Publications

Ball, JE, Babister, MK, Nathan, R, Weinmann, PE, Weeks, W, Retallick, M & Testoni, I 2016, Australian Rainfall and Runoff - A Guide to Flood Estimation, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
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Since its first publication in 1958, Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR) has remained one of the most influential and widely used guidelines published by Engineers Australia (EA). The 3rd edition, published in 1987, retained the same level of national and international acclaim as its predecessors.With nationwide applicability, balancing the varied climates of Australia, the information and the approaches presented in Australian Rainfall and Runoff are essential for policy decisions and projects involving:infrastructure such as roads, rail, airports, bridges, dams, stormwater and sewer systems;town planning;mining;developing flood management plans for urban and rural communities;flood warnings and flood emergency management;operation of regulated river systems; andprediction of extreme flood levels.However, many of the practices recommended in the 1987 edition of ARR have become outdated, and no longer represent the accepted views of professionals, both in terms of technique and approach to water management. This fact, coupled with greater understanding of climate and climatic influences makes the securing of current and complete rainfall and streamflow data and expansion of focus from flood events to the full spectrum of flows and rainfall events, crucial to maintaining an adequate knowledge of the processes that govern Australian rainfall and streamflow in the broadest sense, allowing better management, policy and planning decisions to be made.One of the major responsibilities of the National Committee on Water Engineering of Engineers Australia is the periodic revision of ARR. While the NCWE had long identified the need to update ARR it had become apparent by 2002 that even with a piecemeal approach the task could not be carried out without significant financial support. In 2008 the revision of ARR was identified as a priority in the Council of Australian Governments endorsed National Adaptation Framework for Climate Change.In addition...

Altaee, A, Sharif, A & Zaragoza, G 2016, 'Forward osmosis pretreatment of seawater for thermal desalination' in Water Filtration Systems: Processes, Uses and Importance, pp. 1-26.
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Thermal desalination technologies are still widely used for seawater desalination. The main advantages of these technologies is that the capability to treat high salinity seawater and product water TDS is not affected by the feed salinity. Nevertheless, thermal desalination suffers from a number of drawbacks including limited feed conversion ratio and high energy consumption. The latter issue is further aggravated by scale development and deposition on the heat exchangers. Scaling problems can be alleviated by dosing antiscalants in the feed water, though this wouldn't prevent the scaling issue over time. Furthermore, Nanofiltration (NF) filtration of seawater is sometimes carried out for the removal of scaling ions from seawater. NF coupling with thermal desalination may prevent scaling problems, but the cost of NF pretreatment was unjustifiably expensive. Alternatively, Forward Osmosis (FO) pretreatment of seawater was proposed for the removal of scaling ions from the seawater feed to the thermal desalination plants. FO operates by natural osmosis energy created across a semipermeable membrane separating two solutions having different osmotic pressure. Therefore, the cost of seawater pretreatment can be reduced significantly. FO process is relatively new technique and requires more evaluation and investigation before field application. The main challenges of FO application in seawater desalination and pretreatment, in particular, are the draw solution type and FO membrane. Important requirements the selection of the most optimal draw solution is to be inexpensive, easy to regenerate, and non-toxic material. Recent studies proposed brine reject to be the draw solution of FO process; however, brine reject osmotic pressure would induce a limited membrane flux due to its moderately low osmotic pressure. Higher membrane flux can be achieved by manipulating the operating parameters and/or using FO membrane of high water permeability. Applying positive press...

Chen, Z, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Eslamian, S 2016, 'Water Shortages' in Eslamian, S (ed), Urban Water Reuse Handbook, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, USA, pp. 3-14.
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The growing environmental problems, including the diminishing natural water resources, greater water demand triggered by population growth and urbanization, deteriorated water quality, and highly changing climate, have highlighted the importance of considering the sustainability of water resource and supply systems in both the urban and rural areas. Specifically, the world population continues to expand with a growth rate of 1.2% each year, resulting in increased pressure on water quality, safety and health.This chapter overviews the current situations in water availability over the world, which based on information from literature review, recent research studies, and analyses of the case studies. It focuses on the issues related to the deficiency of water quantity and deterioration of water quality. With identified problems and challenges, this chapter also discusses some potential responses, opportunities and solutions to combat with water scarcity.

Crews, KI 2016, 'Ch12: Nonconventional timber construction' in Harries, K & Sharma, B (eds), Nonconventional and Vernacular Construction Materials Characterisation, Properties and Applications, Woodhead Publishing Limited, United Kingdom.
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Provides a state-of-the-art review of the modern use and engineering of nonconventional building materials Contains chapters that focus on individual construction materials and address both material characterization and structural ...

El Saliby, I, McDonagh, A, Erdei, L & Kyong Shon, H 2016, 'Water Reclamation by Heterogeneous Photocatalysis over Titanium Dioxide' in Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 679-704.
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers. This chapter presents the fundamentals and basic principles of water reclamation by heterogeneous photocatalysis (HP). The effects of important operational parameters on the overall treatment efficiency of photocatalytic system are addressed in the chapter in terms of photocatalyst loading, pollutant concentration, pH and temperature of water, dissolved oxygen, and light intensity. The most popular semiconductor used in HP is Titanium dioxide (TiO2) for being relatively inexpensive, chemically stable, and nontoxic. Most water remediation technologies generate a significant amount of wastewater that requires costly retreatment or discharge to evaporation ponds, rivers, and oceans. HP processes that decompose aqueous contaminants are highly dependent on the reaction conditions and the setup of photocatalytic reactors. Visible-light responsive photocatalysts promise a more effective utilization of solar energy. Doping and co-doping of titania is a practical approach toward obtaining improved visible-light active photocatalysts.

Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Chen, C, Pandey, A, Tung, K-L & Lee, DJ 2016, 'Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors for Future Green Bioprocesses' in Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 867-901.
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers. This chapter focuses on the comprehensive overview of the recent progress in anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) applications, including the fundamental aspects and development of AnMBR processes. For a future green bioprocess, the chapter discusses the application development of AnMBRs in domestic and industrial wastewater treatment, opportunities for biogas production and waste minimization and membrane fouling researches. The anaerobic treatment processes are known to have the inherent advantages over the aerobic counterparts, such as sludge minimization and energy savings. The key competitive advantages of AnMBRs over conventional aerobic and anaerobic processes include total biomass retention, excellent effluent quality, bioenergy recovery, smaller footprint, lower energy consumption, high efficiency of wastewater treatment, and strong ability of handling fluctuation in influent quality. Biogas recovery represents one of the key green features of AnMBR technology, particularly for submerged AnMBR (SAnMBR). The compact configure of SAnMBR allows for more convenient collection of biogas.

Kim, SH, Lee, SH, Tijing & Shon, H 2016, 'Filtration technologies for pretreatment of seawater desalination based on reverse osmosis' in Efficient desalination by reverse osmosis : a best practice guide to RO, IWA Publishing (International Water Assoc), London, pp. 28-60.
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Efficient Desalination by Reverse Osmosis provides a complete guide to best practice from pre-treatment through to project delivery. It is written for utility managers & professionals.

Lin, J-G, Daverey, A, Dutta, K, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Anammox: A Sustainable Technology for Nitrogen Removal and Water Recycling' in Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 419-453.
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers. This chapter discusses developments in the anammox process, since its discovery, including identification of responsible microbes and their physiology, potential process inhibitors, reactor types used, and application to treat different wastewater. Anammox bacteria are coccoid bacteria with an average diameter ranging between 800 and 1100 nm. Anammox bacteria are chemoautotrophic bacteria and use CO2 as the main inorganic carbon source to oxidize ammonium to nitrogen gas using nitrite as the electron acceptor. Ammonium and nitrite are the two substrates for anammox bacteria. The absence of nitrite in wastewater limits the direct application of the anammox process. Applications of anammox or its related processes, such as SHARON-Anammox, CANON, or SNAD have been tested to treat real world wastewaters by many researchers in lab scale reactors. Anammox combined with partial nitrification has been identified as the most efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly nitrogen removal method in recent years.

Lin, J-G, Dutta, K, Daverey, A, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Wastewater: A Potential Resource of Energy' in Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 789-828.
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers. This chapter discusses the energy production potential of different wastewater sources and various treatment processes with an aim of establishing sustainable energy management systems. The refractory fraction of wastewater can be converted to energy through thermal, chemical, or electrical processes. The importance of knowing the potential energy available lies in the choice of treatment methods so that most of the energy can be recovered. Some wastes that may be high in energy value, such as halogenated wastes, may be unsuitable or unattractive to some treatment methods. The chapter discusses several systems for energy recovery with simultaneous treatment of wastewater. Some of the systems include anaerobic treatment, microbial fuel cell (MFC), simultaneous algal biomass production, and wastewater treatment. The adverse environmental impacts associated with anaerobic treatment or MFC are mainly because of electricity consumption in the various process units and transportation/disposal of biosolids.

Liu, Y, Wang, Q, Zhang, Y & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Zero Valent Iron Significantly Enhances Methane Production from Waste Activated Sludge by Improving Biochemical Methane Potential Rather Than Hydrolysis Rate' in Environmental Engineering and Activated Sludge Processes, Apple Academic Press, pp. 219-236.
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Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Chen, Z, Surampalli, RY & Zhang, TC 2016, 'Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management: Introduction and Overview' in Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 1-34.
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers. This chapter presents the background, current development and future opportunities of green technologies and issues to facilitate strategic planning of sustainable water management systems. It describes the fundamental concepts and current and future applications of green technologies for sustainable improvement in water management. The chapter discusses the appropriate approaches and policies in achieving sustainable objectives and promoting green design and supplies for water utilization. Sustainable water management has received great attention over recent years because of its substantial benefits to the environment, society, and economy. Improvements in water management are likely to come from green technologies fueled by individual curiosity, dedicated effort, and opportunities within a strategic program supported by national and international agencies, universities, and industries. These innovations can significantly contribute to less nonrenewable resource requirement, reduced carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions and costs, minimized water losses, and enhanced removal of contaminants.

Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Surampalli, RY & Zhang, TC 2016, 'Front Matter', American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. xiii-xiv.
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Ni, B-J, Pan, Y, Guo, J, Virdis, B, Hu, S, Chen, X & Yuan, Z 2016, 'CHAPTER 16. Denitrification Processes for Wastewater Treatment' in Metalloenzymes in Denitrification, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK, pp. 368-418.
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© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2017. Denitrification processes have been widely recognised as the key processes in biological nitrogen removal from wastewater. In this chapter, the traditional and emerging denitrification processes in wastewater treatment were reviewed in order to illuminate their stoichiometry, microbial community, kinetics, affecting factors, mathematical models and technological applications, including heterotrophic denitrification, anaerobic ammonia oxidation, denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation, sulphur or hydrogen-based autotrophic denitrification and bioelectrochemical denitrification. Although existing technological denitrification processes still have limitations, their applications will undoubtedly increase in the near future because of increasing attention that is being paid to high-rate, cost-effective nitrogen removal from wastewater.

Noguchi, M, Formoso, C, da Rocha, CG, Andújar-Montoya, MD, Bunster, V, Cameron, R & Imai, C 2016, 'Mass Customisation' in Springer Tracts in Civil Engineering, Springer International Publishing, pp. 95-119.
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© 2016, Springer International Publishing Switzerland. Climate change accompanied by global warming issues necessitates that homes are more environmentally friendly in production and operation, while the drastic hike in energy costs and increasing socio-economic diversity demand housing that is more affordable and more customisable than ever before. Homes need to address social, economic and environmental sustainability issues as a whole. When the revolutionary notion of sustainable development was introduced the concept of mass customisation coincidentally emerged as a means to customise end-user products without sacrificing the production efficiency, effectiveness or low cost. This chapter will introduce the notion of mass customisation and the pragmatic application to housing design and production. This knowledge is essential to the delivery of quality affordable homes in which the level of performance can be determined within the economic constraints of the end-users.

Stewart, MG 2016, 'Risk and Decision-Making for Extreme Events: Climate Change and Terrorism' in Multi-hazard Approaches to Civil Infrastructure Engineering, Springer International Publishing, pp. 87-103.
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Terrorism and climate change are extreme events that frighten and alarm. This makes decision-making for these hazards or threats all the more difficult, particularly when decision-makers are risk averse. This chapter will describe how risk-based approaches are well suited to optimising decisions related to these extreme events. Stochastic methods are used to model threat likelihood, vulnerability, effectiveness of protective strategies, exposure and costs. The concepts will be illustrated with current research of risk-based assessment of counterterrorism and climate adaptation strategies. The case studies consider (1) protection of new bridges against terrorist attack and (2) climate change and cost-effectiveness of designing new port facilities to be less vulnerable to severe corrosion.

Sullivan, C, Stuart, BH & Thomas, PS 2016, 'An Investigation of the Degradation of Polymeric Grave Goods in Soil Environments' in Kars, H & van den Eijkel, L (eds), Soil in Criminal and Environmental Forensics, Springer International Publishing, Germany, pp. 331-341.
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Plastic materials are a source of items that may be located in clandestine grave sites. Knowledge of their type and state of preservation or deterioration may provide a valuable resource for the identification of a victim or perpetrator. This study involves an examination of the effect of the nature of the soil environment on the structural properties of two common polymers, poly(vinyl chloride) and nylon, over a period of 18 months. These polymers represent common types of plastic sheeting and carpet material that may be used to wrap a body. Infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy have been used to monitor the structural changes that occur to these polymers in a soil environment and degradation mechanisms are proposed.

Zhu, A, Guo, J, Ni, B-J, Wang, S, Yang, Q & Peng, Y 2016, 'A Novel Protocol for Model Calibration in Biological Wastewater Treatment' in Environmental Engineering and Activated Sludge Processes, Apple Academic Press, pp. 23-47.
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Abdolali, A, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Lu, S, Chen, S-S, Nguyen, NC, Zhang, X, Wang, J & Wu, Y 2016, 'A breakthrough biosorbent in removing heavy metals: Equilibrium, kinetic, thermodynamic and mechanism analyses in a lab-scale study', SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, vol. 542, pp. 603-611.
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Abdul, JM, Vigneswaran, S, Kandasamy, J & Mahinthakumar, G 2016, 'Fenton Oxidation of Metsulfuron-Methyl with Application to Permeable Reactive Barriers', Environmental Modeling & Assessment, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 149-158.
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© 2015, Springer International Publishing Switzerland. Laboratory experiments were conducted for removal of metsulfuron-methyl (MeS) by Fenton oxidation using a sand column with multiple sampling points and varied flow rates. The transport and degradation of MeS in a sand column were modeled using an advection diffusion reaction system with rate-limited sorption, hydrolysis and second-order degradation kinetics. Rate constants for MeS adsorption and degradation were obtained by fitting the model to experimental breakthrough curves. Results showed that the residence time is the primary influencing factor in the amount of MeS removal by Fenton oxidation with removal efficiencies exceeding 85 %. The column model was extended to two-dimensional porous media, and simulations were conducted to evaluate the feasibility of in situ chemical oxidation using Fenton’s reagent in permeable reactor barriers. Results show that Fenton oxidation can yield remediation efficiencies exceeding 80 % in permeable reactor barriers when compared to less than 10 % with adsorption only.

Abdullahi, S & Pradhan, B 2016, 'Sustainable Brownfields Land Use Change Modeling Using GIS-based Weights-of-Evidence Approach', Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 21-38.
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Abedin, MJ, Imran, A, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Shahir, SA, Varman, M & Ruhul, AM 2016, 'An overview on comparative engine performance and emission characteristics of different techniques involved in diesel engine as dual-fuel engine operation', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 60, pp. 306-316.
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Abatement of pollutant emissions from transport sector is one of the major concerns throughout the globe. One of the main technical challenges for transportation sector is to reduce pollutant emissions from diesel engine and to meet satisfactory engine performance, simultaneously. Different technical changes have been introduced in diesel engine to apply alternative biofuels to reduce pollutant emissions. Blend, fumigation, and emulsion are three different dual fuel engine operation techniques, which have been introduced in diesel engine for biofuel application. In the blend mode, biofuel and diesel are mixed in desired proportions before injecting into cylinder, whereas in fumigation mode, biofuel is injected into intake manifold to mix with the intake fresh air. Emulsion is a process wherein two immiscible substances are mixed together. This study provides a comprehensive review on these three techniques of biofuel injection and their comparative effects on the engine performance and emissions. From these studies, it is found that the effects on engine performance and emission mostly depend on biofuel properties. Increase in break specific fuel consumption (BSFC) is common in each method due to the lower calorific value of biofuels. Brake thermal efficiency (BTE) decreases in blend and fumigation modes, but increases in emulsion mode. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions decrease in fumigation and emulsion modes, but increase in blend mode. Carbon monoxide (CO) and Hydro carbon (HC) emissions increase in fumigation and emulsion modes, but decrease in blend mode. Particulate Matter (PM) emission decreases in all three modes.

Abedin, MJ, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Sabri, MFM, Rahman, SMA, Sanjid, A & Fattah, IMR 2016, 'Production of biodiesel from a non-edible source and study of its combustion, and emission characteristics: A comparative study with B5', Renewable Energy, vol. 88, pp. 20-29.
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This investigation deals with the production of Alexandrian laurel (Calophyllum inophyllum) biodiesel (ALB) and study of the effects of its fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) compositions and physicochemical properties on the engine performance, combustion, and emissions. The experiment had been conducted in a four cylinder turbocharged diesel engine under varying speeds and full loading condition. 10% (ALB10) and 20% (ALB20) blends of Alexandrian laurel biodiesel along with the Diesel and B5 fuel (95% diesel and 5% palm biodiesel) were used for this experiment. ALB consisted of 31.6% saturated and 68.4% unsaturated FAME. Longer chain fatty acids and 10.9% oxygen content of ALB greatly influenced the engine combustion and emission characteristics. Brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc) was found on average 6%-20% higher for B5, ALB10, and ALB20 blends compared to diesel fuel. It was observed that ALB operation shortened the ignition delay period, increased the mass fraction burnt (MFB), and reduced the pick cylinder pressure, heat release rate (HRR) and combustion duration. CO and HC emissions were decreased significantly while operating on B5, ALB10, and ALB20 blends compared to diesel fuel. ALB blends produced on average, 2.5%-3% higher NOX emissions with respect to diesel fuel.

Aditiya, HB, Chong, WT, Mahlia, TMI, Sebayang, AH, Berawi, MA & Nur, H 2016, 'Second generation bioethanol potential from selected Malaysia’s biodiversity biomasses: A review', Waste Management, vol. 47, no. Pt A, pp. 46-61.
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Rising global temperature, worsening air quality and drastic declining of fossil fuel reserve are the inevitable phenomena from the disorganized energy management. Bioethanol is believed to clear out the effects as being an energy-derivable product sourced from renewable organic sources. Second generation bioethanol interests many researches from its unique source of inedible biomass, and this paper presents the potential of several selected biomasses from Malaysia case. As one of countries with rich biodiversity, Malaysia holds enormous potential in second generation bioethanol production from its various agricultural and forestry biomasses, which are the source of lignocellulosic and starch compounds. This paper reviews potentials of biomasses and potential ethanol yield from oil palm, paddy (rice), pineapple, banana and durian, as the common agricultural waste in the country but uncommon to be served as bioethanol feedstock, by calculating the theoretical conversion of cellulose, hemicellulose and starch components of the biomasses into bioethanol. Moreover, the potential of the biomasses as feedstock are discussed based on several reported works.

