

Kandasamy, JK & Vigneswaran, S 1970, 'Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater and Stormwater Management', Current Issues on Wetland Conservation in Asia: In View of the Upcoming COP10, International Symposium on Regional Wetlands Issues In Asia, Daewoong, Bugok, South Korea, pp. 60-70.

Kannapiran, A, Jeyakumaran, JM, Chanan, AP, Kandasamy, JK, Singh, G, Tambosis, P & Al-Jumaily, A 1970, 'Asset Management of Stormwater System using Fuzzy Logic', The Eighth International Conference on Intelligent Technologies (InTech-07), International Conference on Intelligent Technologies, University of Technology, Sydney, Sydney, Australia, pp. 182-188.

Kim, S, Nguyen, V, Vigneswaran, S & Ngo, H 1970, 'Adsorption Equilibrium, Kinetics and Thermodynamics of Iron-coated Sponge (IOCSp) for Removal of As (III)', Proceedings of International Conference on Cleaner Technologies and Environmental Management (ICCTEM 200), International Conference on Cleaner Technologies and Environmental Management, Allied Publishers Pvt. Ltd., India, pp. 44-50.
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NA

Law, SS & Zhu, XQ 1970, 'Dynamic condition assessment of highway bridges including operational conditions', STRUCTURAL CONDITION ASSESSMENT, MONITORING AND IMPROVEMENT, VOLS 1 AND 2, 2nd International Conference on Structural Condition Assessment, Monitoring and Improvement (SCAMI-2), SCIENCE PRESS BEIJING, Changsha, PEOPLES R CHINA, pp. 393-399.

Li, J, Choi, FC & Samali, B 1970, 'Modal-based damage identification methods for plate-like structures', Progress in Mechanics of Structures and Materials - Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, ACMSM19, Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, Taylor and Francis, Christchurch, New Zealand, pp. 909-914.
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A great deal of work has been done in the area of damage identification in structures using changes of modal parameters before and after damage. Most of the developments have been based on beam theory and application to beam-like or truss structures. Few researchers have contributed to in-depth study of damage identification of plate-like structures employing modal-based methods. In this paper, two modal strain energy based damage identification methods have been expanded for detecting damage and evaluation of damage severity in plate-like structures. The study is based on finite element analysis (FEA) results of a plate model. The purpose of the study is to explore feasibility of using modal strain energy based methods for damage identification of plate-like structures. The results show that one modified method based on a two-dimensional mode shape curvature in computing the damage index provides very good damage localisation and severity estimation. © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, London.

Li, J, Samali, B & Crews, K 1970, 'A cost effective approach for integrity assessment of timber bridges', Progress in Mechanics of Structures and Materials - Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, ACMSM19, Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials, Taylor and Francis, Christchurch, New Zealand, pp. 1037-1042.
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To develop a reliable and cost effective tool to assess the structural integrity of aged timber bridges is currently a challenge facing structural engineers. Whilst proof-load testing and Non-destructive Evaluation (NDE) techniques provide valuable assessment, such procedures are generally too complex, costly and time consuming to be applied across the entire inventory of timber bridges. A simple dynamic based testing method was developed by authors to lower the cost and shorten the testing time. The method has recently been used successfully to undertake field-testing of more than 180 timber bridges across NSW. This paper summarises the analytical development of this new approach together with some experimental examples. In the analytical studies, a closed form solution was obtained to provide an explicit relationship between the flexural stiffness and measured modal parameters. A beam with spring and masses attached was used to model a bridge with added mass or alternative added mass such as a trailer and/or a water tank for bridge testing. After obtaining the in-service stiffness of the tested bridge, a probabilistic modelling based on bending strength and gross stiffness (EI) of timber girders, is developed to provide an assessment of bridge load carrying capacity by using predicted in-service stiffness. Results of experimental studies and field testing using this approach are given in the references. © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, London.