Aditiya, HB, Mahlia, TMI, Chong, WT, Nur, H & Sebayang, AH 2016, 'Second generation bioethanol production: A critical review', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 66, pp. 631-653.
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It is a popular fact that the world's dependency on fossil fuel has caused unfavourable effects, including lessening crude oil reserve, decreasing air quality, rising global temperature, unpredictable weather change, and so on. As the effort to promote sustainability and independency from fossil fuel, bioethanol is now favoured as the blend or fossil petrol substitute. However, the feedstock functionality of first generation bioethanol production is restricted due to its edibleness since it would clash the feeding purpose. Second generation bioethanol production fulfils the impractical gap of first generation since it employs non-edible feedstock sourced from agriculture and forestry wastes. Lignocellulosic and starchy materials in them are convertible to fermentable sugars that are able to be further processed, resulting anhydrous bioethanol as the end product. This paper critically reviews the existing variance of second generation bioethanol production methodologies, namely pre-treatment, hydrolysis, fermentation and distillation, as well as the worth of second generation production for future reference. The discussions in this paper are also fit as the fundamental for feasible planning of second generation bioethanol production plant.

Aghdam, IN, Varzandeh, MHM & Pradhan, B 2016, 'Landslide susceptibility mapping using an ensemble statistical index (Wi) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model at Alborz Mountains (Iran)', Environmental Earth Sciences, vol. 75, no. 7, p. 553.
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Ahamed, R, Ferdaus, MM & Li, Y 2016, 'Advancement in energy harvesting magneto-rheological fluid damper: A review', Korea-Australia Rheology Journal, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 355-379.
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In this paper, a comprehensive review of the present literature on energy generated magnetorheological (MR) fluid based damper, modeling and applications of the MR damper are presented. The review starts with an introduction of the basic of MR fluid and their different modes, consequences with different types of MR fluids based devices, and their relevant applications. Besides, various forms of MR damper and its applications are presented. Following this, the modeling of the MR fluids and the modeling of the MR fluid based damper are deliberated according to arrangement and configurations. Finally, the review ends with the design and advancement issues, performance analysis matters, and analytical modeling of energy generated magnetorheological fluid damper systems.

Ahmed, A, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Kalam, MA, Habibullah, M & Al Mahmud, KAH 2016, 'An overview of geometrical parameters of surface texturing for piston/cylinder assembly and mechanical seals', Meccanica, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 9-23.
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Ahmed, MB, Hasan, ATMK, Mohiuddin, M, Asadullah, M, Rahman, MS & Khaleque, A 2016, 'Effects of heating rate and heating up time to central biomass particles for bio-oil production', Bangladesh Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 13-22.
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Objective of this work was to pyrolysis woody biomass. Experiments were carried out at 300 to 500oC. Relatively bigger particles were used. Special emphasis was given to investigate the effects of heating rate and heating up time of the central mass of the particles on the product distribution. Surface temperature reached to the reactor set temperature immediately while the temperature at the central part was as low as 50oC. The center temperature gradually increased to the final temperature within 3 to 8 minutes, depending on the wood types and the reactor set temperature. For ipil-ipil wood the heating rate of the central mass was much faster than krishnachura and koroi woods, and thus the heating up time was lower. Ipil-ipil wood was experienced higher yield (65%) even at lower reactor temperature 300oC with particle temperature 450oC. In the case of krishnachura and koroi woods, the bio-oil yields were lower under the same condition due to the heating rates of the central parts were much slower. Further researchon different biomasses may be necessary to demonstrate overall process.Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res. 51(1), 13-22, 2016

Ahmed, MB, Zhou, JL, Ngo, HH & Guo, W 2016, 'Insight into biochar properties and its cost analysis', Biomass and Bioenergy, vol. 84, pp. 76-86.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Biochars (BCs) are widely produced and used for the remediation of environmental contaminants as bio-sorbents. In this review, statistical analysis of different BC physico-chemical properties was conducted. It was observed that woody materials are the most suitable for preparing BCs, among many other potential raw materials such as food wastes and agricultural materials. Currently BCs are produced through a variety of thermal treatment processes between 300 and 900 °C, among which slow pyrolysis is widely used due to its moderate operating conditions and optimization of BC yields. Hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) is also an effective approach for BC production under certain conditions. As pyrolysis temperature is increased, the carbon content, ash content, surface area, and pore volume tend to be increased while the yield, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen content, and H/C and O/C molar ratios tend to decrease. The economic feasibility of BCs depends on a range of factors from raw material price to efficient production technologies. Thus, the overall cost equation of a pilot BC production plant together with the cost equation for BC regeneration has been proposed. The future research directions of BCs are also elaborated.

Ahmed, MB, Zhou, JL, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Chen, M 2016, 'Progress in the preparation and application of modified biochar for improved contaminant removal from water and wastewater', BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY, vol. 214, pp. 836-851.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Modified biochar (BC) is reviewed in its preparation, functionality, applications and regeneration. The nature of precursor materials, preparatory conditions and modification methods are key factors influencing BC properties. Steam activation is unsuitable for improving BC surface functionality compared with chemical modifications. Alkali-treated BC possesses the highest surface functionality. Both alkali modified BC and nanomaterial impregnated BC composites are highly favorable for enhancing the adsorption of different contaminants from wastewater. Acidic treatment provides more oxygenated functional groups on BC surfaces. The Langmuir isotherm model provides the best fit for sorption equilibria of heavy metals and anionic contaminants, while the Freundlich isotherm model is the best fit for emerging contaminants. The pseudo 2nd order is the most appropriate model of sorption kinetics for all contaminants. Future research should focus on industry-scale applications and hybrid systems for contaminant removal due to scarcity of data.

Ai, H, Xu, J, Huang, W, He, Q, Ni, B & Wang, Y 2016, 'Mechanism and kinetics of biofilm growth process influenced by shear stress in sewers', Water Science and Technology, vol. 73, no. 7, pp. 1572-1582.
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Sewer biofilms play an important role in the biotransformation of substances for methane and sulfide emission in sewer networks. The dynamic flows and the particular shear stress in sewers are the key factors determining the growth of the sewer biofilm. In this work, the development of sewer biofilm with varying shear stress is specifically investigated to gain a comprehensive understanding of the sewer biofilm dynamics. Sewer biofilms were cultivated in laboratory-scale gravity sewers under different hydraulic conditions with the corresponding shell stresses are 1.12 Pa, 1.29 Pa and 1.45 Pa, respectively. The evolution of the biofilm thickness were monitored using microelectrodes, and the variation in total solids (TS) and extracellular polymer substance (EPS) levels in the biofilm were also measured. The results showed that the steady-state biofilm thickness were highly related to the corresponding shear stresses with the biofilm thickness of 2.4 ± 0.1 mm, 2.7 ± 0.1 mm and 2.2 ± 0.1 mm at shear stresses of 1.12 Pa, 1.29 Pa and 1.45 Pa, respectively, which the chemical oxygen demand concentration is 400 mg/L approximately. Based on these observations, a kinetic model for describing the development of sewer biofilms was developed and demonstrated to be capable of reproducing all the experimental data.

Al-Abadi, AM, Pradhan, B & Shahid, S 2016, 'Prediction of groundwater flowing well zone at An-Najif Province, central Iraq using evidential belief functions model and GIS', Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, vol. 188, no. 10, p. 549.
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Alam, M, Sanjayan, J, Zou, PXW, Stewart, MG & Wilson, J 2016, 'Modelling the correlation between building energy ratings and heat-related mortality and morbidity', Sustainable Cities and Society, vol. 22, pp. 29-39.
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Climate change has led to an increase in the frequency and intensity of heatwaves as well as the risk of heat stress within buildings. To provide habitable indoor conditions without air-conditioning during heatwave, residential building energy efficiency need to be upgraded. The aim of this research is to investigate the possible correlation of building energy rating upgrading with heat-related health hazard during heatwave, with case data drawing from Melbourne, Australia. Using building simulations, indoor heat stress conditions of different energy rated houses were calculated using wet bulb globe temperature and discomfort index under the Melbourne 2009 heatwave conditions. The results showed that during three days heatwave period, residents of 0.9 star energy rated house were exposed to extreme heat stress conditions for almost 25 h compared to only 6 h experienced by the occupants of 5.4 star energy rated house. Several robust empirical relationships were proposed to predict deaths, ambulance calls, emergency department presentations and after hour doctor calls during heatwave. It was concluded that mortality rate from a Melbourne 2009 type, as well as, future more intense heatwave may reduce by 90% if entire existing lower energy star rated houses can be upgraded to minimum 5.4 star energy rating.

Alazigha, DP, Indraratna, B, Vinod, JS & Ezeajugh, LE 2016, 'The swelling behaviour of lignosulfonate-treated expansive soil', Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Ground Improvement, vol. 169, no. 3, pp. 182-193.
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This paper presents results regarding the potential of lignosulfonate (LS) to control the swelling of expansive soil. One-dimensional swell tests were performed on untreated and LS-treated remoulded samples of Australian expansive soil from the state of Queensland. The test results indicated that LS has significant influence on the swelling behaviour of this expansive soil. The results were compared with those of identical cement-treated soil samples, and it was found that LS could be a economical and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional alkaline additives. In addition, the behaviour of LS-treated specimens during repeated freezing and thawing cycles was measured. The results indicated significant improvement in the percentage mass loss in LS-treated specimens compared with cement-treated specimens. The microstructural analysis of the untreated and the LS-treated samples showed soil surface area reduction in the treated specimens, which in turn reduced the affinity of the specimens towards moisture uptake, resulting in a reduction in the swell potential of the otherwise expansive soil. The use of LS as a novel non-traditional stabiliser for expansive soil appears to be a viable solution in view of the sustainable use of waste by-products and green construction.

Alengaram, UJ, Mohottige, NHW, Wu, C, Jumaat, MZ, Poh, YS & Wang, Z 2016, 'Response of oil palm shell concrete slabs subjected to quasi-static and blast loads', Construction and Building Materials, vol. 116, pp. 391-402.
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Al-sharif, AAA & Pradhan, B 2016, 'Spatio-temporal Prediction of Urban Expansion Using Bivariate Statistical Models: Assessment of the Efficacy of Evidential Belief Functions and Frequency Ratio Models', Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 213-231.
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Altaee, A & Hilal, N 2016, 'Dual stage PRO power generation from brackish water brine and wastewater effluent feeds', Desalination, vol. 389, pp. 68-77.
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© 2015. Multi-Stage pumping Dual Stage PRO, MSDSPRO, process was proposed for power generation and brine concentration using brackish water brine and wastewater effluent feeds in stages one and two of the process. MSDSPRO process showed high efficiency for power generation and brackish water brine concentration before disposal. Power density, reverse salt diffusion and brackish water recovery rate were calculated in stages one and two of the DSMSPRO process taking into account the phenomenon of concentration polarization. The results showed that the MSDSPRO process efficiency for power generation was considerable even at relatively low draw solution concentrations. At 73 g/L draw solution concentration, power density was 4 and 6.25 W/m2 in stages one and two, respectively. Reverse salt diffusion was found to increase with draw solution concentration and it was higher in stage two compared to stage one. The ratio of reverse salt diffusion to power density, Js-r/W (mol/Wh) was calculated to determine draw agent loss per unit of power generation in the MSDSPRO process. The results also showed that volume of brackish water brine decreased by 18% after the PRO membrane treatment. As such, MSDSPRO process can be applied for power generation and reducing the volume of brine waste for disposal which is particularly important in inland desalination.

Altaee, A, Ismail, AF, Sharif, A & Zaragoza, G 2016, 'Dual stage PRO process: impact of the membrane materials of the process performance', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 14, pp. 6172-6183.
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Altaee, A, Ismail, AF, Sharif, A, Zaragoza, G & Carvalho, PC 2016, 'Two-stage FO-BWRO/NF treatment of saline waters', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 11, pp. 4842-4852.
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Altaee, A, Millar, GJ & Zaragoza, G 2016, 'Integration and optimization of pressure retarded osmosis with reverse osmosis for power generation and high efficiency desalination', Energy, vol. 103, pp. 110-118.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Salinity gradient power is proposed as a source of renewable energy when two solutions of different salinity are mixed. In particular, Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO) coupled with a Reverse Osmosis process (RO) has been previously suggested for power generation, using RO brine as the draw solution. However, integration of PRO with RO may have further value for increasing the extent of water recovery in a desalination process. Consequently, this study was designed to model the impact of various system parameters to better understand how to design and operate practical PRO-RO units. The impact of feed salinity and recovery rate for the RO process on the concentration of draw solution, feed pressure, and membrane area of the PRO process was evaluated. The PRO system was designed to operate at maximum power density of δP=δπ2. Model results showed that the PRO power density generated intensified with increasing seawater salinity and RO recovery rate. For an RO process operating at 52% recovery rate and 35 g/L feed salinity, a maximum power density of 24 W/m2 was achieved using 4.5 M NaCl draw solution. When seawater salinity increased to 45 g/L and the RO recovery rate was 46%, the PRO power density increased to 28 W/m2 using 5 M NaCl draw solution. The PRO system was able to increase the recovery rate of the RO by up to 18% depending on seawater salinity and RO recovery rate. This result suggested a potential advantage of coupling PRO process with RO system to increase the recovery rate of the desalination process and reduce brine discharge.

Altaee, A, Millar, GJ, Sharif, AO & Zaragoza, G 2016, 'Forward osmosis process for supply of fertilizer solutions from seawater using a mixture of draw solutions', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 58, pp. 28025-28041.
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© 2016 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Novel desalination approaches are required to provide both drinking and agricultural water as there is ever increasing stress upon precious freshwater resources. It was our hypothesis that a modified Forward Osmosis (FO) process had the potential for production of irrigation water comprising of appropriate concentrations of fertilizers from a seawater feed. Four agents, KNO3, Na2SO4, CaNO3, and MgCl2, plus 35 g/L seawater were used as the draw and feed solutions of the FO process. Net Driving Pressure in the FO process was manipulated either by increasing the concentration of draw solution (FO process) or by increasing feed pressure (Pressure Assisted FO (PAFO) process). A series of nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes were used for the regeneration of draw solution. The results suggested that a PAFO process was more energy efficient than simple FO, provided the energy relating to the brine flow from the NF/RO membrane for pressurizing the feed solution of PAFO process was used. Furthermore, this study suggested using a mixture of a primary draw solution, MgCl2, and a secondary draw solution, KNO3, for NO3 supply into the irrigation water was preferable. As such, MgCl2 provided the driving force for fresh water extraction while KNO3 was the source of fertilizer in the irrigation water. Results showed that water quality provided by application of a MgCl2 + KNO3 draw solution was better than that from KNO3 or Ca(NO3)2. The concentrations of NO3 and SO4 in irrigation water were within recommended levels when the diluted draw solution was regenerated by a dual stage low-pressure RO process.

Altaee, A, Sharif, AO & Hamdan, M 2016, 'Nanofiltration separation of highly concentrated multivalent electrolyte draw solution; a pilot plant study', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 43, pp. 20237-20247.
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© 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Nanofiltration membrane system is proposed for the regeneration of draw solution in a two-stage forward osmosis (FO) process. Pilot plant experiments were carried out on two types of multivalent electrolyte draw solutions, MgSO4 and MgCl2. Two commercial size NF90-4040 Filmtec Nanofiltration (NF) membranes were packed in a high-pressure vessel for the regeneration of draw solution. The concentrations of the draw solution used were between 20 and 118 g/L. The impact of feed concentration, flow rate and feed pressure on the performance of NF membrane was investigated. Both metal salts have shown a high rejection rate by the NF membrane. The rejection rate to the MgSO4 was slightly higher than that to the MgCl2. Experimental results showed that NF rejection rate and permeate flow rate increased with increasing the feed pressure and flow rate but decreased with increasing the concentration of feed solution. However, this was achieved at the expense of higher power consumption. In general, the efficiency of NF system for the regeneration of draw solution was higher at lower feed concentration. This suggests that NF separation method is probably more suitable for the regeneration of low concentration draw solution which is generated from brackish water FO treatment plants. Furthermore, NF application in the regeneration of high-concentration draw solution is not yet feasible due to the limitations in the NF process such operating feed pressure and rejection rate.

Althuwaynee, OF, Pradhan, B & Lee, S 2016, 'A novel integrated model for assessing landslide susceptibility mapping using CHAID and AHP pair-wise comparison', International Journal of Remote Sensing, vol. 37, no. 5, pp. 1190-1209.
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Ansari, AJ, Hai, FI, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Factors governing the pre-concentration of wastewater using forward osmosis for subsequent resource recovery', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 566-567, pp. 559-566.
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Ansari, AJ, Hai, FI, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Phosphorus recovery from digested sludge centrate using seawater-driven forward osmosis', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 163, pp. 1-7.
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Arslan, A, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Kalam, MA, Quazi, MM & Mosarof, MH 2016, 'Effect of change in temperature on the tribological performance of micro surface textured DLC coating', Journal of Materials Research, vol. 31, no. 13, pp. 1837-1847.
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Abstract

Ashe, B, Nguyen, LN, Hai, FI, Lee, D-J, van de Merwe, JP, Leusch, FDL, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Impacts of redox-mediator type on trace organic contaminants degradation by laccase: Degradation efficiency, laccase stability and effluent toxicity', International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, vol. 113, pp. 169-176.
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This study compares the effectiveness of seven redox-mediating compounds namely, 1-hydrozybenzotriazole (HBT), N-hydroxyphthalimide (HPI), 2,2,6,6-Tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO), violuric acid (VA), syringaldehyde (SA), vanillin (VA), and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), which follow distinct oxidation pathways, for the degradation of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs). These redox-mediators were investigated for improved degradation of four TrOCs showing resistance to degradation by crude laccase from the white-rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus. ABTS and VA achieved the highest degradation of the phenolic compounds (i.e., oxybenzone and pentachlorophenol), whereas the non-phenolic compounds (i.e., naproxen and atrazine) were best removed using VA or HBT. This implies that the non-phenolic compounds are more effectively removed by the radical species generated by the [Formula presented] type mediators (i.e., VA and HBT), while removal of the phenolic compounds may depend more on the stability and the redox potential of the radicals generated from the mediator, irrespective of the type. Notably, enzyme stability was greatly affected by the [Formula presented] type mediators but it was compensated by their rapid degradation capacity. Overall, VA and HBT ([Formula presented] type) appear to be the best mediators for enhanced degradation of the selected compounds without causing significant toxicity in the effluent.

Ashraful, AM, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Rashedul, HK, Habibullah, M, Rashed, MM, Mosarof, MH & Arslan, A 2016, 'Impact of edible and non-edible biodiesel fuel properties and engine operation condition on the performance and emission characteristics of unmodified DI diesel engine', Biofuels, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 219-232.
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Askari, M, Li, J & Samali, B 2016, 'A compact self-adaptive recursive least square approach for real-time structural identification with unknown inputs', Advances in Structural Engineering, vol. 19, no. 7, pp. 1118-1129.
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A new online tracking technique, based on recursive least square with adaptive multiple forgetting factors, is presented in this article which can estimate abrupt changes in structural parameters during excitation and also identify the unknown inputs to the structure, for example, earthquake signal. The method considers an adaptive rule for each of the forgetting factors assigned to each of the unknown parameters and thus enables simultaneous identification of different time-varying parameters of the system. The method is validated through both linear and nonlinear case studies, with different excitations and damage scenarios. The results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively identify the time-varying parameters such as damping, stiffness as well as unknown excitations with high computational efficiency, even when the measured data are contaminated with different levels of noise. However, when damage occurs while the excitation is small, the identification error remains at a small range, and therefore, covariance cannot be amplified to effectively track the changes in unknown parameters.