Li, Y, Wang, J & Qian, L 1970, 'A new methodology of modeling a novel large-scale magnetorheological impact damper', Nonlinear Science and Complexity, Conference on Nonlinear Science and Complexity, WORLD SCIENTIFIC PUBL CO PTE LTD, Beijing, PEOPLES R CHINA, pp. 382-387.
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Li, Y, Wang, J & Qian, L 1970, 'Nonlinear characteristics of magnetorheological damper under base excitation', Nonlinear Science and Complexity, Conference on Nonlinear Science and Complexity, WORLD SCIENTIFIC PUBL CO PTE LTD, Beijing, PEOPLES R CHINA, pp. 388-393.
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Mansor, S, Pradhan, B, Daud, M, Jamaludin, N & Khuzaimah, Z 1970, 'Landslide susceptibility analysis using an artificial neural network model', SPIE Proceedings, Remote Sensing, SPIE, Florence, ITALY.
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Mansor, S, Pradhan, B, Daud, M, Jamaludin, N & Khuzaimah, Z 1970, 'Landslide susceptibility analysis using an artificial neural network model [6749-18]', PROCEEDINGS-SPIE THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR OPTICAL ENGINEERING, International Society for Optical Engineering; 1999, p. 6749.

Netherton, MD & Stewart, MG 1970, 'Safety hazard and damage risks for monolithic window glazing subject to explosive blast loading', PROCEEDINGS OF THE 7TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SHOCK & IMPACT LOADS ON STRUCTURES, 7th International Conference on Shock and Impact Loans on Structures, CI-PREMIER PTE LTD, PEOPLES R CHINA, Beijing, pp. 415-422.

Ngo, H, Guo, W, Vigneswaran, S & Xing, W 1970, 'Potential of submerged membrane bioreactors for wastewater treatment and reuse', Proceedings of International Conference on Cleaner Technologies and Environmental Management, International Conference on Cleaner Technologies and Environmental Management, Allied Publishers Pvt. Ltd., India, pp. 800-805.
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The use of membrane bioreaetor (MBR) has been an increasing issue in replacing the conventional water and wastewater treatment processes to produce high quality treated water. In MBR systems design,the submergedmembranebioreactor (SMBR)can assist in significantlyreducingpower consumptionas the entire treatment activity (such as adsorption/biodegradation,liquid-solid separation, andsludgeaccumulationandwithdrawal)canbe carriedout in a singleunit. In this study, the performance of conventional 5MBR and non-eonventional submerged membrane adsorption bioreactor (SMABR) was evaluated in terms of organic and bacterial removal efficiencies,biomassgrowthvia specificoxygen uptake rate (SOUR) and mixed liquor suspendedsolids (MLSS), and membrane fouling through the development of transmembrane pressure (TMP) and sustainableflux.Theresults indicatethat both ofSMBRand5MBARproducedvery high effiuentquality. However,SMABRappeared to have a better performance as it achieved nearly 100%ofTOC andCOD removalswhile having lowerTMPdevelopment and higher SOUR,The MLSSkept constant (around 10 gIL) after 10 days operation in 5MBAR compared to about 4 gILofMLSS in 5MBR case. In order 10 enhancethe sustainableflux, an idea ofadding a predeterminedamountof spongeinto 5MBRreactor was proposedand tested, The results show that 10% of volume fraction of sponge addition could increase 2 folds of sustainablefluxofSMBRsystemat an air flow rate of9 L/min.

Nguyen, M, Kwok, N, Ha, QP, Li, J & Samali, B 1970, 'Mitigation of Seismic Responses in Building Structures using Magneto-rheological Dampers', Proceedings of the 24th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC 2007), International Symposium of Automation and Robotics in Construction, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Kochi, Kerala, India.

Nguyen, MT, Kwok, NM, Ha, QP, Li, J & Samali, B 1970, 'Semi-active direct control of civil structure seismic responses using magneto-rheological dampers', Automation and Robotics in Construction - Proceedings of the 24th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, Lokavani Southern Printers, Kochi, India, pp. 157-162.
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As building structures frequently collapse and cause losses of lives and properties, due to excessive vibrations induced during earthquake periods, it is crucial to reduce the structural vibrations. This paper develops a Lyapunov-based controller for Magnetorheological (MR) dampers embedded in building structures to mitigate quake-induced vibrations. In this work, MR dampers are used as semi-active devices, taking the advantages of the fail-safe operation and low power requirement. To enhance the system performance, a Lyapunov-based controller is proposed here for direct control of the supply currents of the MR dampers placed in a multi-storey building. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is verified in simulation by using a ten-storey building model subject to quake-like excitations.

Onishi, A, Thomas, P, Stuart, BH, Guerbois, JL & Forbes, SL 1970, 'TGMS analysis of the thermal decomposition of pig bone for forensic applications', Medicta 2007: The 8th Mediterranean Conference on Calorimetry and Thermal Analysis, 8th Mediterranean Conference on Calorimetry and Thermal Analysis, Palermo.