Askari, M, Li, J & Samali, B 2016, 'Application of Kalman Filtering Methods to Online Real-Time Structural Identification: A Comparison Study', International Journal of Structural Stability and Dynamics, vol. 16, no. 06, pp. 1550016-1550016.
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System identification refers to the process of building or improving mathematical models of dynamical systems from the observed experimental input–output data. In the area of civil engineering, the estimation of the integrity of a structure under dynamic loadings and during service condition has become a challenge for the engineering community. Therefore, there has been a great deal of attention paid to online and real-time structural identification, especially when input–output measurement data are contaminated by high-level noise. Among real-time identification methods, one of the most successful and widely used algorithms for estimation of system states and parameters is the Kalman filter and its various nonlinear extensions such as extended Kalman filter (EKF), Iterated EKF (IEKF), the recently developed unscented Kalman filter (UKF) and Iterated UKF (IUKF). In this paper, an investigation has been carried out on the aforementioned techniques for their effectiveness and efficiencies through a highly nonlinear single degree of freedom (SDOF) structure as well as a two-storey linear structure. Although IEKF is an improved version of EKF, results show that IUKF generally produces better results in terms of structural parameters and state estimation than UKF and IEKF. Also IUKF is more robust to noise levels compared to the other approaches.

Askari, M, Li, J & Samali, B 2016, 'Semi-active control of smart building-MR damper systems using novel TSK-Inv and max-min algorithms', Smart Structures and Systems, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 1005-1028.
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Askari, M, Li, J, Samali, B & Gu, X 2016, 'Experimental forward and inverse modelling of magnetorheological dampers using an optimal Takagi–Sugeno–Kang fuzzy scheme', Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, vol. 27, no. 7, pp. 904-914.
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An evolving encoding scheme is presented in this article for a fuzzy-based nonlinear system identification scheme, using the subtractive fuzzy C-mean clustering and a modified version of non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm. This method is able to automatically select the best inputs as well as the structure of the fuzzy model such as rules and membership functions. Moreover, three objective functions are considered to satisfy both accuracy and compactness of the model. The developed method is then employed to identify both forward and inverse models of a highly nonlinear structural control device, that is, magnetorheological damper. Experimental results showed that the proposed evolving Takagi–Sugeno–Kang fuzzy model can identify and grasp the nonlinear behaviour of magnetorheological damper very well with minimal number of inputs and fuzzy rules.

Aung, TH, Khabbaz, H & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Parametric Study of Applied Stresses on Infiltration Modular Cells Installed under Roads', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 1325-1332.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Modular geocellular units are applicable for the prevention and minimisation of stormwater runoff and flooding as a sustainable and cost-effective solution of road applications for drainage. The integrated units buried are exposed to the dead loads and live loads emerging from the surrounding soil pressure, pore water pressure and surcharge. Thus, a computer program using MATLAB is developed for the assessment of the total vertical and lateral earth pressure exerting on the modules complying with the Australian Standards AS 4678 (2002) and AS 5100.2(2004). Lateral earth pressure concept based on Rankine's theory is adopted in this model as the analytical approach. Closed-form solutions based on the fundamental soil mechanics are applied in the analytical calculation steps made. The model also considers different guidelines such as AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications (2010) for the stress distribution of vehicular loads according to the selected axle type. In consideration of the interaction of the moving vehicle and the bridge, the dynamic load allowance is also applied in terms of the static equivalent of the dynamic and vibratory effect as prescribed in AS 5100.2 (2004). Based on the results obtained, the numerical and theoretical results generated by the program provide considerable and influential factors in regarding to the parametric study and sensitivity analysis presented in this paper.

Aung, Y, Khabbaz, H & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Review on Thermo-mechanical Approach in the Modelling of Geo-materials Incorporating Non-associated Flow Rules', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 331-338.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Recently, there has been a burgeoning interest in developing constitutive soil models from the laws of thermodynamics, mainly due to the benefits that these models automatically obey them and the approach provides a well-established structure and reduces the need for 'ad hoc' postulates. A thermodynamic framework, also known as thermo-mechanical framework, has the capability to predict the behaviour of geotechnical materials, which requires the anticipated incorporation of non-associated flow rules. As it is very challenging to achieve acceptable accuracy in plasticity modelling of granular materials, this paper aims to review this framework not only to discuss the details of the major components but also to highlight the capability of generating non-associated flow rules in a natural way from thermo-mechanical principles. This approach introduces the use of internal variables to develop the two thermodynamic potentials (the free energy and the rate of dissipation functions), sufficient to derive the corresponding yield function, flow rule, isotropic and kinematic hardening rules as well as the basic elasticity law. It is shown that the non-associated flow rule can be derived naturally from the postulated stress-dependent dissipation increment function. Comparison has been made with stress-independent dissipation to demonstrate that the approach can also successfully explain the behaviour of standard materials with associated flow rules. The basic steps for the thermo-mechanical formulation for developing a constitutive model are also reviewed and summarised. Furthermore, the power of conventional mathematical technique, Legendre transformation, in the derivation of constitutive equations has been highlighted.

Azad, AK, Rasul, MG, Khan, MMK, Sharma, SC, Bhuiya, MMK & Mofijur, M 2016, 'A review on socio-economic aspects of sustainable biofuels', International Journal of Global Warming, vol. 10, no. 1/2/3, pp. 32-32.
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Biofuels are renewable eco-fuel, produced from biological resources. They are classified into 1st, 2nd and 3rd generations based on their feedstocks. The 2nd and 3rd generation biofuels are called advanced and sustainable biofuel. The study reviewed and discussed about socio-economic aspects of the sustainable biofuel in Australia because economy is seen to be a key driver for use of biofuels. Recent researches focused on sustainable biofuel production, their commercialisation worldwide. The world biofuel scenario is presented in this study which shows that total biofuel production is progressively moving towards advanced biofuels. Australian total biofuel production, consumption and available present production facilities are also outlined. The study briefly discussed about Australian energy economy such as energy export, import and trades etc. The study concluded that the 2nd generation biofuel can be considered as sustainable alternatives to petroleum fuel in transport sector providing great economic and environmental benefits to Australia.

Azad, AK, Rasul, MG, Khan, MMK, Sharma, SC, Mofijur, M & Bhuiya, MMK 2016, 'Prospects, feedstocks and challenges of biodiesel production from beauty leaf oil and castor oil: A nonedible oil sources in Australia', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 61, pp. 302-318.
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This study critically reviewed the prospects, feedstocks and challenges of biodiesel production from two non-edible oil sources, namely Beauty leaf oil (BLT) (Calophyllum inophyllum) and Castor oil (Ricinus communis). The recent developments and the lifecycle assessment (LCA) of these species such as their habitat, growth, oil content, free fatty acid profile and biodiesel characteristics are briefly discussed. Different oil extraction techniques and biodiesel conversion methods are also presented. The properties of the pure biodiesel and their blends are compared with petroleum diesel under different ASTM and European standards. Furthermore, the literatures on engine performance and emission studies using these biodiesels are reviewed and presented in tabular form. The review found that BLT oil can be catalytically transesterified to produce biodiesel as a potential alternative transport fuel in Australia. The review concludes that castor oil is not only an alternate fuel resource, but it also holds good lubricating properties and hence is a potential bio-lubricant source for internal combustion engines. Further research is needed on combustion, corrosion, tribo-corrosion, long term engine durability tests and tribological performance tests before recommending commercial scale biodiesel production from BLT oil and Castor oil.

Azari, B, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2016, 'Assessment of the Elastic-Viscoplastic Behavior of Soft Soils Improved with Vertical Drains Capturing Reduced Shear Strength of a Disturbed Zone', International Journal of Geomechanics, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. B4014001-B4014001.
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© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers. Soil disturbance induced by the installation of vertical drains reduces the horizontal soil permeability and shear strength in the disturbed zone. Thus, the soil disturbance contributes to the reduced overconsolidation ratio (OCR) of the soil in the vicinity of drains, influencing soil deformation. Although a significant amount of research has been conducted on the effect of permeability variations in the smear zone, the influence of the reduced shear strength in the smear zone on the ground behavior has not been investigated. In this study, a numerical solution adopting an elastic-viscoplastic model with nonlinear creep function in combination with the consolidation equations has been developed. Moreover, the effects of shear strength variation in the disturbed zone on the time-dependent behavior of soft soil deposits improved with vertical drains and preloading have been studied. The applied elastic-viscoplastic model is based on the framework of the modified Cam-clay model, capturing soil creep during excess pore-water pressure dissipation. Furthermore, nonlinear variations of the creep coefficient with stress and time as well as the permeability variations during the consolidation process are considered. The predicted results have been compared with available field measurements. According to the results, the OCR profile of the disturbed zone influences the viscoplastic strain rate, the creep strain limit, and consequently the soil deformation.

Babaee, M & Castel, A 2016, 'Chloride-induced corrosion of reinforcement in low-calcium fly ash-based geopolymer concrete', Cement and Concrete Research, vol. 88, pp. 96-107.
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Babaee, M & Castel, A 2016, 'Steel Reinforcement Corrosion in a Low Calcium Fly Ash Geopolymer Concrete', Key Engineering Materials, vol. 711, pp. 943-949.
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Geopolymer concrete (GPC) has significant potential as a more sustainable, low-embodied carbon alternative for ordinary Portland cement concrete (PCC). However; as a rather new engineering material, there are some concerns over the durability aspects of geopolymeric binders. In this study, performance of chloride contaminated reinforced GPC specimens manufactured using low calcium fly ash is investigated by long-term monitoring of corrosion parameters such as free corrosion potential and polarization resistance. It was found that low calcium fly ash GPC can perform as well as PCC during the propagation phase of corrosion; although, some conventional reference values of corrosion parameters which are indicative of severity of the steel corrosion in PCC are not suitable for GPC. Additionally, commonly used electrochemical test methods are successfully employed to assess the degree of reinforcement corrosion in geopolymeric binders within an acceptable level of accuracy.

Basack, S, Indraratna, B & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 2016, 'Analysis of the Behaviour of Stone Column Stabilized Soft Ground Supporting Transport Infrastructure', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 347-354.
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Basack, S, Indraratna, B & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 2016, 'Modeling the Performance of Stone Column–Reinforced Soft Ground under Static and Cyclic Loads', Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, vol. 142, no. 2, pp. 04015067-04015067.
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Bastidas-Arteaga, E & Stewart, MG 2016, 'Economic assessment of climate adaptation strategies for existing reinforced concrete structures subjected to chloride-induced corrosion', Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 432-449.
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Reinforced concrete (RC) structures placed in chloride-contaminated environments are subjected to deterioration processes that affect their performance, serviceability and safety. Chloride ingress leads to corrosion initiation and its interaction with service loading could reduce its operational life. Chloride ingress and corrosion propagation are highly influenced by weather conditions in the surrounding environment including climate change. Therefore, both structural design and maintenance should be adapted to these new environmental conditions. This study focuses on the assessment of the costs and benefits of climate adaptation strategies for existing RC structures subjected to chloride ingress and climate change. We studied RC structures built at different periods under different construction standards in France. The cost-effectiveness of adaptation measures was measured in terms of the benefit-to-cost ratio (BCR) and the probability that BCR exceeds unity – i.e. Pr(BCR>1). The results of the paper could provide practical advice to policy-makers to improve the management of existing RC structures under a changing climate by discussing the influence of the following factors on the mean BCR and Pr(BCR>1): specific exposure conditions, climate change scenarios, risk reduction due to the implementation of adaptation strategies, type of structural component, years of construction and adaptation, discount rates and damage costs.

Belhaj, D, Athmouni, K, Jerbi, B, Kallel, M, Ayadi, H & Zhou, JL 2016, 'Estrogenic compounds in Tunisian urban sewage treatment plant: occurrence, removal and ecotoxicological impact of sewage discharge and sludge disposal', Ecotoxicology, vol. 25, no. 10, pp. 1849-1857.
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The occurrence, fate and ecotoxicological assessment of selected estrogenic compounds were investigated at Tunisian urban sewage treatment plant. The influents, effluents, as well as primary, secondary and dehydrated sludge, were sampled and analyzed for the target estrogens to evaluate their fate. All target compounds were detected in both sewage and sludge with mean concentrations from 0.062 to 0.993 μg L-1 and from 11.8 to 792.9 μg kg-1dry weight, respectively. A wide range of removal efficiencies during the treatment processes were observed, from 6.3 % for estrone to 76.8 % for estriol. Ecotoxicological risk assessment revealed that the highest ecotoxicological risk in sewage effluent and dehydrated sludge was due to 17β-estradiol with a risk quotient (RQ) of 4.6 and 181.9, respectively, and 17α-ethinylestradiol with RQ of 9.8 and 14.85, respectively. Ecotoxicological risk after sewage discharge and sludge disposal was limited to the presence of 17β-estradiol in dehydrated-sludge amended soil with RQ of 1.38. Further control of estrogenic hormones in sewage effluent and sludge is essential before their discharge and application in order to prevent their introduction into the natural environment.

Belhaj, D, Jerbi, B, Medhioub, M, Zhou, J, Kallel, M & Ayadi, H 2016, 'Impact of treated urban wastewater for reuse in agriculture on crop response and soil ecotoxicity', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 16, pp. 15877-15887.
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© 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. The scarcity of freshwater resources is a serious problem in arid regions, such as Tunisia, and marginal quality water is gradually being used in agriculture. This study aims to study the impact of treated urban wastewater for reuse in agriculture on the health of soil and food crops. The key findings are that the effluents of Sfax wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) did not meet the relevant guidelines, therefore emitting a range of organic (e.g., up to 90 mg L−1 COD and 30 mg L−1 BOD5) and inorganic pollutants (e.g., up to 0.5 mg L−1 Cu and 0.1 mg L−1 Cd) in the receiving aquatic environments. Greenhouse experiments examining the effects of wastewater reuse on food plants such as tomato, lettuce, and radish showed that the treated effluent adversely affected plant growth, photosynthesis, and antioxidant enzyme contents. However, the pollution burden and biological effects on plants were substantially reduced by using a 50 % dilution of treated sewage effluent, suggesting the potential of reusing treated effluent in agriculture so long as appropriate monitoring and control is in place.

Biabani, MM, Indraratna, B & Ngo, NT 2016, 'Modelling of geocell-reinforced subballast subjected to cyclic loading', Geotextiles and Geomembranes, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 489-503.
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This paper presents the experimental and numerical studies of geocell-reinforced subballast subjected to cyclic loading. A series of laboratory experiments were conducted using a large-scale prismoidal triaxial apparatus that was subjected to relatively low confining pressures of σ'3 = 10-30 kPa and a frequency of f = 10 Hz. Numerical simulations were performed using the commercial finite element package ABAQUS in three dimensions to realistically model cellular confinement, and to study the effectiveness of geocell reinforcement on subballast. A cyclic loading with a periodic and positive full-sine waveform was adopted to model the geocell-reinforced subballast, which is similar to the load carried out in the laboratory. The results of numerical modelling agreed well with the experimental data, and showed that geocell could effectively decrease the lateral and axial deformations of the reinforced subballast. The numerical model was also validated by the field data, and the results were found to be in good agreement, indicating that the proposed model was able to capture the load-deformation behaviour of geocell-reinforced subballast under cyclic loading. A parametric study was also carried out to evaluate the effect of the subballast strength and geocell stiffness on the mobilized tensile strength in the geocell mattress. It was found that the maximum mobilized tensile stress occurs on the subballast with the lowest degree of stiffness. Also the results revealed that lateral displacement decreased further by increasing geocell stiffness, and geocell with a relatively low stiffness performs very well compared to the geocell with a higher stiffness.

Biabani, MM, Indraratna, B & Nimbalkar, S 2016, 'Assessment of Interface Shear Behaviour of Sub-ballast with Geosynthetics by Large-scale Direct Shear Test', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 1007-1015.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.A series of large-scale direct shear test were conducted to study the interface shear strength of subballast reinforced with different types of geomembranes and geogrids. The impact of normal stress (σn), shearing rate (SR), relative density (DR) and open area (OA%) on the behaviour of granular material was investigated in unreinforced and reinforced condition. The results revealed that the performance of material was markedly influenced by σn and OA. The results also showed that geogrids provided a greater value of passive resistance owing to have transverse ribs, but the mobilised passive resistance became smaller with increase in OA. The triaxial grids offered more passive resistance than biaxial geogrid.

Biabani, MM, Ngo, NT & Indraratna, B 2016, 'Performance evaluation of railway subballast stabilised with geocell based on pull-out testing', Geotextiles and Geomembranes, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 579-591.
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A large-scale apparatus was designed and built at the University of Wollongong to evaluate the pull-out strength of rail subballast reinforced with geocells. A series of tests were carried out to investigate the pull-out resistance, mobilised tensile strength (τtensile) and passive strength (τpassive) of a subballast-geocell assembly under a given range of overburden pressure (1 kPa ≤ q ≤ 45 kPa). The interface was held in a vertical alignment to better simulate the interaction between subballast and geocell in accordance with routine track practices. The test results show that the geocell reinforcement provides a considerable degree of passive resistance, where the opening area (OA) and lateral pressure (σn) over the geocell strip are found to be influential factors. A three-dimensional finite element simulation was also conducted. The numerical results show that the tensile strength mobilised in the geocell will increase as the geocell stiffness increases, but causes a reduction in τpassive. A parametric study was also developed to investigate the impact of geocell stiffness and friction coefficient on the passive resistance and mobilised tensile strength. These results indicate that the passive resistance and mobilised tensile strength increase with the increase in overburden pressure (q) and friction coefficient (δ).

Bidram, E, Sulistio, A, Amini, A, Fu, Q, Qiao, GG, Stewart, A & Dunstan, DE 2016, 'Fractionation of graphene oxide single nano-sheets in water-glycerol solutions using gradient centrifugation', Carbon, vol. 103, pp. 363-371.
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A centrifugation method for the separation and fractionation of graphene oxide (GO) single nano-sheets in the size range of 150-850 nm is reported. The measured electrophoretic mobility of the fractionated single sheets ranges from -0.2 to -1.4 μm cm/V·s where the interpreted zeta potentials vary from -3 mV to -17 mV with increasing sheet size. The single GO sheets show auto-fluorescence in the visible range of 350-650 nm using an excitation wavelength of 200 nm. Furthermore, the GO nano-sheets functionalized using PEG are found to be non-cytotoxic in in-vitro at concentrations up to 90 μg/ml, with a small reduction in cell viability -10%- at 260 μg/ml. The observed concentration-dependence of the cytotoxicity potentially explains the differing conclusions on cytotoxic potential reported in the literature. The GO nano-sheets therefore have the potential to be used as fluorescent drug delivery carriers of specific size.

Bowers, ML, Gao, Y, Yang, L, Gaydosh, DJ, De Graef, M, Noebe, RD, Wang, Y & Mills, MJ 2016, 'Corrigendum to “Austenite grain refinement during load-biased thermal cycling of a Ni49.9Ti50.1 shape memory alloy” [Acta Mater. 91 (2015) 318–329]', Acta Materialia, vol. 108, pp. 380-380.
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Bui, XT, Vo, TPT, Ngo, HH, Guo, WS & Nguyen, TT 2016, 'Multicriteria assessment of advanced treatment technologies for micropollutants removal at large-scale applications', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 563-564, pp. 1050-1067.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. With the introduction and discharge of thousands of new micropollutants (MPs) every year, traditional water and wastewater treatment plants may be incapable of tackling them all. With their low concentrations and diversity in nature, MP removal encounters numerous challenges. Although some MPs are effectively eliminated via conventional treatment methods, most of them can easily escape and are retained in the discharged effluent. Therefore, advanced methods such as (i) adsorption, (ii) oxidation and advanced oxidation processes (O3 and O3-based advanced oxidation processes, UV/H2O2), (iii) membrane processes, and (iv) membrane bioreactors, become an inevitable approach. Despite the unsurprisingly vast number of papers on MP treatment available at present, most of these studies were carried out at a laboratory scale while only a few pilot- and full-scale studies have experimented. Nevertheless, an in-depth assessment of real-world MP treatment methods is extremely crucial for practitioners. To date, no paper has been dedicated to look at this issue. Therefore, this paper aims to review these large-scale treatment methods. First, the paper goes through the regulations and standards which deal with MPs in water courses. It will then assess these methods in various case-studies with reference to different criteria towards serving as a reference for further practical applications.

Burton, GJ, Pineda, JA, Sheng, D, Airey, DW & Zhang, F 2016, 'Exploring one-dimensional compression of compacted clay under constant degree of saturation paths', Géotechnique, vol. 66, no. 5, pp. 435-440.
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This note presents a novel approach for controlling the degree of saturation during one-dimensional compression of unsaturated soils. This technique offers a simple and versatile way to study the hydro-mechanical response of unsaturated soils as well as the unsaturated–saturated soil transition. By using a multi-stage approach, the same specimen can be used to evaluate the compressibility of unsaturated specimens at different degrees of saturation, which may reduce the long testing periods commonly required for unsaturated soil testing. The experimental results described in this paper show that the proposed technique is capable of controlling the degree of saturation within reasonable limits and provides an interesting approach to analyse the coupled hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils.

Castel, A & Turatsinze, A 2016, 'Discussion of the paper titled “Evaluation of the predictive ability of the in situ concrete strength through core drilling and its effects on the capacity of the RC columns by M. Vona and D. Nigro”', Materials and Structures, vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 1569-1571.
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Castel, A, Foster, SJ, Ng, T, Sanjayan, JG & Gilbert, RI 2016, 'Creep and drying shrinkage of a blended slag and low calcium fly ash geopolymer Concrete', Materials and Structures, vol. 49, no. 5, pp. 1619-1628.
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Abstract The main purpose of this research is to study the time dependent behaviour of a geopolymer concrete. The geopolymer binder is composed of 85.2 % of low calcium fly ash and only 14.8 % of ground granulated blast furnace slag. Both drying shrinkage and creep are studied. In addition, different curing conditions at elevated temperature were used. All experimental results were compared to predictions made using the Eurocode 2. The curing regime plays an important role in the magnitude and development of both creep and drying shrinkage of class F fly ash based geopolymer concrete. A minimum of 3 days at 40 °C or 1 day at 80 °C is required to obtain final drying shrinkage strains similar to or less than those adopted by Eurocode 2 for ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete. Creep strains were similar or less than those predicted by Eurocode 2 for OPC concrete when the geopolymer concrete was cured for 3 days at 40 °C. After 7 days at 80 °C, creep strains became negligible.

Castel, A, Khan, I, François, R & Gilbert, RI 2016, 'Modeling Steel Concrete Bond Strength Reduction Due to Corrosion', ACI Structural Journal, vol. 113, no. 5, pp. 973-982.
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Chakraborty, S, Mengersen, K, Fidge, C, Ma, L & Lassen, D 2016, 'A Bayesian Network-based customer satisfaction model: a tool for management decisions in railway transport', Decision Analytics, vol. 3, no. 1.
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Chaves, IA, Melchers, RE, Peng, L & Stewart, MG 2016, 'Probabilistic remaining life estimation for deteriorating steel marine infrastructure under global warming and nutrient pollution', Ocean Engineering, vol. 126, pp. 129-137.
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The longer-term serviceability and structural safety of steel infrastructure exposed to seawater conditions may be affected by global warming and by seawater nutrient pollution. These may affect abiotic and biotic (microbial) corrosion. A model for long-term corrosion is developed from data obtained from steel piling exposed for 33 years in a seawater harbour. The effects on corrosion losses on the structural reliability of steel sheet piling as used in harbours world-wide were investigated as a function of seawater temperature rise from global warming and of seawater nutrient pollution. The results show that structural reliability is more sensitive to likely nutrient pollution than to predicted increases in seawater temperature, noting also that global warming also could increase nutrient pollution from anthropological sources.

Chekli, L, Bayatsarmadi, B, Sekine, R, Sarkar, B, Shen, AM, Scheckel, KG, Skinner, W, Naidu, R, Shon, HK, Lombi, E & Donner, E 2016, 'Analytical characterisation of nanoscale zero-valent iron: A methodological review', ANALYTICA CHIMICA ACTA, vol. 903, pp. 13-35.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) have been widely tested as they are showing significant promise for environmental remediation. However, many recent studies have demonstrated that their mobility and reactivity in subsurface environments are significantly affected by their tendency to aggregate. Both the mobility and reactivity of nZVI mainly depends on properties such as particle size, surface chemistry and bulk composition. In order to ensure efficient remediation, it is crucial to accurately assess and understand the implications of these properties before deploying these materials into contaminated environments. Many analytical techniques are now available to determine these parameters and this paper provides a critical review of their usefulness and limitations for nZVI characterisation. These analytical techniques include microscopy and light scattering techniques for the determination of particle size, size distribution and aggregation state, and X-ray techniques for the characterisation of surface chemistry and bulk composition. Example characterisation data derived from commercial nZVI materials is used to further illustrate method strengths and limitations. Finally, some important challenges with respect to the characterisation of nZVI in groundwater samples are discussed.

Chekli, L, Phuntsho, S, Kim, JE, Kim, J, Choi, JY, Choi, J-S, Kim, S, Kim, JH, Hong, S, Sohn, J & Shon, HK 2016, 'A comprehensive review of hybrid forward osmosis systems: Performance, applications and future prospects', JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE, vol. 497, no. 1, pp. 430-449.
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Forward osmosis (FO) has been increasingly studied in the past decade for its potential as an emerging low-energy water and wastewater treatment process. However, the term “low-energy” may only be suitable for those applications in where no further treatment of the draw solution (DS) is required either in the form of pretreatment or post-treatment to the FO process (e.g. where the diluted DS is the targeted final product which can be used directly or simply discarded). In most applications, FO has to be coupled with another separation process in a so-called hybrid FO system to either separate the DS from the final product water or to be used as an advanced pre-treatment process to conventional desalination technologies. The additional process increases the capital cost as well as the energy demand of the overall system which is one of the several challenges that hybrid FO systems need to overcome to compete with other separation technologies. Yet, there are some applications where hybrid FO systems can outperform conventional processes and this study aims to provide a comprehensive review on the current state of hybrid FO systems. The recent development and performance of hybrid FO systems in different applications have been reported. This review also highlights the future research directions for the current hybrid FO systems to achieve successful implementation.

Chen, C, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Advances in Granular Growth Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (G-AnMBR) for Low Strength Wastewater Treatment', Journal of Energy and Environmental Sustainability, vol. 1, pp. 77-83.
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Chen, C, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Lee, D-J, Tung, K-L, Jin, P, Wang, J & Wu, Y 2016, 'Challenges in biogas production from anaerobic membrane bioreactors', Renewable Energy, vol. 98, pp. 120-134.
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© 2016 Spectacular applications of anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) are emerging due to the membrane enhanced biogas production in the form of renewable bioresources. They produce similar energy derived from the world's depleting natural fossil energy sources while minimizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. During the last decade, many types of AnMBRs have been developed and applied so as to make biogas technology practical and economically viable. Referring to both conventional and advanced configurations, this review presents a comprehensive summary of AnMBRs for biogas production in recent years. The potential of biogas production from AnMBRs cannot be fully exploited, since certain constraints still remain and these cause low methane yield. This paper addresses a detailed assessment on the potential challenges that AnMBRs are encountering, with a major focus on many inhibitory substances and operational dilemmas. The aim is to provide a solid platform for advances in novel AnMBRs applications for optimized biogas production.

Chen, G, Wang, Z, Li, X-M, Song, J, Zhao, B, Phuntsho, S, Shon, HK & He, T 2016, 'Concentrating underground brine by FO process: Influence of membrane types and spacer on membrane scaling', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 285, pp. 92-100.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Forward osmosis (FO) is a low energy process when recovery of the draw solutes is not necessary. This study focused on the performance of the FO process for concentrating underground brine (UGB) with saturated sodium chloride as draw solution (DS) using two membranes: commercialized flat sheet cellulose triacetate (CTA) membrane and tailor-made thin film composite (TFC) FO membrane. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD) analysis indicate that, majority of the scaling components were calcium sulfate and sodium chloride crystals formed both through surface and bulk crystallization. The spacer in the FO test cell also promoted scaling. Without spacer, a sharp flux decline of TFC membrane occurred at a higher concentration factor while no sharp flux drop was observed for CTA membrane. It was hypothesized that the rough TFC membrane surface may initiate nucleation and aggregation of the crystals in the active surface, and eventually resulting in scaling.

Chen, H, Liu, Y, Ni, B-J, Wang, Q, Wang, D, Zhang, C, Li, X & Zeng, G 2016, 'Full-scale evaluation of aerobic/extended-idle regime inducing biological phosphorus removal and its integration with intermittent sand filter to treat domestic sewage discharged from highway rest area', Biochemical Engineering Journal, vol. 113, pp. 114-122.
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Biological phosphorus removal (BPR) has been demonstrated to be successfully achieved in the aerobic/extended-idle (AEI) wastewater treatment regime in previous bench-scale studies. To date, however, its feasibility has never been evaluated by any full-scale investigation. Here we report a first full-scale (180 m3/day) evaluation of the AEI process and its integration with intermittent sand filter to treat highway rest area sewage that is often neglected but actually brings significant impacts on receiving water bodies in China. The results showed that 70-99% of influent phosphate was removed in the AEI zone, although the sewage contained 23-37% of carbohydrate that is usually considered to be detrimental for BPR. Batch experimental investigation revealed that the presence of glucose (model compound of carbohydrate) promoted the AEI-inducing BPR efficiency, as opposed to deteriorating the conventional anaerobic/oxic regime-inducing BPR performance. Although the performance of AEI zone was affected by seasonal variation, the efficiencies of contaminant removal were stable and excellent (total nitrogen > 86%, others > 92%) in the integrated system. This study offers an attractive option for BPR from carbohydrate-rich wastewaters and also provides a prototype for wastewater treatment in remote areas.

Chen, J, Guo, C, Ji, Z, Poon, Y-T, Yu, N, Zeng, B & Zhou, J 2016, 'Joint product numerical range and geometry of reduced density matrices', Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron., vol. 60, no. 2, p. 020312.
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The reduced density matrices of a many-body quantum system form a convex set,whose three-dimensional projection $\Theta$ is convex in $\mathbb{R}^3$. Theboundary $\partial\Theta$ of $\Theta$ may exhibit nontrivial geometry, inparticular ruled surfaces. Two physical mechanisms are known for the origins ofruled surfaces: symmetry breaking and gapless. In this work, we study theemergence of ruled surfaces for systems with local Hamiltonians in infinitespatial dimension, where the reduced density matrices are known to be separableas a consequence of the quantum de Finetti's theorem. This allows us toidentify the reduced density matrix geometry with joint product numerical range$\Pi$ of the Hamiltonian interaction terms. We focus on the case where theinteraction terms have certain structures, such that ruled surface emergenaturally when taking a convex hull of $\Pi$. We show that, a ruled surface on$\partial\Theta$ sitting in $\Pi$ has a gapless origin, otherwise it has asymmetry breaking origin. As an example, we demonstrate that a famous ruledsurface, known as the oloid, is a possible shape of $\Theta$, with two boundarypieces of symmetry breaking origin separated by two gapless lines.

Chen, Q, Indraratna, B & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 2016, 'Behaviour of lignosulfonate-treated soil under cyclic loading', Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Ground Improvement, vol. 169, no. 2, pp. 109-119.
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In this paper, the effectiveness of an environmentally-friendly stabilising agent for soil, lignosulfonate (LS), is examined through a series of cyclic triaxial tests. The deformation characteristics of the contents of LS-treated sandy silt when subjected to undrained cyclic triaxial loading are investigated at different confining pressures and cyclic stress levels. Test results indicate that under a given confining pressure and cyclic deviator stress, the rate of increase in axial strain is controlled by the addition of LS, which results in a smaller value of plastic axial strain (εa,p). For all the untreated and LS-treated specimens, the rate of increase in εa,p increases with the increasing cyclic stress ratio (CSR). A critical value of CSR exists for a given LS content (i.e. CSRCR), below which the specimens could remain stable irrespective of the number of load cycles. The longevity of treated specimens is improved significantly, especially for the specimens with LS = 2% by weight. As the treated specimens are subjected to a high level of cyclic stress, the excess pore pressure shows a decreasing trend with the increasing number of cycles, but then increases again rapidly when the failure becomes imminent. Compared with the untreated soil, the resilient modulus increases significantly as a result of LS treatment, especially for LS = 2%. When the LS > 2%, there is no additional advantage, implying that 2% LS treatment is an optimum for this soil.

Chen, Q, Indraratna, B & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 2016, 'Behaviour of lignosulfonate-treated soil under cyclic loading', Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Ground Improvement, vol. 169, no. 2, pp. 109-119.
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In this paper, the effectiveness of an environmentally-friendly stabilising agent for soil, lignosulfonate (LS), is examined through a series of cyclic triaxial tests. The deformation characteristics of the contents of LS-treated sandy silt when subjected to undrained cyclic triaxial loading are investigated at different confining pressures and cyclic stress levels. Test results indicate that under a given confining pressure and cyclic deviator stress, the rate of increase in axial strain is controlled by the addition of LS, which results in a smaller value of plastic axial strain (εa,p). For all the untreated and LS-treated specimens, the rate of increase in εa,pincreases with the increasing cyclic stress ratio (CSR). A critical value of CSR exists for a given LS content (i.e. CSRCR), below which the specimens could remain stable irrespective of the number of load cycles. The longevity of treated specimens is improved significantly, especially for the specimens with LS = 2% by weight. As the treated specimens are subjected to a high level of cyclic stress, the excess pore pressure shows a decreasing trend with the increasing number of cycles, but then increases again rapidly when the failure becomes imminent. Compared with the untreated soil, the resilient modulus increases significantly as a result of LS treatment, especially for LS = 2%. When the LS > 2%, there is no additional advantage, implying that 2% LS treatment is an optimum for this soil.

Chen, Q, Indraratna, B, Carter, JP & Nimbalkar, S 2016, 'Isotropic–kinematic hardening model for coarse granular soils capturing particle breakage and cyclic loading under triaxial stress space', Canadian Geotechnical Journal, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 646-658.
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In this paper, a simple but comprehensive cyclic stress–strain model that incorporates particle breakage for granular soils including ballast and rockfill has been proposed on the basis of bounding surface plasticity theory within a critical state framework. Particle breakage and its effects are captured by a critical state line that is translated in voids ratio–stress space according to the dissipated energy (plastic work), through a hyperbolic function. A comprehensive equation related to particle breakage is proposed for the stress–dilatancy relationship to capture the complex dilatancy of granular soils. By extending Masing’s rule to bounding surface plasticity theory and introducing a generalized homological centre, a combined isotropic–kinematic hardening rule and a mapping rule have been established to simulate more realistically the response of gravelly soils under cyclic loading. The applicability and accuracy of this model are demonstrated by comparing its predictions with experimental results for different types of granular soils, including rockfill, under both monotonic and cyclic loading conditions. This study shows that the model can capture the characteristic features of coarse granular soils under complex loading paths.

Chen, W, Wu, G, He, T, Li, Z, Guo, Z, Liu, H, Huang, Z & Chen, P 2016, 'An improved synthesis of unsolvated NaB 3 H 8 and its application in preparing Na 2 B 12 H 12', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 41, no. 34, pp. 15471-15476.
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Octahydrotriborates are potential hydrogen storage materials and chemical vapor deposition precursors to boride films. Their syntheses have been quite challenging, however. In this paper, an improved facile route for the preparation of unsolvated sodium octahydrotriborate (NaB3H8), which is an important precursor to other octahydrotriborates and derivatives, is reported. The key steps in the synthesis involve dispersing Na finely in inert media and preparing fresh tetrahydrofuran (THF)·BH3at room temperature. High purity unsolvated NaB3H8can be obtained in tens of grams or more in one batch, depending on the reactor size. Using NaB3H8as the precursor, sodium dodecaborate (Na2B12H12) has been successfully synthesized. Both octahydrotriborates and dodecaborates have been observed as intermediates during the thermal dehydrogenation of borohydrides, and their facile syntheses would facilitate mechanistic studies on the hydrogen storage of borohydrides, among other potential applications.

Chen, W, Yu, H, Wu, G, He, T, Li, Z, Guo, Z, Liu, H, Huang, Z & Chen, P 2016, 'Ammonium Aminodiboranate: A Long‐Sought Isomer of Diammoniate of Diborane and Ammonia Borane Dimer', Chemistry – A European Journal, vol. 22, no. 23, pp. 7727-7729.
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AbstractAmmonium aminodiboranate ([NH4][BH3NH2BH3]) is a long‐sought isomer of diammoniate of diborane ([NH3BH2NH3][BH4]) and ammonia borane (NH3BH3) dimer. Our results show that [NH4][BH3NH2BH3] is stable in tetrahydrofuran at −18 °C and decomposes rapidly to NH3BH2NH2BH3 and H2 at elevated temperatures. The decomposition pathway is dictated by the dihydrogen bonding between Hδ+ on NH4+ and Hδ− on BH3, as confirmed by theoretical calculations. This is in contrast to the interconversion between [NH3BH2NH3][BH4] and (NH3BH3)2, although all three have dihydrogen bonds and the same stoichiometry.

Chen, X & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Anaerobic conversion of hydrogen and carbon dioxide to fatty acids production in a membrane biofilm reactor: A modeling approach', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 306, pp. 1092-1098.
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Biological conversion of gaseous compounds (e.g., H2/CO2) into valuable liquid fuels or chemicals using mixed culture is a promising technology, which could be effectively and efficiently implemented in a membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) with gas being supplied from inside of membranes. In this study, a model integrating multiple production pathways of fatty acids (including acetate, butyrate, and caproate) was developed and tested using reported mixed culture experimental data from a lab-scale MBfR fed with 60% H2 and 40% CO2. The uncertainty of the four estimated model parameters was explored by a sensitivity analysis. With the developed model, the impacts of key process parameters (i.e., gas supply and hydraulic retention time (HRT)) on the performance of the MBfR converting H2/CO2 to fatty acids were then investigated. The results show that a high HRT is imperative for chain elongation to produce a higher proportion of caproate with a higher added value. A proper gas supply should be provided to favour the speciation of biological gas conversion products as well as to fully exploit the conversion capacity of the MBfR. The findings of this work provide useful information for a better understanding and further applications of this MBfR technology for mixed culture syngas fermentation.