Rujikiatkamjorn, C & Indraratna, B 1970, 'Analysis of Radial Vacuum-Assisted Consolidation Using 3D Finite Element Method', Advances in Measurement and Modeling of Soil Behavior, Geo-Denver 2007, American Society of Civil Engineers, p. 12.
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In this study, a 3D numerical modelling of a single vertical drains consolidation incorporating vacuum preloading considering both vertical and horizontal drainage is presented. The effects of nonlinear soil compressibility, varying permeability and vacuum pressure distribution along the drain are examined through the dissipation of average excess pore pressure and associated settlement. A selected case history, using 3D finite element method, is employed to analyse two embankments constructed at the Second Bangkok International Airport, Thailand stabilised with prefabricated vertical drains and vacuum preloading. The behaviour of this embankment including settlements and excess pore pressures is then compared with the numerical predictions. This study reveals a close agreement between the predictions results obtained from the numerical model and the field measurements. Copyright ASCE 2007.

Samali, B, Choi, F, Li, J & Crews, KI 1970, 'Experimental investigations on a laboratory timber bridge using Damage Index Method for plate-like structures', Proceedings of the 5th Australasian Congress on Applied Mechanics, ACAM 2007, Australasian Congress on Applied Mechanics, Engineers Australia, Brisbane, Australia, pp. 114-119.
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A great deal of work has been done in the area of damage identification in structures using changes of modal parameters before and after damage. Most of the developments have been based on beam theory and applied to beam-like or truss structures. Few researchers have made contributions to damage identification of plate-like structures employing a damage index method, especially for timber structures. In this paper, experimental investigations on a laboratory timber bridge using damage index method for plate-like structures are reported. Experimental modal analysis was performed to extract essential modal parameters from test data. Mode shape curvatures derived from the mode shapes were utilised in a damage index method for plate-like structures to detect single and two damage scenarios in a timber bridge. The purpose of the study is to explore feasibility of using modal strain energy based methods for damage identification of plate-like structures. The results show that the damage index method for plate-like structures using higher modes provides reasonable damage localisation for single and multiple damage cases.

Sangvikar, N, Hagare, P & Ngo, H 1970, 'Fibre Cement Industrial Water Recovery: A viable Alternative Water Source', Proceedings of International Conference on Cleaner Technologies and Environmental Management, International Conference on Cleaner Technologies and Environmental Management, Allied Publishers Pvt. Ltd., India, pp. 1-7.
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Australian water demands are increasing significantly with the increase of urbanization and industrialization. Thus, water is a valuable resource in Australia, but in short supply. There is a scope to make better use ofrecycled water as an additional water resource. Water reclamation is the best sustainable solution for water crisis. The recirculation of wastewater to reusable water can be achieved by implementing specific wastewater treatment technologies/or wastewater recycling for non-potable purposes.

Tijing, LD, Pak, BC, Baek, BJ, Lee, DH & Cho, YI 1970, 'USING LOW-VOLTAGE-HIGH-FREQUENCY ELECTRIC FIELD TO MITIGATE MINERAL FOULING IN A HEAT EXCHANGER', 대한기계학회 춘추학술대회, pp. 1683-1688.

Widjaja, J, Samali, B & Li, J 1970, 'The use of displacement threshold for switching frequency strategy for structural vibration mitigation', JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 8th International Conference on Motion and Vibration Control, KOREAN SOC MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, Daejeon, SOUTH KOREA, pp. 865-869.
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Wu, C & Oehiers, DJ 1970, 'Parametric studies of RC slabs retrofitted with FRP to resist airblast loads', PROCEEDINGS OF THE 7TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SHOCK & IMPACT LOADS ON STRUCTURES, 7th International Conference on Shock and Impact Loans on Structures, CI-PREMIER PTE LTD, Beijing, PEOPLES R CHINA, pp. 647-653.

Wu, C, Nurwidayati, R & Ehlers, DJ 1970, 'Statistical analysis of fragment size distribution from spallation of RC slabs under airblast loads', PROCEEDINGS OF THE 7TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SHOCK & IMPACT LOADS ON STRUCTURES, 7th International Conference on Shock and Impact Loans on Structures, CI-PREMIER PTE LTD, Beijing, PEOPLES R CHINA, pp. 655-660.