Chen, X & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Model-based evaluation on simultaneous nitrate and arsenite removal in a membrane biofilm reactor', Chemical Engineering Science, vol. 152, pp. 488-496.
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Nitrate (NO3-) and arsenite (As(III)) are two major contaminants in groundwater, which could cause significant risks to human wellbeing and ecological system. In this work, a single-stage membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) coupling denitrifying anaerobic methane (CH4) oxidation (DAMO) and autotrophic As(III) oxidation processes was proposed for the first time to achieve the in-situ or ex-situ simultaneous removal of NO3- and As(III) from groundwater. CH4 is supplied to the MBfR through gas-permeable membranes while NO3- and As(III) are provided in the bulk liquid. A mathematical model was developed by integrating the well-established biokinetics of DAMO microorganisms with the kinetics of As(III)-oxidizing bacteria (AsOB). The key parameter values of AsOB were specifically estimated using the batch experimental data of an enriched pure AsOB culture in conjunction with thermodynamic state calculations. The maximum specific growth rate of AsOB (μAsOB) and the yield coefficient for AsOB (YAsOB) were determined to be 0.00161 h-1 and 0.016 g COD g-1 As, respectively. The modeling results demonstrated that both influent surface loading (or hydraulic retention time (HRT)) and CH4 surface loading played important roles in controlling the steady-state microbial community structure and thus significantly affected the system performance. The As(III)/NO3- ratio between 0.1 and 2 g As g-1 NO3--N in the influent would have no significant impact on the overall system performance despite the varying microbial composition in the biofilm. Through properly adjusting the influent surface loading (or HRT) and CH4 surface loading whilst maintaining a sufficient biofilm thickness at a suitable influent As(III)/NO3- ratio, the maximum removal efficiencies of total nitrogen and As(III) could both reach above 95.0%, accompanied by a high CH4 utilization efficiency of up to 99.0%.

Chen, X, Guo, J, Xie, G, Yuan, Z & Ni, B 2016, 'Achieving complete nitrogen removal by coupling nitritation‐anammox and methane‐dependent denitrification: A model‐based study', Biotechnology and Bioengineering, vol. 113, no. 5, pp. 1035-1045.
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ABSTRACTThe discovery of denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) processes enables the complete nitrogen removal from wastewater by utilizing the methane produced on site from anaerobic digesters. This model‐based study investigated the mechanisms and operational window for efficient nitrogen removal by coupling nitritation‐anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) and methane‐dependent denitrification in membrane biofilm reactors (MBfRs). A mathematical model was applied to describe the microbial interactions among Anammox bacteria, DAMO archaea, and DAMO bacteria. The model sufficiently described the batch experimental data from an MBfR containing an Anammox‐DAMO biofilm with different feeding nitrogen compositions, which confirmed the validity of the model. The effects of process parameters on the system performance and microbial community structure could therefore be reliably evaluated. The impacts of nitritation produced NO2−/NH4+ ratio, methane supply, biofilm thickness and total nitrogen (TN) surface loading were comprehensively investigated with the model. Results showed that the optimum NO2−/NH4+ ratio produced from nitritation for the Anammox‐DAMO biofilm system was around 1.0 in order to achieve the maximum TN removal (over 99.0%), independent on TN surface loading. The corresponding optimal methane supply increased while the associated methane utilization efficiency decreased with the increase of TN surface loading. The cooperation between DAMO organisms and Anammox bacteria played the key role in the TN removal. Based on these results, the proof‐of‐concept feasibility of a single‐stage MBfR coupling nitritation‐Anammox‐DAMO for complete nitrogen removal was also tested through integrating the model with ammonia‐oxi...

Chen, X, Li, J, Li, Y & Gu, X 2016, 'Lyapunov-based Semi-active Control of Adaptive Base Isolation System employing Magnetorheological Elastomer base isolators', Earthquakes and Structures, vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 1077-1099.
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© 2016 Techno-Press, Ltd. One of the main shortcomings in the current passive base isolation system is lack of adaptability. The recent research and development of a novel adaptive seismic isolator based on magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) material has created an opportunity to add adaptability to base isolation systems for civil structures. The new MRE based base isolator is able to significantly alter its shear modulus or lateral stiffness with the applied magnetic field or electric current, which makes it a competitive candidate to develop an adaptive base isolation system. This paper aims at exploring suitable control algorithms for such adaptive base isolation system by developing a close-loop semi-active control system for a building structure equipped with MRE base isolators. The MRE base isolator is simulated by a numerical model derived from experimental characterization based on the Bouc-Wen Model, which is able to describe the forcedisplacement response of the device accurately. The parameters of Bouc-Wen Model such as the stiffness and the damping coefficients are described as functions of the applied current. The state-space model is built by analyzing the dynamic property of the structure embedded with MRE base isolators. A Lyapunov-based controller is designed to adaptively vary the current applied to MRE base isolator to suppress the quakeinduced vibrations. The proposed control method is applied to a widely used benchmark base-isolated structure by numerical simulation. The performance of the adaptive base isolation system was evaluated through comparison with optimal passive base isolation system and a passive base isolation system with optimized base shear. It is concluded that the adaptive base isolation system with proposed Lyapunov-based semi-active control surpasses the performance of other two passive systems in protecting the civil structures under seismic events.

Chen, X, Liu, Y, Peng, L, Yuan, Z & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Model-Based Feasibility Assessment of Membrane Biofilm Reactor to Achieve Simultaneous Ammonium, Dissolved Methane, and Sulfide Removal from Anaerobic Digestion Liquor', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1.
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AbstractIn this study, the membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) is proposed to achieve simultaneous removal of ammonium, dissolved methane, and sulfide from main-stream and side-stream anaerobic digestion liquors. To avoid dissolved methane stripping, oxygen is introduced through gas-permeable membranes, which also from the substratum for the growth of a biofilm likely comprising ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB), anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) bacteria, denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) microorganisms, aerobic methane oxidizing bacteria (MOB), and sulfur oxidizing bacteria (SOB). A mathematical model is developed and applied to assess the feasibility of such a system and the associated microbial community structure under different operational conditions. The simulation studies demonstrate the feasibility of achieving high-level (>97.0%), simultaneous removal of ammonium, dissolved methane, and sulfide in the MBfRs from both main-stream and side-stream anaerobic digestion liquors through adjusting the influent surface loading (or hydraulic retention time (HRT)) and the oxygen surface loading. The optimal HRT was found to be inversely proportional to the corresponding oxygen surface loading. Under the optimal operational conditions, AOB, DAMO bacteria, MOB, and SOB dominate the biofilm of the main-stream MBfR, while AOB, Anammox bacteria, DAMO bacteria, and SOB coexist in the side-stream MBfR to remove ammonium, dissolved methane, and sulfide simultaneously.

Chen, Y-C, Chen, W-H, Lin, B-J, Chang, J-S & Ong, HC 2016, 'Impact of torrefaction on the composition, structure and reactivity of a microalga residue', Applied Energy, vol. 181, pp. 110-119.
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Choo, Y, Hu, H, Toth, K & Osuji, CO 2016, 'Sequential deposition of block copolymer thin films and formation of lamellar heterolattices by electrospray deposition', Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 247-253.
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ABSTRACTThe delivery of sub‐micron droplets of dilute polymer solutions to a heated substrate by electrospray atomization enabled precisely controlled and continuous deposition, or growth, of block copolymer thin films. It also provided, in principle, the ability to fabricate heterolattice materials using sequential depositions. This possibility was explored and the morphology of resulting composite films produced by such sequential electrospray deposition (ESD) of lamellar diblock copolymers of poly(styrene‐b‐4‐vinylpyridine) with differing molecular weights was examined. The structure of the heterolattice interface was a strong function of temperature. Sharp interfaces with abrupt changes in the lamellar period were observed at lower deposition temperatures, while higher temperatures produced a smooth variation in the lamellar period from one molecular weight to the next. The ordering kinetics of a secondary high molecular weight layer could be substantially enhanced depending on the molecular weight of the polymer present in the underlying primary layer. These findings were discussed in the context of temperature and molecular weight dependent diffusion dynamics of the polymers in the melt which control the inter‐mixing of the layers and therefore the structure of the heterolattice interface. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016, 54, 247–253

Choudhary, K, Indraratna, B & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 2016, 'Pore pressure based method to quantify smear around a vertical drain', Géotechnique Letters, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 211-215.
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Radial consolidation testing of Ballina clay (New South Wales, Australia) was carried out using a large-scale consolidometer 650 mm in diameter. In this study, the characteristics of the smear zone were evaluated on the basis of hydraulic gradient changes derived from the measured excess pore pressure data in the radial direction. The extent of the smear zone determined using this technique is compared with past approaches, where the variations in water content and lateral permeability were adopted to evaluate smear. The approach proposed herein based on the change of hydraulic gradient coincides with the previous two methods, and the smear zone could be established at almost 2·5 times the effective mandrel diameter. A good agreement is also found between the theoretical radial consolidation predictions, after incorporating the smear zone characteristics and the measured time–settlement curve. The proposed method for the determination of smear zone extent can be carried out during consolidation with minimum disturbance to soil, provided a sufficient number of pore pressure transducers are installed. It also eliminates the need for a number of soil samples and high-quality soil sampling technique after the installation of the drain.

Chua, L, Head, K, Thomas, P & Stuart, B 2016, 'Micro-characterisation of the colour palette of ceremonial objects from the Papua New Guinea Highlands: Transition from natural to synthetic pigments', Microchemical Journal, vol. 124, pp. 547-558.
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Chua, L, Maynard-Casely, HE, Thomas, PS, Head, K & Stuart, BH 2016, 'Characterisation of blue pigments from ceremonial objects of the Southern Highlands in Papua New Guinea using vibrational spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction', Vibrational Spectroscopy, vol. 85, pp. 43-47.
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Consoli, NC, da Rocha, CG & Maghous, S 2016, 'Strategies for Developing More Sustainable Dosages for Soil–Coal Fly Ash–Lime Blends', Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, vol. 28, no. 11, pp. 04016130-04016130.
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da M. Costa, LP, McKenzie, TG, Schwarz, KN, Fu, Q & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Observed Photoenhancement of RAFT Polymerizations under Fume Hood Lighting', ACS Macro Letters, vol. 5, no. 11, pp. 1287-1292.
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Given the recent findings of exogenous radical initiator/catalyst-free reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) radical polymerization under both UV and visible light irradiation, the effect of standard laboratory lighting conditions (fluorescent tube lights) on traditional RAFT reactions, that is, those conducted in the presence of a thermally activated radical initiator, remains unknown. This is investigated in the current study, where a significant 'photoenhancement' is observed for most cases under typical RAFT reaction conditions, indicating that fume hood lights can contribute to the generation of radicals in RAFT reactions. Given the observed emission spectrum of a typical fluorescent light source, the photoenhancement is proposed to occur through a visible light activation pathway. These findings are crucial for ensuring maximum reproducibility of controlled polymerizations conducted in the presence of typical sources of irradiation encountered in a standard chemical laboratory.

da Rocha, CG, Passuello, A, Consoli, NC, Quiñónez Samaniego, RA & Kanazawa, NM 2016, 'Life cycle assessment for soil stabilization dosages: A study for the Paraguayan Chaco', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 139, pp. 309-318.
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Dackermann, U, Elsener, R, Li, J & Crews, K 2016, 'A comparative study of using static and ultrasonic material testing methods to determine the anisotropic material properties of wood', CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS, vol. 102, no. 2, pp. 963-976.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This paper presents a comparative study using static and ultrasonic testing for the determination of the full set of orthotropic material properties of wood. In the literature, material properties are typically only available in the longitudinal direction, and most international standards do not provide details on the testing of the other two secondary directions (radial and tangential). This work provides a comprehensive study and discussions on the determination of all twelve orthotropic material properties of two hardwood species using static testing and an alternative testing approach based on ultrasonic waves. Recommendations are given on the execution of the tests and the interpretation and calibration of the results.

Dackermann, U, Li, J, Rijal, R & Crews, K 2016, 'A dynamic-based method for the assessment of connection systems of timber composite structures', CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS, vol. 102, pp. 999-1008.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This paper presents a dynamic-based method for the evaluation of connection systems of timber composite structures. The good bonding of the composite elements is crucial for the proper functioning of timber composite structures, as the design capacity and performance of the system cannot be achieved unless an adequate connection condition can be assured. The proposed dynamic method provides an alternative to traditional static load testing and uses vibration measurements to derive a Loss of Composite Action Index, based on an expanded Damage Index method, indicating the reduction in composite action due to the failure of shear connectors. The proposed method is validated on experimental and numerical models of a timber composite beam structure and a timber-concrete composite flooring system. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed dynamic-based approach that can achieve a good agreement between statically and dynamically derived composite action indicators.

Dahou, Z, Castel, A & Noushini, A 2016, 'Prediction of the steel-concrete bond strength from the compressive strength of Portland cement and geopolymer concretes', Construction and Building Materials, vol. 119, pp. 329-342.
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Dang, LC, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2016, 'Behaviour of Expansive Soils Stabilized with Hydrated Lime and Bagasse Fibres', ADVANCES IN TRANSPORTATION GEOTECHNICS III, vol. 143, pp. 658-665.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Soil stabilization is the most common ground improvement technique adopted to improve problematic soil properties. This investigation exhibits a series of laboratory tests conducted to evaluate the influences of bagasse fibres and hydrated lime addition on the engineering properties and shrink-swell behaviour of stabilised expansive soils. Bagasse fibre is industrial waste by-product left after the crushing of sugar cane for juice extraction that was used in this study as reinforcing component for expansive soil stabilization. The expansive soils used in this investigation were collected from Queensland, Australia. In order to investigate the influences of bagasse fibres on the engineering behaviour of expansive soil, varying proportions of randomly distributed bagasse fibres of 0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0% were added to expansive soil and hydrated lime-expansive soils mixed with different bagasse fibre proportions were also investigated. Although, an array of experimental tests have been undertaken on untreated and treated expansive soil samples, merely the outcomes of linear shrinkage, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests after various curing periods of 3, 7 and 28 days are presented in this paper. Other test results have been identified as follow up research. The findings of this experimental investigation indicate that bagasse fibre reinforcement blended with hydrated lime increased the compressive strength of expansive soil with increase in curing time and additives contents, whereas the linear shrinkage of stabilised expansive soils decreased with increasing hydrated lime and bagasse fibre proportions and curing periods. Based on the reasonable laboratory test results, it can be noted that the expansive soils can be successfully stabilized by combination of hydrated lime and bagasse fibres.

Deng, L, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Du, B, Wei, Q, Tran, NH, Nguyen, NC, Chen, S-S & Li, J 2016, 'Effects of hydraulic retention time and bioflocculant addition on membrane fouling in a sponge-submerged membrane bioreactor', Bioresource Technology, vol. 210, pp. 11-17.
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The characteristics of activated sludge and membrane fouling were evaluated in a sponge-submerged membrane bioreactor (SSMBR) at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) (6.67, 5.33 and 4.00h). At shorter HRT, more obvious membrane fouling was caused by exacerbated cake layer formation and aggravated pore blocking. Activated sludge possessed more extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) due to excessive growth of biomass and lower protein to polysaccharide ratio in soluble microbial products (SMP). The cake layer resistance was aggravated by increased sludge viscosity together with the accumulated EPS and biopolymer clusters (BPC) on membrane surface. However, SMP showed marginal effect on membrane fouling when SSMBRs were operated at all HRTs. The SSMBR with Gemfloc® addition at the optimum HRT of 6.67h demonstrated superior sludge characteristics such as larger floc size, less SMP in mixed liquor with higher protein/polysaccharide ratio, less SMP and BPC in cake layer, thereby further preventing membrane fouling.

Deng, L, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Zhang, H, Wang, J, Li, J, Xia, S & Wu, Y 2016, 'Biofouling and control approaches in membrane bioreactors', Bioresource Technology, vol. 221, pp. 656-665.
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Deng, L, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Zhang, X, Wang, XC, Zhang, Q & Chen, R 2016, 'New functional biocarriers for enhancing the performance of a hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor–membrane bioreactor system', Bioresource Technology, vol. 208, pp. 87-93.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. In this study, new sponge modified plastic carriers for moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was developed. The performance and membrane fouling behavior of a hybrid MBBR-membrane bioreactor (MBBR-MBR) system were also evaluated. Comparing to the MBBR with plastic carriers (MBBR), the MBBR with sponge modified biocarriers (S-MBBR) showed better effluent quality and enhanced nutrient removal at HRTs of 12 h and 6 h. Regarding fouling issue of the hybrid systems, soluble microbial products (SMP) of the MBR unit greatly influenced membrane fouling. The sponge modified biocarriers could lower the levels of SMP in mixed liquor and extracellular polymeric substances in activated sludge, thereby mitigating cake layer and pore blocking resistances of the membrane. The reduced SMP and biopolymer clusters in membrane cake layer were also observed. The results demonstrated that the sponge modified biocarriers were capable of improving overall MBBR performance and substantially alleviated membrane fouling of the subsequent MBR unit.

Dharma, S, Masjuki, HH, Ong, HC, Sebayang, AH, Silitonga, AS, Kusumo, F & Mahlia, TMI 2016, 'Optimization of biodiesel production process for mixed Jatropha curcas–Ceiba pentandra biodiesel using response surface methodology', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 115, pp. 178-190.
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Exploring and improvement of biodiesel production from non-edible vegetable oil is one of the effective ways to solve limited amount of traditional raw materials and their high prices. The main objective of this study is to optimize the biodiesel production process parameters (methanol-to-oil ratio, agitation speed and concentration of the potassium hydroxide catalyst) of a biodiesel derived from non-edible feedstocks, namely Jatropha curcas and Ceiba pentandra, using response surface methodology based on Box-Behnken experimental design. Based on the results, the optimum operating parameters for transesterification of the J50C50 oil mixture at 60 °C over a period of 2 h are as follows: methanol-to-oil ratio: 30%, agitation speed: 1300 rpm and catalyst concentration: 0.5 wt.%. These optimum operating parameters gives the highest yield for the J50C50 biodiesel with a value of 93.33%. The results show that there is a significant improvement in the physicochemical properties of the J50C50 biodiesel after optimization, whereby the kinematic viscosity at 40 °C, density at 15 °C, calorific value, acid value and oxidation stability is 3.950 mm2/s, 831.2 kg/m3, 40.929 MJ/kg, 0.025 mg KOH/g and 10.01 h, respectively. The physicochemical properties of the optimized J50C50 biodiesel fulfill the requirements given in the ASTM D6751 and EN14214 standards.

Dharma, S, Ong, HC, Masjuki, HH, Sebayang, AH & Silitonga, AS 2016, 'An overview of engine durability and compatibility using biodiesel–bioethanol–diesel blends in compression-ignition engines', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 128, pp. 66-81.
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The realization of declining fossil fuel supplies and the adverse impact of fossil fuels on the environment has accelerated research and development activities in renewable energy sources and technologies. Biofuels are renewable fuels made from edible, non-edible or waste oils, as well as animal fats and algae, and these fuels have been proven to be good substitutes for fossil fuels in the transportation sector. Bioethanol and biodiesels have gained worldwide attention in order to address environmental issues associated with fossil fuels, provide energy security, reduce imports and rural employment, as well as improve agricultural economy. Bioethanol has high oxygen content and octane content up to 35% and 108, respectively and hence, it increases oxygenation and improves combustion of fuel. In addition, bioethanol has lower vaporization pressure, which reduces the risks associated with evaporative emissions. In contrast, biodiesel has good lubricity, which helps protect the surface of engine components from wear and friction. The use of biodiesel–bioethanol–petroleum diesel blends poses a greater challenge with regards to improving the compatibility of the materials with the fuel system in compression ignition (CI) and spark ignition (SI) engines. In this work, the technical conditions of an engine (i.e. engine deposits, wear of the engine components and quality of the lubrication oil) are assessed by the application of with biodiesel–bioethanol–petroleum diesel blends. It is deemed important to evaluate the effects of using bioethanol and biodiesels in diesel engines. This paper provides insight on the feasibility of biodiesel and bioethanol feedstocks, the compatibility of biodiesels, bioethanol and their blends with diesel engines as well as the physicochemical properties of these fuels.

Dias, A, Skinner, J, Crews, K & Tannert, T 2016, 'Timber-concrete-composites increasing the use of timber in construction', European Journal of Wood and Wood Products, vol. 74, no. 3, pp. 443-451.
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Ding, G & Forsythe, P 2016, 'A comparative study of floor construction on sloping sites: an analysis of cumulative energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions', Construction Economics and Building, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 33-49.
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In order to make environmentally aware decisions, there is growing interest in the comparative energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) performance of competing construction methods. Little research has been done concerning competing ground floor construction methods, especially given different site variables, such as slope and soil type. A life cycle assessment approach was adopted to analyse environmental impacts, including cumulative energy demand and GHG emissions for detached housing construction in Australia. Data was drawn from 24 case study housing projects, including 12 reinforced concrete and 12 suspended timber floor projects. The data presented in the paper compares cumulative energy demand, GHG and the constituent parts of competing construction methods. The findings indicate that the timber floors use/create significantly less cumulative energy demand and GHG emissions than concrete floors—approximately 2.1 to 2.7 times less energy and 2.3 to 2.9 times less GHG. These findings are limited to the site slope and foundation soil types identified in the paper. The main application of the work is in guidance concerning the lowest environmental impact options for detached housing construction.

Duong, HC, Cooper, P, Nelemans, B, Cath, TY & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Evaluating energy consumption of air gap membrane distillation for seawater desalination at pilot scale level', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 166, pp. 55-62.
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This study aimed to optimise an air gap membrane distillation (AGMD) system for seawater desalination with respect to distillate production as well as thermal and electrical energy consumption. Pilot evaluation data shows a notable influence of evaporator inlet temperature and water circulation rate on process performance. An increase in both distillate production rate and energy efficiency could be obtained by increasing the evaporator inlet temperature. On the other hand, there was a trade-off between the distillate production rate and energy efficiency when the water circulation rate varied. Increasing the water circulation rate resulted in an improvement in the distillate production rate, but also an increase in both specific thermal and electrical energy consumption. Given the small driving force used in the pilot AGMD, discernible impact of feed salinity on process performance could be observed, while the effects of temperature and concentration polarisation were small. At the optimum operating conditions identified in this study, a stable AGMD operation for seawater desalination could be achieved with specific thermal and electrical energy consumption of 90 and 0.13 kW h/m3, respectively. These values demonstrate the commercial viability of AGMD for small-scale and off-grid seawater desalination where solar thermal or low-grade heat sources are readily available.

Entezari, A, Fang, J, Sue, A, Zhang, Z, Swain, MV & Li, Q 2016, 'Yielding behaviors of polymeric scaffolds with implications to tissue engineering', Materials Letters, vol. 184, pp. 108-111.
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Fan, J, Zhang, J, Guo, W, Liang, S & Wu, H 2016, 'Enhanced long-term organics and nitrogen removal and associated microbial community in intermittently aerated subsurface flow constructed wetlands', Bioresource Technology, vol. 214, pp. 871-875.
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Fan, J, Zhang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Yin, X 2016, 'Improving low-temperature performance of surface flow constructed wetlands using Potamogeton crispus L. plant', Bioresource Technology, vol. 218, pp. 1257-1260.
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Fang, J, Gao, Y, An, X, Sun, G, Chen, J & Li, Q 2016, 'Design of transversely-graded foam and wall thickness structures for crashworthiness criteria', Composites Part B: Engineering, vol. 92, pp. 338-349.
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Fang, J, Gao, Y, Sun, G, Xu, C & Li, Q 2016, 'Multiobjective sequential optimization for a vehicle door using hybrid materials tailor-welded structure', Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, vol. 230, no. 17, pp. 3092-3100.
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To achieve lightweight vehicle door, this paper presents a novel design with a hybrid material tailor-welded structure (HMTWS). A multiobjective optimization procedure is adopted to generate a set of solutions, in which the door stiffness and mass are taken as objective functions, and the material types and plate thicknesses are regarded as the discrete and continuous design variables, respectively. To improve the optimization efficiency, Kriging algorithm is used for generating surrogate model through a sequential sampling strategy. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) is employed to perform the multiobjective optimization. It is found that for the same computational cost, the sequential sampling strategy can yield more accurate optimization results than the conventional one-step sampling strategy. Most importantly, HMTWS is found more competent than the traditional thin-walled configurations made of steel or other lighter mono-materials for maximizing the usage of materials and stiffness of the vehicular door structures.

Fanos, AM & Pradhan, B 2016, 'Multi-scenario Rockfall Hazard Assessment Using LiDAR Data and GIS', Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 1375-1393.
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Fanos, AM, Pradhan, B, Aziz, AA, Jebur, MN & Park, H-J 2016, 'Assessment of multi-scenario rockfall hazard based on mechanical parameters using high-resolution airborne laser scanning data and GIS in a tropical area', Environmental Earth Sciences, vol. 75, no. 15, p. 1129.
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Farizal, F, Eka Septia, W, Rachman, A, Nasruddin, N & Indra Mahlia, TM 2016, 'Optimization of Electricity Generation Schemes in the Java-Bali Grid System with Co2 Reduction Consideration', Makara Journal of Technology, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 49-49.
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Fauzi, H, Metselaar, HSC, Mahlia, TMI, Chyuan Ong, H, Nasruddin & Khanlou, HM 2016, 'Preparation and thermal characteristics of eutectic fatty acids/ Shorea javanica composite for thermal energy storage', Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 100, pp. 62-67.
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In this study, two types of fatty acid based composite phase change material (CPCM) have been prepared by mixing-impregnation method. Myristic acid/palmitic acid/sodium palmitate (MA/PA/SP) and myristic acid/palmitic acid/sodium stearate (MA/PA/SS) were used as base eutectic PCMs and Shorea javanica (SJ) was used as a porous material to improve the thermal conductivity and thermal performance of CPCM. Thermal properties, thermal conductivity, and thermal stability of prepared CPCMs were measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermal analysis, thermal conductivity analysis, and simultaneous thermal analyzer (STA). Furthermore, a chemical compatibility analysis has been done using Fourier transform infra-red spectrophotometer (FT-IR) and a fabricated test rig was used to determine thermal performance. It was seen that CPCMs with addition of 3 wt.% SJ presented a good improvement on thermal conductivity without any significant effect on thermal properties. No chemical reaction between initial eutectic fatty acids and SJ occurred as evidenced by FT-IR and CPCMs show a good thermal stability as well. Therefore, it is concluded that addition of Shorea javanica (SJ) into fatty acid eutectic CPCMs is appropriate to improve the thermal performance of CPCM and it can be acceptable for use as porous material for other PCMs.

Forman, LV, Bland, PA, Timms, NE, Collins, GS, Davison, TM, Ciesla, FJ, Benedix, GK, Daly, L, Trimby, PW, Yang, L & Ringer, SP 2016, 'Hidden secrets of deformation: Impact-induced compaction within a CV chondrite', Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 452, pp. 133-145.
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Foster, SJ, Stewart, MG, Loo, M, Ahammed, M & Sirivivatnanon, V 2016, 'Calibration of Australian Standard AS3600 Concrete Structures: part I statistical analysis of material properties and model error', Australian Journal of Structural Engineering, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 242-253.
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© 2016 Engineers Australia. Assessment of the reliability of design models developed for Australian Standards is of paramount importance for determination of public safety. Poorly calibrated models and safety factors can lead to overly safe and uneconomic construction or, worse, to an insufficient level of safety. This study investigates the reliability of the models used in the Australian Concrete Structures Standard AS3600–2009 for the design of beams and slabs in bending and shear and columns under combined bending and axial loading. The study is in two parts; in Part I, strength and variability of over 20,000 concrete cylinders cured under standard conditions and tested at 28 days are statistically analysed. The data were collected from all cities and regional areas in Australia and for all concrete strength grades; similarly, variability of reinforcement product is analysed. Next, reliable databases of laboratory tests for beams, slabs and columns were established for members failing in flexure, shear and compression and model errors, and their variability, determined for the code design models. It is concluded that improvements in the production of concrete and of bar products, over time, have led to reduced variability in their materials properties–with potential for increasing code strength reduction factors and, thus, reducing excessive conservatism in design. This is assessed in Part II of this study.

Fu, Q, Kim, J, Gurr, PA, Scofield, JMP, Kentish, SE & Qiao, GG 2016, 'A novel cross-linked nano-coating for carbon dioxide capture', Energy & Environmental Science, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 434-440.
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Defect-free and cross-linked ultra-thin (sub 100 nm) film composite membranes have been prepared. The membrane materials formed exhibited significantly high CO₂ permeances of over 1200 GPU as well as excellent CO₂/N₂ selectivity of over 40.

Fu, Q, McKenzie, TG, Ren, JM, Tan, S, Nam, E & Qiao, GG 2016, 'A novel solid state photocatalyst for living radical polymerization under UV irradiation', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 20779.
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AbstractThis study presents the development of a novel solid state photocatalyst for the photoinduced controlled radical polymerization of methacrylates under mild UV irradiation (λmax ≈ 365 nm) in the absence of conventional photoinitiators, metal-catalysts or dye sensitizers. The photocatalyst design was based on our previous finding that organic amines can act in a synergistic photochemical reaction with thiocarbonylthio compounds to afford well controlled polymethacrylates under UV irradiation. Therefore, in the current contribution an amine-rich polymer was covalently grafted onto a solid substrate, thus creating a heterogeneous catalyst that would allow for facile removal, recovery and recyclability when employed for such photopolymerization reactions. Importantly, the polymethacrylates synthesized using the solid state photocatalyst (ssPC) show similarly excellent chemical and structural integrity as those catalysed by free amines. Moreover, the ssPC could be readily recovered and re-used, with multiple cycles of polymerization showing minimal effect on the integrity of the catalyst. Finally, the ssPC was employed in various photo-“click” reactions, permitting high yielding conjugations under photochemical control.

Fu, Q, Xie, K, Tan, S, Ren, JM, Zhao, Q, Webley, PA & Qiao, GG 2016, 'The use of reduced copper metal–organic frameworks to facilitate CuAAC click chemistry', Chemical Communications, vol. 52, no. 82, pp. 12226-12229.
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A reduced copper metal–organic framework (rCu-MOF) containing Cu^I ions was prepared and employed as a catalyst for ‘Click’ reactions. The rCu-MOF presents higher catalytic activity, good structural stability as well as facile recyclability compared to traditional copper halide catalysts.

Fujioka, T, Takeuchi, H, Tanaka, H, Nghiem, LD, Ishida, KP & Kodamatani, H 2016, 'A rapid and reliable technique for N -nitrosodimethylamine analysis in reclaimed water by HPLC-photochemical reaction-chemiluminescence', Chemosphere, vol. 161, pp. 104-111.
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Gao, C, Huang, L, Yan, L, Kasal, B & Li, W 2016, 'Behavior of glass and carbon FRP tube encased recycled aggregate concrete with recycled clay brick aggregate', Composite Structures, vol. 155, pp. 245-254.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd In literature, there are few studies which investigated compressive behavior of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) tube confined recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) where the recycled aggregates (RAs) mainly came from demolished old concrete components. Study which considered FRP tube confined RAC using recycled clay brick aggregates (RCBA) originating from demolished brick masonry components is rare. Thus, this paper reports a systematic study on axial compressive behavior of FRP tube encased RAC containing RCBA (termed as FRP-confined RAC-RCBA). The experimental variables considered are, i.e., replacement ratio of RCBA (r = 0, 50, 70 and 100%), FRP tube thickness (nf=2, 4 and 6 layers) and type of fibre material (GFRP and CFRP). This study shows that both GFRP and CFRP tubes enhanced strength and deformation of the confined RAC-RCBA specimens remarkably. The ultimate compressive stress of the confined specimens decreased with an increase of RCBA replacement ratio but their axial deformation kept approximately constant. Failure mode and the compressive stress-strain behavior of G/CFRP-confined RAC-RCBA were similar to these tube confined normal aggregate concrete (NAC) and the ultimate compressive strength of G/CFRP tube confined RAC-RCBA specimens enhanced with an increase in FRP tube thickness. The CFRP-confined specimens showed higher ultimate strength but lower ultimate axial strain than those of GFRP-confined specimens. The applicability of eight widely used confinement models, i.e., 5 design-oriented and 2 analysis-oriented models, for FRP-confined NAC to FRP-confined RAC-RCBA was also evaluated.

Gao, S-H, Peng, L, Liu, Y, Zhou, X, Ni, B-J, Bond, PL, Liang, B & Wang, A-J 2016, 'Bioelectrochemical reduction of an azo dye by a Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 formed biocathode', International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, vol. 115, pp. 250-256.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Presently there is great interest to develop pure culture cathodes in bioelectrochemical systems (BES) for achieving decolorization/reduction of azo dyes. In this study, we investigated the decolorization of a model azo dye, acid orange 7 (AO7) in a biocathode inoculated with a model electrogenic microorganism Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (MR-1). The decolorization efficiency of AO7 reached 95.8 ± 4.6%, 86.4 ± 2.0%, and 77.8 ± 1.0% in 46 h in the biocathode fed with lactate, in the biocathode without lactate, and in the abiotic cathode respectively. Thus, enhanced decolorization of AO7 occurred in the biocathode, compared to the abiotic cathode, regardless of the presence of lactate. To further investigate the AO7 reduction mechanism and electron transfer between the electrode and S. oneidensis, the cathode potential was controlled such that hydrogen was not produced. In the absence of lactate, the AO7 decolorization efficiency (78.5 ± 0.8%) and sulfanilic acid (SA) production efficiency (70.9 ± 1.5%) in the biocathode were higher than the AO7 decolorization efficiency (63.7 ± 3.6%) and the SA production (56.1 ± 1.9%) efficiency in the abiotic cathode. This suggests that the reduction of AO7, with electrode as the sole electron donor, was enhanced by electron transfer between the cathode and the S. oneidensis formed biofilm on the cathode surface. This study demonstrated that S. oneidensis enhanced the capture of electrons from the cathode electrode for the reduction of the organic pollutant AO7.

Gao, T, Chen, R, Wang, X, Ngo, HH, Li, Y-Y, Zhou, J & Zhang, L 2016, 'Application of disease burden to quantitative assessment of health hazards for a decentralized water reuse system', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 551-552, pp. 83-91.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. The aim of this article is to introduce the methodology of disease burden (DB) to quantify the health impact of microbial regrowth during wastewater reuse, using the case study of a decentralized water reuse system in Xi'an Si-yuan University, located in Xi'an, China. Based on field investigation findings, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Salmonella and rotavirus were selected as typical regrowth pathogens causing potential health hazards during the reuse of reclaimed water. Subsequently, major exposure routes including sprinkler irrigation, landscape fountains and toilet flushing were identified. Mathematical models were established to build the relationship between exposure dose and disease burden by calculating the disability adjusted life year (DALY). Results of disease burden for this case study show that DALYs attributed to E. coli were significantly greater than those caused by other pathogens, and DALYs associated with sprinkler irrigation were higher than those originating from other routes. A correlation between exposure dose and disease was obtained by introducing a modified calculation of morbidity, which can extend the assessment endpoint of health risk to disease burden from the conventional infection rate.

Ghosh, B, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2016, 'Mechanical Model to Analyse Multilayer Geosynthetic Reinforced Granular Layer in Column Supported Embankments', ADVANCES IN TRANSPORTATION GEOTECHNICS III, vol. 143, pp. 387-394.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. The objective of this paper is to develop a mechanical model to predict the behaviour of a multilayer geosynthetic reinforced granular fill soft soil system improved with controlled modulus columns beneath the embankment. Deformation of geosynthetics embedded granular layer due to bending and shear is considered in this study. Therefore, geosynthetic reinforced granular fill has been idealised as a reinforced Timoshenko beam while the columns and the soft soil have been idealised as a layer of linear springs with varied stiffness. Plane strain conditions are considered for the loading and reinforced foundation soil system. Tension developed in the geosynthetics, rotation and settlements of the improved soft ground are predicted using the proposed model. This study shows the effects of multilayer geosynthetics on the settlement response of the granular layer. A notable reduction of the settlement has been observed as a result of the using multilayer weaker geosynthetic reinforcement system when compare to one stronger geosynthetics layer. It is also observed that the top reinforcement layer is subjected to maximum mobilised tension at the column edge whereas bottom reinforcement layer is more effective in controlling the deflection in the middle of two columns.

Giwa, A, Akther, N, Dufour, V & Hasan, SW 2016, 'A critical review on recent polymeric and nano-enhanced membranes for reverse osmosis', RSC Advances, vol. 6, no. 10, pp. 8134-8163.
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Current and recent advances in polymeric and nano-enhanced membrane developments for reverse osmosis are reported in terms of membrane performance and fouling.

Giwa, A, Akther, N, Housani, AA, Haris, S & Hasan, SW 2016, 'Recent advances in humidification dehumidification (HDH) desalination processes: Improved designs and productivity', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 57, pp. 929-944.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. One of the innovative methods for decentralized low-scale purification of water is the humidification dehumidification (HDH) desalination technology. Many research activities have been carried out recently with the aim of improving this technology. The economic and environmental benefits of the HDH technology are enormous including feasibility of being powered by sustainable energy sources such as solar and geothermal, ability to operate at low temperature, low maintenance requirements, and simple construction needs. The principal HDH components, latest research on HDH systems driven by renewable energy, and recent innovations on HDH design for sustainable water production are discussed in this paper. It is worth noting that the development of the key features and sustainability aspects of HDH desalination technology are still under research and more improvements are needed to optimize process performance parameters in terms of quantity of water produced, specific renewable energy required, and specific cost of water produced. However, HDH technology has been proven to be an inexpensive and reliable desalination system in terms of environmental friendliness for small scale applications.

Gopinadhan, M, Choo, Y & Osuji, CO 2016, 'Strong Orientational Coupling of Block Copolymer Microdomains to Smectic Layering Revealed by Magnetic Field Alignment', ACS Macro Letters, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 292-296.
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Gu, X, Li, J, Li, Y & Askari, M 2016, 'Frequency control of smart base isolation system employing a novel adaptive magneto-rheological elastomer base isolator', Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, vol. 27, no. 7, pp. 849-858.
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In the past decades, base isolation techniques have become increasingly popular for seismic protection of civil structures owing to its capability of decoupling buildings from harmful ground motion. However, it has been recognised recently that the traditional passive base isolation technique could encounter a serious problem during earthquakes due its incapability in adjusting the isolation frequency to cope with the unpredictability and diversity of earthquakes. To address this challenge, a great deal of research efforts have been conducted to improve traditional base isolation systems, most of which focused on hybrid supplementary devices (passive, active and semi-active types) for the isolators to control displacement or to dissipate seismic energy. On the other hand, the most effective approach to address the aforementioned challenge should lay on varying isolator stiffness in real-time to achieve real-time spontaneous decoupling. A recent advance of the development of an adaptive magneto-rheological elastomer base isolator has brought such idea to reality as the new magneto-rheological elastomer base isolator is capable to alter its stiffness significantly in real-time. In this article, an innovative smart base isolation system employing such magneto-rheological elastomer isolator is proposed and a novel frequency control algorithm is developed to shift the fundamental frequency of the structure away from the dominant frequency range of earthquakes. Such design enables the building to avoid resonant state in real-time according to the on-coming spectrum of the earthquakes. Extensive simulation has been conducted using a five-storey benchmark model with the isolation system, and testing results indicate that the proposed control system is able to significantly suppress both the floor accelerations and inter-storey drifts simultaneously under different earthquakes.