Wu, C-Q, Oehlers, DJ & Glynn, C 1970, 'Layered analysis of resistance-deflection function of RC slabs retrofitted with FRP', STRUCTURAL CONDITION ASSESSMENT, MONITORING AND IMPROVEMENT, VOLS 1 AND 2, 2nd International Conference on Structural Condition Assessment, Monitoring and Improvement (SCAMI-2), SCIENCE PRESS BEIJING, Changsha, PEOPLES R CHINA, pp. 1170-1176.

Zhang, Z & Zhou, JL 1970, 'ENVR 50-Determination of estrogenic and pharmaceutical chemicals in sewage effluent and receiving river water by spot and passive sampling', ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, AMER CHEMICAL SOC.

Zhou, JL, Maskaoui, K & Hibberd, A 1970, 'ENVR 197-Colloid-facilitated transport of pharmaceuticals in wastewater and natural waters', ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, AMER CHEMICAL SOC.

Zhu, X & Hao, H 1970, 'Dynamic assessment of highway bridges under operating vehicle loads', Structural Health Monitoring 2007: Quantification, Validation, and Implementation - Proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, IWSHM 2007, 6th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, DESTECH PUBLICATIONS, INC, Stanford Univ, Stanford, CA, pp. 821-828.
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This study presents a novel method to extract the damage information from the response of a bridge induced by operating vehicles. A new damage index based on the spatial curvature shape is defined to estimate the location and extend of damage. Numerical simulation shows the method is reliable and effective to assess the condition of highway bridges. The results also show the operating vehicle loads could be utilized to reduce the required number of sensors. The proposed method has the potential of detecting damages using vehicle response of highway bridges with small number of sensors and without interrupting the traffic flow.

Zhu, XQ & Hao, H 1970, 'Damage assessment of a two-span RC slab using wavelet analysis', Modeling, Signal Processing, and Control for Smart Structures 2007, The 14th International Symposium on: Smart Structures and Materials & Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, SPIE, San Diego, CA.
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Zhu, XQ & Hao, H 1970, 'Damage detection of RC slabs using nonlinear vibration features', STRUCTURAL CONDITION ASSESSMENT, MONITORING AND IMPROVEMENT, VOLS 1 AND 2, 2nd International Conference on Structural Condition Assessment, Monitoring and Improvement (SCAMI-2), SCIENCE PRESS BEIJING, Changsha, PEOPLES R CHINA, pp. 517-523.

Zhu, XQ & Hao, H 1970, 'Dynamic assessment of undersea pipeline bedding condition', SPIE Proceedings, The 14th International Symposium on: Smart Structures and Materials & Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, SPIE, San Diego, CA.
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Zhu, XQ & Hao, H 1970, 'Structural damage detection using wavelet support vector machine', Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series.
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Based on wavelet packet decomposition and conditions of the support vector kernel function, a nonlinear wavelet basis is introduced to construct the kernel function of support vector machine (SVM). A tighten wavelet support vector machine (WSVM), which has strong generalization ability is also obtained. In this study, a novel damage classification method based on wavelet support vector machine is developed for structural health monitoring. The response signals of a structure under an impact load are normalized and then decomposed into wavelet packet components. Energies of these wavelet packet components are then calculated as the feature vectors. The feature vectors are used for training and classification of the inputs of the tighten SVM. Then, the structural damage location and extent is determined by prediction. Numerical study is carried out on a simply supported beam. Accelerations of the structure under impact loads are analysed. Results show that the method can be reliably used for damage monitoring and assessment of the structures.

Zhu, XQ, Hao, H & Peng, XL 1970, 'An experimental study of structure modal properties in different operational environments', STRUCTURAL CONDITION ASSESSMENT, MONITORING AND IMPROVEMENT, VOLS 1 AND 2, 2nd International Conference on Structural Condition Assessment, Monitoring and Improvement (SCAMI-2), SCIENCE PRESS BEIJING, Changsha, PEOPLES R CHINA, pp. 1055-1061.

Zhu, XQ, Hao, H, Peng, XL & Cheng, L 1970, 'Dynamic assessment of underwater pipeline systems using finite element model updating', STRUCTURAL CONDITION ASSESSMENT, MONITORING AND IMPROVEMENT, VOLS 1 AND 2, 2nd International Conference on Structural Condition Assessment, Monitoring and Improvement (SCAMI-2), SCIENCE PRESS BEIJING, Changsha, PEOPLES R CHINA, pp. 663-669.