Gu, X, Li, Y & Li, J 2016, 'Investigations on response time of magnetorheological elastomer isolator for real-time control implementation', Smart Materials and Structures, vol. 25, no. 11, pp. 11LT04-11LT04.
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© 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd. Utilising the unique features of MRE materials for vibration isolators has been intensively studied over the last several years. Real-time control of the MRE isolators holds the key to unlock MRE materials' unique characteristics, i.e. instantly changeable shear modulus in continuous and reverse fashion. However, one of the critical issues for the applications of real-time control is the response time delay of MRE vibration isolators, which has not yet been fully addressed and studied. This paper identified the inherent response time of the MRE isolator and explored two feasible approaches to minimise the response time delay. Experiments were designed and conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches on minimising time delay on: (i) the transient response of current of a large coil that generates magnetic field and (ii) the transient response of shear force from the MRE isolator. The results show that the proposed approaches are effective and promising. For example, the proposed approach is able to reduce the force response time from 421 ms to 52 ms at rising and from 400 ms to 48 ms falling edges respectively. Such level of short response time of the MRE isolators demonstrates the feasibility of application of real-time control and hence is the essential step on the realisation of real-time control of vibration suppression system based on MRE isolator.

Gulzar, M, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Kalam, MA, Zulkifli, NWM, Mufti, RA, Liaquat, AM, Zahid, R & Arslan, A 2016, 'Effects of biodiesel blends on lubricating oil degradation and piston assembly energy losses', Energy, vol. 111, pp. 713-721.
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Guo, J, Peng, Y, Fan, L, Zhang, L, Ni, B, Kartal, B, Feng, X, Jetten, MSM & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Metagenomic analysis of anammox communities in three different microbial aggregates', Environmental Microbiology, vol. 18, no. 9, pp. 2979-2993.
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SummaryThere is great potential to understand the functional diversity of microorganisms that are involved in waste water treatment through metagenomic analyses. This study presents the first metagenomic comparison of taxonomic and functional profiles of the microbial communities occurring in different aggregates from anaerobic ammonium‐oxidizing (anammox) bioreactors. The anammox bacterial communities in both biofilm and granule sludge samples showed relatively high abundance and diversity compared with floccular sludge. Four of the five known genera of anammox bacteria were detected in the three cultures except Candidatus Jettenia, which was absent in the granules. Candidatus Kuenenia comprised the major population of anammox bacteria in these three sludges, independent of their growth morphologies. The genome assembled for the Candidatus Kuenenia in the granule was very similar to the published reference genome of Candidatus K. stuttgartiensis. Genes involved in the metabolism of the anammox process were highly detected in the biofilm and granule sludges. In particular, the abundance of hydrazine synthase gene (hzs) in the biofilm was around 486 times more pronounced than that in the granules. The knowledge gained in this study highlights an important role of sludge aggregate in affecting community structure and metabolic potential of anammo...

Guo, J, Wang, S, Lian, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Liu, Y & Song, Y 2016, 'Rapid start-up of the anammox process: Effects of five different sludge extracellular polymeric substances on the activity of anammox bacteria', Bioresource Technology, vol. 220, pp. 641-646.
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© 2016 This study investigated the rapid start-up of the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) strategy by inoculating different biomass ratios of denitrifying granular sludge and anammox bacteria. The results demonstrated that two reactors (R1 and R2) were rapidly and successfully started-up on days 25 and 28, respectively, with nitrogen removal rates (NRRs) of 0.70 kg/(m3·d) and 0.72 kg/(m3·d) at biomass ratios of 10:1 (R1) and 50:1 (R2). The explanation for rapid start-up was found by examining the effect of five different sludge extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) on the activity of anammox bacteria in the batch experiments. Batch experiments results first demonstrated that the denitrification sludge EPS (DS-EPS) enhanced the anammox bacteria activity the most, and NO2−-N, NH4+-N removal rates were 1.88- and 1.53-fold higher than the control with optimal DS-EPS volume of 10 mL. The rapid start-up strategy makes possible the application of anammox to practical engineering.

Hajializadeh, D, OBrien, EJ & Stewart, MG 2016, 'The sensitivity of bridge safety to spatial correlation of load and resistance', Structures, vol. 5, pp. 23-34.
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Random Field theory has emerged in recent years to model the statistical correlation of resistance in concrete structures and to determine its influence on the probability of structural failure. A major shortcoming in the work carried out to date is the spatial variability and corresponding correlation associated with applied traffic loads. In this paper the influence of spatial correlation of both traffic load and resistance is considered in the context of bridge safety assessment. The current study, explores, the nature of the problem by three theoretical examples. As a general trend, examples show that while traffic loads are weakly correlated, load effects are strongly correlated as the same heavy vehicle often causes extremes of load effect in different parts of the bridge which is due to the transverse sharing of load (measured here using a load sharing factor). It is found that the strength of correlation of load effect depends greatly on the load sharing factor which is treated in a simple way in many studies. In a more sophisticated beam-and-slab bridge example, load sharing factors are derived from a finite element analysis to assess transverse load sharing, and are shown to vary by girder number, girder segment and by load location. Despite the fact that load effect at points along the length of a bridge is strongly correlated, the combined influence of correlation in load and resistance on probability of failure is small.

Hajializadeh, D, Stewart, MG, Enright, B & OBrien, E 2016, 'Spatial time-dependent reliability analysis of reinforced concrete slab bridges subject to realistic traffic loading', Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, vol. 12, no. 9, pp. 1137-1152.
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Resistance and loads are often correlated in time and space. The paper assesses the influence of these correlations on structural reliability/probability of failure for a typical two-lane reinforced concrete (RC) slab bridge under realistic traffic loading. Spatial variables for structural resistance are cover and concrete compressive strength, which in turn affect the strength and chloride-induced corrosion of RC elements. Random variables include pit depth and model error. Correlation of weights between trucks in adjacent lanes and inter-vehicle gaps are also included and are calibrated against weigh-in-motion data. Reliability analysis of deteriorating bridges needs to incorporate uncertainties associated with parameters governing the deterioration process and loading. One of the major unanswered questions in the work carried out to date is the influence of spatial variability of load and resistance on failure probability. Spatial variability research carried out to date has been mainly focused on predicting the remaining lifetime of a corroding structure and spatial variability of material, dimensional and environmental properties. A major shortcoming in the work carried out to date is the lack of an allowance for the spatial variability of applied traffic loads. In this article, a two-dimensional (2D) random field is developed where load effects and time-dependent structural resistance are calculated for each segment in the field. The 2D spatial time-dependent reliability analysis of an RC slab bridge found that a spatially correlated resistance results in only a small increase in probability of failure. Despite the fact that load effect at points along the length of a bridge is strongly correlated, the combined influence of correlation in load and resistance on probability of failure is small.

Hanif, M, Mahlia, TMI, Aditiya, HB, Chong, WT & Nasruddin 2016, 'Techno-economic and environmental assessment of bioethanol production from high starch and root yield Sri Kanji 1 cassava in Malaysia', Energy Reports, vol. 2, pp. 246-253.
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Transportation played a significant role in energy consumption and pollution subsequently. Caused by the intense growth of greenhouse gas emission, efficient and sustainable improvement of the transportation sector has elevated the concern in many nations including Malaysia. Bioethanol is an alternative and renewable energy that has a great potential to substitute for fossil gasoline in internal combustion engine (ICE). Although bioethanol has been widely utilized in road transport worldwide, the production and application of bioethanol in Malaysia is yet to be considered. Presently there is comprehensive diversity of bioethanol research on distillation, performance and emission analysis available worldwide. Yet, the study on techno-economic and feasibility of bioethanol fuel in Malaysia condition is unavailable. Thus, this study is concentrated on bioethanol production and techno-economic analysis of cassava bioethanol as an alternative fuel in Malaysia. Furthermore, the current study attempts to determine the effect of bioethanol employment towards the energy scenario, environmental and economy. From the economic analysis, determined that the life cycle cost for 54 ktons cassava bioethanol production plant with a project life time of 20 years is $132 million USD, which is equivalent to $0.11 USD per litre of bioethanol. Furthermore, substituting 5 % of gasoline fuel with bioethanol fuel in road transport can reduce the CO2 emissions up to 2,038 ktons in year 2036. In case to repay the carbon debt from converting natural forest to cassava cropland, cassava bioethanol required about 5.4 years. The cassava bioethanol is much cheaper than gasoline fuel even when 20 % taxation is subjected to bioethanol at current production cost. Thus, this study serves as a guideline for further investigation and research on bioethanol production, subsidy cost and other limitation factors before the extensive application of bioethanol can be implemented in Malaysia.

Hao, H, Hao, Y, Li, J & Chen, W 2016, 'Review of the current practices in blast-resistant analysis and design of concrete structures', Advances in Structural Engineering, vol. 19, no. 8, pp. 1193-1223.
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In contemporary society, industrialization and rising of terrorism threats highlight the necessity and importance of structural protection against accidental and intentionally malicious blast loads. Consequences of these extreme loading events are known to be catastrophic, involving personnel injuries and fatalities, economic loss and immeasurable social disruption. These impacts are generated not only from direct explosion effects, that is, blast overpressure and primary or secondary fragments, but also from the indirect effects such as structural collapse. The latter one is known to be more critical leading to massive losses. It is therefore imperative to enlighten our structural engineers and policy regulators when designing modern structures. Towards a better protection of concrete structures, efforts have been devoted to understanding properties of construction materials and responses of structures subjected to blast loads. Reliable blast resistance design requires a comprehensive knowledge of blast loading characteristics, dynamic material properties and dynamic response predictions of structures. This article presents a state-of-the-art review of the current blast-resistant design and analysis of concrete structures subjected to blast loads. The blast load estimation, design considerations and approaches, dynamic material properties at high strain rate, testing methods and numerical simulation tools and methods are considered and reviewed. Discussions on the accuracies and advantages of these current approaches and suggestions on possible improvements are also made.

Hasan, H, Dang, L, Khabbaz, H, Fatahi, B & Terzaghi, S 2016, 'Remediation of Expansive Soils Using Agricultural Waste Bagasse Ash', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 1368-1375.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Bagasse is a fibrous material remaining after crushing sugarcane to extract its juice; and bagasse ash is produced after burning bagasse. Improper disposal of this material can create environmental problems around sugar manufacturing plants. Bagasse ash, comprising a high percentage of silica (SiO2), is considered as a sensible pozzolanic material with non-reactive behaviour and has potential to be used in road subgrade stabilisation. One of the main challenges for transportation organisations in Australia is to treat subgrades including expansive soils. Expansive soils exhibit significant movements when the moisture content changes, and hence it causes substantial damage to road pavements constructed over these type of soils. Road engineers need to employ materials having acceptable strength, relatively low price and being eco-friendly. In order to demonstrate the potential ability of bagasse ash in curtailing the adverse effects of expansive soils on roads, an array of experimental tests using bagasse ash have been conducted. In this study to activate and improve the effectiveness of bagasse ash, hydrated lime was used and mixed with black soil samples, collected from Queensland Australia. Samples were prepared using different contents of bagasse ash and hydrated lime (0%, 6%, 10%, 18% and 25% by the dry mass of soil), at a ratio of 3:1, respectively. The results of free swell ratio (FSR) test, unconfined compression strength (UCS) and California bearing ratio (CBR) tests are presented for untreated and treated samples after various curing time periods of 3, 7 and 28 days. The outcomes of these tests clearly demonstrate that stabilisation of expansive soils using bagasse ash and hydrated lime not only improves the strength, but also facilitates to cope with environmental concerns through reduction of sugar industry waste material.

Hawari, AH, Kamal, N & Altaee, A 2016, 'Combined influence of temperature and flow rate of feeds on the performance of forward osmosis', Desalination, vol. 398, pp. 98-105.
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© 2016 The effect of the membrane orientation, feeds flow rate, feeds temperature, and combining effect of both temperature and flow rate on the membrane flux was investigated in order to enhance the performance of forward osmosis (FO) process. Results from experimental work demonstrated that the concentrative internal concentration polarization (CICP) could be mitigated by increasing the feed solution flow rate and using a spacer. On contrary, the severity of dilutive internal concentration polarization (DICP) phenomena was aggravated by increasing the draw solution flow rate. It was also found that when increasing the draw solution (DS) temperature from 20 °C to 26 °C the flux increased linearly and then started decreasing when temperature increased over 26 °C due to the development of a temperature gradient. The experimental results also showed that the membrane flux increased by 93.3% due to temperature increase from 20 to 26 °C and the flow rate from 1.2 to 3.2 L/min using a 0.5 M NaCl solution as the draw solution and distilled water as the feed solution (FS).

Heitor, A, Indraratna, B & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 2016, 'Small Strain Behaviour of a Compacted Subgrade Soil', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 260-267.
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Heitor, A, Indraratna, B, Kaliboullah, CI, Rujikiatkamjorn, C & McIntosh, GW 2016, 'Drained and Undrained Shear Behavior of Compacted Coal Wash', Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, vol. 142, no. 5, pp. 04016006-04016006.
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Ho, L & Fatahi, B 2016, 'One-Dimensional Consolidation Analysis of Unsaturated Soils Subjected to Time-Dependent Loading', International Journal of Geomechanics, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 04015052-04015052.
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Ho, L, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2016, 'Analytical solution to axisymmetric consolidation in unsaturated soils with linearly depth-dependent initial conditions', Computers and Geotechnics, vol. 74, pp. 102-121.
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© 2016. This paper introduces an analytical solution for the axisymmetric consolidation of unsaturated soils subjected to constant external loading. The analytical procedure employs variables separation and Laplace transformation techniques while capturing the uniform and linear initial excess pore pressure distributions with depth. Excess pore-air and pore-water pressures as functions of time, radial and vertical flows are determined using Laplace transforms, Fourier Bessel and sine series, respectively. In this study, the consolidation behavior, in terms of changes in excess pore-air and pore-water pressures and the average degree of consolidation, are investigated against the air to water permeability ratio. The effects of radial distance from the drain well on the dissipation rate are likewise highlighted in worked examples. Excess pore pressure isochrones and the matric suction varying with time are also presented.

Hokmabadi, AS & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Influence of Foundation Type on Seismic Performance of Buildings Considering Soil-Structure Interaction', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL STABILITY AND DYNAMICS, vol. 16, no. 8, pp. 1-29.
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© 2016 World Scientific Publishing Company. In selecting the type of foundation best suited for mid-rise buildings in high risk seismic zones, design engineers may consider that a shallow foundation, a pile foundation, or a pile-raft foundation can best carry the static and dynamic loads. However, different types of foundations behave differently during earthquakes, depending on the soil-structure interaction (SSI) where the properties of the in situ soil and type of foundation change the dynamic characteristics (natural frequency and damping) of the soil-foundation-structure system. In order to investigate the different characteristics of SSI and its influence on the seismic response of building frames, a 3D numerical model of a 15-storey full-scale (prototype) structure was simulated with four different types of foundations: (i) A fixed-based structure that excludes the SSI, (ii) a structure supported by a shallow foundation, (iii) a structure supported by a pile-raft foundation in soft soil and (iv) a structure supported by a floating (frictional) pile foundation in soft soil. Finite difference analyzes with FLAC3D were then conducted using real earthquake records that incorporated material (soil and superstructure) and geometric (uplifting, gapping and P-Δ effects) nonlinearities. The 3D numerical modeling procedure had previously been verified against experimental shaking table tests conducted by the authors. The results are then presented and compared in terms of soil amplification, shear force distribution and rocking of the superstructure, including its lateral deformation and drift. The results showed that the type of foundation is a major contributor to the seismic response of buildings with SSI and should therefore be given careful consideration in order to ensure a safe and cost effective design.

Hong, H, Naghibi, SA, Pourghasemi, HR & Pradhan, B 2016, 'GIS-based landslide spatial modeling in Ganzhou City, China', Arabian Journal of Geosciences, vol. 9, no. 2, p. 112.
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Hong, H, Pradhan, B, Jebur, MN, Bui, DT, Xu, C & Akgun, A 2016, 'Spatial prediction of landslide hazard at the Luxi area (China) using support vector machines', Environmental Earth Sciences, vol. 75, no. 1, p. 40.
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Hoque, MA-A, Phinn, S, Roelfsema, C & Childs, I 2016, 'Assessing tropical cyclone impacts using object-based moderate spatial resolution image analysis: a case study in Bangladesh', International Journal of Remote Sensing, vol. 37, no. 22, pp. 5320-5343.
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Hu, L, Yang, Z, Cui, L, Li, Y, Ngo, HH, Wang, Y, Wei, Q, Ma, H, Yan, L & Du, B 2016, 'Fabrication of hyperbranched polyamine functionalized graphene for high-efficiency removal of Pb(II) and methylene blue', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 287, pp. 545-556.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Multifunctional hyperbranched polyamine modified graphene oxide (HPA-GO) was successfully prepared and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), zeta potential and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses. HPA-GO exhibited excellent adsorption performance for the removal of a heavy metal (Pb(II)) and a dye (methylene blue (MB)). The equilibrium adsorption capacity was 819.7 mg g-1 for Pb(II) and 740.7 mg g-1 for MB under the optimal conditions. The pseudo-second order equation and the Langmuir model exhibited good correlation with the adsorption kinetic and isotherm data, respectively, for these two pollutants. The thermodynamic results (ΔG<0, ΔH>0, ΔS>0) implied that the adsorption process of Pb(II) and MB was feasible, endothermic and spontaneous in nature. A possible adsorption mechanism has been proposed where chelation and electrostatic attraction dominated the adsorption of Pb(II) and π-π stacking interactions and electrostatic attraction dominated the adsorption of MB. In addition, the excellent reproducibility endowed HPA-GO with the potential for application in water treatment.

Hu, Y, Wang, XC, Tian, W, Ngo, HH & Chen, R 2016, 'Towards stable operation of a dynamic membrane bioreactor (DMBR): Operational process, behavior and retention effect of dynamic membrane', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 498, pp. 20-29.
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Hu, Y, Wang, XC, Yu, Z, Ngo, HH, Sun, Q & Zhang, Q 2016, 'New insight into fouling behavior and foulants accumulation property of cake sludge in a full-scale membrane bioreactor', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 510, pp. 10-17.
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Huang, Y & Hong, G 2016, 'Investigation of the effect of heated ethanol fuel on combustion and emissions of an ethanol direct injection plus gasoline port injection (EDI + GPI) engine', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 123, pp. 338-347.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Ethanol direct injection plus gasoline port injection (EDI + GPI) is a new technology to utilise ethanol fuel more efficiently and flexibly in spark ignition engines. One issue needs to be addressed in the development of EDI + GPI is the ethanol fuel's low vapour pressure and large latent heat which slow down the ethanol's evaporation and result in the mixture unready for combustion by the time of spark ignition and the consequent increase of CO and HC emissions. Heating the ethanol fuel to be directly injected (EDI heating) has been proposed to address this issue. This paper reports the investigation of the effect of EDI heating on the combustion and emissions of a research engine equipped with EDI + GPI. The results showed that EDI heating effectively reduced the CO and HC emissions of the engine due to the increase of evaporation rate and reduced fuel impingement and local over-cooling. The reduction of CO and HC became more significant with the increase of ethanol ratio. When the temperature of the ethanol fuel was increased by 40 °C, the CO and HC were reduced by as much as 43% and 51% respectively in EDI only condition at the original spark timing of 15 CAD BTDC, and 15% and 47% respectively at the minimum spark advance for best torque (MBT) timing of 19 CAD BTDC. On the other hand, the NO emission was slightly increased, but still much smaller than that in GPI only condition due to the strong cooling effect and low combustion temperature of EDI. The IMEP and combustion speed were slightly reduced by EDI heating due to the decrease of injector fuel flow rate and spray collapse of flash-boiling. The largest decrease of IMEP was 5% at the original spark timing and 3% at the MBT timing. Moreover, at the MBT timing, the IMEP increased continuously with the increase of ethanol ratio in the entire range from 0% to 100%. This indicated that the decrease of IMEP in high ethanol ratio conditions at the original spark timing could be avo...

Huang, Y, Hong, G & Huang, R 2016, 'Effect of injection timing on mixture formation and combustion in an ethanol direct injection plus gasoline port injection (EDI+GPI) engine', Energy, vol. 111, pp. 92-103.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Ethanol direct injection plus gasoline port injection (EDI+GPI) is a new technology to utilise ethanol fuel more effectively and efficiently in spark-ignition engines by taking the advantages of ethanol fuel and direct injection, such as the cooling effect and anti-knock ability. A full cycle numerical modelling including both port and direct injection sprays was performed to understand the mechanisms behind the experimental results of the EDI+GPI engine. The turbulence-chemistry interaction of the two-fraction-mixture partially premixed combustion was solved by a five-dimensional presumed Probability Density Function table. Effects of direct injection timing on fuel evaporation, mixing, wall-wetting, combustion and emission processes were investigated. The results showed that when the direct injection timing was retarded, the mixture around the spark plug became leaner and the distribution of equivalence ratio became more uneven. Moreover, late direct injection resulted in severe fuel impingement and caused local over-cooling effect and over-rich mixture. Consequently, the combustion speed and temperature were decreased by retarded direct injection timing, leading to reduced NO emission and increased HC and CO emissions. Finally, numerical modelling was performed to investigate the strategy of injecting small amount of ethanol fuel on reducing the fuel impingement and incomplete combustion caused by late direct injection.

Huang, Y, Huang, S, Huang, R & Hong, G 2016, 'Spray and evaporation characteristics of ethanol and gasoline direct injection in non-evaporating, transition and flash-boiling conditions', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 108, pp. 68-77.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Ethanol direct injection plus gasoline port injection (EDI + GPI) represents a more efficient and flexible way to utilize ethanol fuel in spark ignition engines. To exploit the potentials of EDI, the mixture formation characteristics need to be investigated. In this study, the spray and evaporation characteristics of ethanol and gasoline fuels injected from a multi-hole injector were investigated by high speed Shadowgraphy imaging technique in a constant volume chamber. The experiments covered a wide range of fuel temperature from 275 K (non-evaporating) to 400 K (flash-boiling) which corresponded to cold start and running conditions in an engine. The spray transition process from normal-evaporating to flash-boiling was investigated in greater details than the existed studies. Results showed that ethanol and gasoline sprays demonstrated the same patterns in non-evaporating conditions. The sprays could be considered as non-evaporating when vapour pressure was lower than 30 kPa. Ethanol evaporated more slowly than gasoline did in low temperature environment, but they reached the similar evaporation rates when temperature was higher than 375 K. This suggested that EDI should only be applied in high temperature engine environment. For both ethanol and gasoline sprays, when the excess temperature was smaller than 4 K, the sprays behaved the same as the subcooled sprays did. The sprays collapsed when the excess temperature was 9 K. Flash-boiling did not occur until the excess temperature reached 14 K. The fuel temperature changed not only the spray evaporation modes but also the breakup mechanisms.

Hunt, A, Thomas, P, James, D, David, B, Geneste, J-M, Delannoy, J-J & Stuart, B 2016, 'The characterisation of pigments used in X-ray rock art at Dalakngalarr 1, central-western Arnhem Land', Microchemical Journal, vol. 126, pp. 524-529.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. The chemistry of pigments used to create rock art at a rock shelter in northern Australia has characterised so as to gain a better understanding of the origins of the colours used. The site, Dalakngalarr 1, located in Jawoyn Country in Arnhem Land contains hundreds of paintings in various colours and styles. Striking and well-preserved X-ray images were painted across the site using ochre pigments that contain an iron oxide colourant mixed with clay to produce yellow, red and a distinctive purple colour. Infrared and Raman microscopy were used to confirm that the yellow pigment colouration is due to the presence of goethite. Both the red and purple pigments were shown to contain haematite, but there are microstructural differences between the two that account for the differences in the observed colour. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy also demonstrate differences in the morphologies of the red and purple pigments. The purple pigment was found to a have a pure haematite structure, which is proposed to result from heating of the pigment source.

Hussaini, SKK, Indraratna, B & Vinod, JS 2016, 'A laboratory investigation to assess the functioning of railway ballast with and without geogrids', Transportation Geotechnics, vol. 6, pp. 45-54.
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Idrees, M & Pradhan, B 2016, 'Hybrid Taguchi-Objective Function optimization approach for automatic cave bird detection from terrestrial laser scanning intensity image', International Journal of Speleology, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 289-301.
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This paper proposes an optimized Taguchi-objective function segmentation-based image analysis to detect bird nests in a cave from high resolution terrestrial laser scanning intensity images. First, the Taguchi orthogonal array was used to design 25 experiments with three segmentation parameters: scale, shape, and compactness, each having five variable factor levels. Then, a plateau objective function was computed for each experiment using their respective level combinations. A merger of the factor level combination in the orthogonal array and the computed plateau objective function values was used to generate main effects and interaction plots for signal-to-noise ratios, which provided a measure of robustness for scale, shape, and compactness factors. The optimized parameters were used in the segmentation process in eCognition. The image object was then classified into nest and cave-wall on the basis of laser return intensity and area index using knowledge-based rule sets, and the detection accuracy was evaluated. The result produced area under ROC curve of 0.93 with P<0.0001 at 95% confidence level. This indicates that the proposed method is effective for distinguishing birds from cave-wall with high precision. The classification result was transferred to ArcGIS where the detected nests were counted after post-classification editing. A total number of 25,959 nests were counted from the seven scan scenes used. This shows that the fusion of Taguchi and objective function is indeed an effective method to determine optimal segmentation parameters to group image objects as small as birds within a segment. Moreover, the use of segments’ spectral intensity value and area index increased classification accuracy significantly. Further, the method was tested for reliability using six additional images. The test of heterogeneity using Cochran’s Q and Inconsistency tests produced a P value of 0.384 and I2 value of 5.10% at 95% confidence interval, respectively. Th...

Idrees, MO, Pradhan, B, Buchroithner, MF, Shafri, HZM & Khairunniza Bejo, S 2016, 'Assessing the transferability of a hybrid Taguchi-objective function method to optimize image segmentation for detecting and counting cave roosting birds using terrestrial laser scanning data', Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 035023-035023.
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Imdadul, HK, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Zulkifli, NWM, Alabdulkarem, A, Rashed, MM & Ashraful, AM 2016, 'Influences of ignition improver additive on ternary (diesel-biodiesel-higher alcohol) blends thermal stability and diesel engine performance', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 123, pp. 252-264.
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Indraratna, B 2016, '1st Proctor Lecture of ISSMGE:', Transportation Geotechnics, vol. 7, pp. 74-114.
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Indraratna, B, Israr, J & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 2016, 'Closure to “Geometrical Method for Evaluating the Internal Instability of Granular Filters Based on Constriction Size Distribution” by Buddhima Indraratna, Jahanzaib Israr, and Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn', Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, vol. 142, no. 9, pp. 07016022-07016022.
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Indraratna, B, Kan, ME, Potts, D, Rujikiatkamjorn, C & Sloan, SW 2016, 'Analytical solution and numerical simulation of vacuum consolidation by vertical drains beneath circular embankments', Computers and Geotechnics, vol. 80, pp. 83-96.
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Indraratna, B, Nguyen, TT, Carter, J & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 2016, 'Influence of biodegradable natural fibre drains on the radial consolidation of soft soil', Computers and Geotechnics, vol. 78, pp. 171-180.
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Natural prefabricated vertical drains (NPVDs) produced from biodegradable materials such as jute and coir have some distinct advantages over conventional polymeric prefabricated vertical drains (CPVDs). For instance, NPVDs are not only able to discharge excess pore pressure effectively but are also beneficial to the environment thanks to their biodegradability. However, due to the biodegradability of the natural fibres, NPVDs can sometimes deteriorate too quickly in an adverse environment such as in highly acidic clay, which hampers the dissipation of excess pore pressure. In this paper, an analytical solution for radial consolidation that considers the time-dependent decay of drain discharge capacity is therefore proposed. The solution is applied to an exponential form of reduction of the drain discharge capacity, and then verified with the experimental results obtained in previous studies. The effect of drain degradation on soil consolidation is simulated using a finite element method (ABAQUS) and these numerical results are then compared to those obtained from the analytical approach. In addition, a new and flexible method using a matching factor to convert the parameters from axisymmetric to plane strain models is introduced and applied to radial consolidation. The modelling outcomes indicate a significant retardation of excess pore pressure dissipation due to drain degradation and this suggests the need to exercise caution when using biodegradable NPVDs.

Indraratna, B, Nimbalkar, S & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 2016, 'A critical review of rail track geotechnologies considering increased speeds and axle loads', Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 50-60.
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Ballasted railroads are designed to provide high speed commuter and heavy haul transportation. Ballast is one of most important load bearing components of the track substructure. However, it often experiences excessive settlement, lateral deformation and particle breakage when subjected to large dynamic (cyclic and impact) stresses. In addition, tracks constructed along coastal areas often undergo large settlements over soft compressible estuarine deposits, leading to frequent and costly track maintenance. The use of artificial inclusions such as geogrids, geocomposites, shock-mats (rubber) and prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) are attractive options to maintain the vertical and horizontal alignment of tracks and to curtail excessive maintenance costs. This critical review paper provides a deeper insight to the recent advancements in rail track geotechnology at increased train speeds and axle loads.

Indraratna, B, Nimbalkar, SS, Ngo, NT & Neville, T 2016, 'Performance improvement of rail track substructure using artificial inclusions – Experimental and numerical studies', Transportation Geotechnics, vol. 8, pp. 69-85.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Large and frequent loads from heavy freight and passenger trains often lead to the progressive track deterioration. The excessive deformation and degradation of ballast and unacceptable differential settlement of track and/or pumping of underlying soft subgrade soils necessitates frequent and costly track maintenance. However, artificial inclusions such as geogrids and shockmats can mitigate ballast degradation and improve track performance. A quantitative assessment of the influence of breakage, fouling, and the effects of artificial inclusions on the shear behaviour of ballast can be performed either experimentally or numerically. Numerical modelling can simulate these aspects subject to various types of loading and boundary conditions for a range of material properties so in this study, the stress–strain and degradation response of ballast was analysed through discrete element (DEM) and finite element (FEM) methods. In DEM, irregularly shaped ballast aggregates were simulated by clumping together spheres in appropriate sizes and positions. In FEM, a composite multi-layer track system was simulated and an elasto-plastic model with a non-associative flow rule was used to capture ballast degradation. These DEM and FEM simulations showed a good agreement with large-scale laboratory tests. This paper outlines the advantages of the proposed DEM and FEM models in terms of capturing the correct stress–strain and degradation response of ballast with particular emphasis on particle breakage and fouling, as well as applications of geosynthetic grids and shockmats.

Indraratna, B, Sun, Y & Nimbalkar, S 2016, 'Laboratory Assessment of the Role of Particle Size Distribution on the Deformation and Degradation of Ballast under Cyclic Loading', Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, vol. 142, no. 7, pp. 04016016-04016016.
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers. The deformation and degradation of ballast is influenced by the size of the aggregates. In this study, a series of cyclic drained triaxial tests was conducted on ballast with different sizes using the large-scale cylindrical triaxial apparatus designed and built at the University of Wollongong, and two different frequencies of cyclic loading were used to simulate low-speed and high-speed trains. From the laboratory results, coarse particles experience less vertical and lateral strains, whereas the volumetric strains decrease and then increase as the coefficient of uniformity increases, regardless of the loading frequency. Resistance to deformation and degradation is found to be improved by increasing ballast density. Different trends between the extent of breakage and particle size are observed for different breakage indices, and accordingly the extent of breakage is characterized into two distinct zones, depending on the coefficient of uniformity (Cu), where the significantly reduced breakage corresponds to a value of Cu larger than 1.8. The variation of particle shape before and after test is also quantified. A new particle size distribution that incorporates the size characteristics is proposed, as a result of this study.

Indraratna, B, Zhong, R & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 2016, 'An Analytical Model of PVD-assisted Soft Ground Consolidation', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 1376-1383.
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Iranmanesh, S, Mehrali, M, Sadeghinezhad, E, Ang, BC, Ong, HC & Esmaeilzadeh, A 2016, 'Evaluation of viscosity and thermal conductivity of graphene nanoplatelets nanofluids through a combined experimental–statistical approach using respond surface methodology method', International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 79, pp. 74-80.
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Islam, MM, Hassan, MH, Kalam, MA, Zulkifli, NWBM, Habibullah, M & Hossain, MM 2016, 'Improvement of cold flow properties of Cocos nucifera and Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel blends using polymethyl acrylate additive', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 137, pp. 322-329.
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Islam, MT, Abdullah, AB, Shahir, SA, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Shumon, R & Rashid, MH 2016, 'A public survey on knowledge, awareness, attitude and willingness to pay for WEEE management: Case study in Bangladesh', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 137, pp. 728-740.
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Israr, J, Indraratna, B & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 2016, 'Laboratory Investigation of the Seepage Induced Response of Granular Soils Under Static and Cyclic Loading', Geotechnical Testing Journal, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 20150288-20150288.
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Izadyar, N, Ong, HC, Chong, WT & Leong, KY 2016, 'Resource assessment of the renewable energy potential for a remote area: A review', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 62, pp. 908-923.
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Izadyar, N, Ong, HC, Chong, WT, Mojumder, JC & Leong, KY 2016, 'Investigation of potential hybrid renewable energy at various rural areas in Malaysia', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 139, pp. 61-73.
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Jangid, J, Bera, AK, Joseph, M, Singh, V, Singh, TP, Pradhan, BK & Das, S 2016, 'Potential zones identification for harvesting wind energy resources in desert region of India – A multi criteria evaluation approach using remote sensing and GIS', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 65, pp. 1-10.
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Renewable energy is considered to be one of the viable options in consideration of intense economic development and increasing energy consumption. With maturity of advanced technologies, economical viable and environmental friendly, wind energy has become one of the fastest growing sources of renewable energy in the world. This study focuses on the combined use of geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial multi-criteria decision analysis for selecting the most appropriate sites for wind-farm development projects. This paper utilized wind speed data over a period of almost 20 years between 1991 and 2010 from different stations to assess the wind power potential sites. The wind energy potential zones were grouped into four categories as “high suitable”, “moderate suitable”, “low suitable” and “not suitable”. The results show that the study area has 12.20% (2787.78 km2) as high suitable, 17.06% (3899.78 km2) as moderate suitable and 11.06% (2528.61 km2) as low suitable. The most potential suitable sites were located in the northwestern (along Osian, Shergargh, Dechu, and Shaitrawa, Phalodi) of Jodhpur district, India. This scientific approach will enable resource managers during planning process to make informed decisions.

Jayawardana, D, Kharkovsky, S, Liyanapathirana, R & Zhu, X 2016, 'Measurement System With Accelerometer Integrated RFID Tag for Infrastructure Health Monitoring', IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, vol. 65, no. 5, pp. 1163-1171.
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This paper presents a measurement system for measuring dynamic acceleration of infrastructure remotely using semipassive radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag. This measurement is critical to the vibration-based method for infrastructure health monitoring. Design considerations of accelerometer integrated ultrahigh-frequency RFID tag and dynamic acceleration measurements through an RFID wireless link are discussed. Measurement results of the system for a structural specimen have shown that it is capable of acquiring data which provides the information of natural frequency of the structural specimen. Moreover, the system can distinctively identify the state changes of the structural specimen by natural frequency shifts. These results are benchmarked against the results obtained with two commercial systems. It is shown that the standard deviation of the measurement of the natural frequency is ±0.01 Hz which is very close to the standard deviation of the commercial measurement systems.

Jegatheesan, JV, Chiemchaisri, C, Shu, L & Guo, W 2016, 'Special issue on Challenges in Environmental Science and Engineering (CESE-2015)', Bioresource Technology, vol. 210, pp. 1-1.
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Jeong, S, Naidu, G, Vollprecht, R, Leiknes, T & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'In-depth analyses of organic matters in a full-scale seawater desalination plant and an autopsy of reverse osmosis membrane', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 162, pp. 171-179.
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Jeong, S, Nguyen, TV, Vigneswaran, S, Kandasamy, J & Dharmabalan, D 2016, 'Removal of natural organic matter at the Gunbower water treatment plant in northern Victoria, Australia', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 20, pp. 9061-9069.
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© 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Advanced treatment processes are vital if organic matter is to be removed from water as efficiently as possible. To produce high quality water that has low concentrations of natural organic matter (NOM), the Gunbower water treatment plant (WTP) in northern Victoria, Australia has implemented a number of processes including magnetic ion exchange (MIEX), coagulation, clarifier, ultrafiltration (UF), and granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration. This research evaluated the efficiencies of these processes in removing NOM employing various analytical methods, namely liquid chromatography–organic carbon detector (LC–OCD) and three-dimensional fluorescence excitation emission matrix (3D-FEEM). In addition, the fouling potential of source water and treated water was assessed using a modified fouling index with ultrafiltration (MFI-UF). Biological stability was also tested using a modified assimilable organic carbon (AOC) detection method. The combination of MIEX, clarifier, coagulation, UF membrane, and GAC filtration resulted in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) being removed (from 6.01 to 0.47 mg/L). Furthermore 3D-FEEM analysis revealed that these treatment processes reduced humic and fulvic-like organics. AOC and MFI-UF decreased from 79.94 μg-C glucose equivalents/L and 46,350 s/L2 in the source water to 4.06 μg-C glucose equivalents/L and 2,057 s/L2 in the treated water, respectively.

Jia, H, Yang, G, Wang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Zhang, H & Zhang, X 2016, 'Performance of a microbial fuel cell-based biosensor for online monitoring in an integrated system combining microbial fuel cell and upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactor', Bioresource Technology, vol. 218, pp. 286-293.
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© 2016. A hybrid system integrating a microbial fuel cell (MFC)-based biosensor with upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) was investigated for real-time online monitoring of the internal operation of the UASB reactor. The features concerned were its rapidity and steadiness with a constant operation condition. In addition, the signal feedback mechanism was examined by the relationship between voltage and time point of changed COD concentration. The sensitivity of different concentrations was explored by comparing the signal feedback time point between the voltage and pH. Results showed that the electrical signal feedback was more sensitive than pH and the thresholds of sensitivity were S = 3 × 10-5 V/(mg/L) and S = 8 × 10-5 V/(mg/L) in different concentration ranges, respectively. Although only 0.94% of the influent COD was translated into electricity and applied for biosensing, this integrated system indicated great potential without additional COD consumption for real-time monitoring.

Jian, S, Hossein Rashidi, T, Wijayaratna, KP & Dixit, VV 2016, 'A Spatial Hazard-Based analysis for modelling vehicle selection in station-based carsharing systems', Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, vol. 72, pp. 130-142.
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Carsharing, as an alternative to private vehicle ownership, has spread worldwide in recent years due to its potential of reducing congestion, improving auto utilization rate and limiting the environmental impact of emissions release. To determine the most efficient allocation of resources within a carsharing program, it is critical to understand what factors affect the users’ behavior when selecting vehicles. This study attempts to investigate the importance of users’ attributes and fleet characteristics on choice set formation behavior in selecting vehicles using a Spatial Hazard Based Model (SHBM). In the SHBM model, “distance to a vehicle” is considered as the prospective decision criteria that carsharing users follow when evaluating the set of alternative vehicles. This variable is analogous to the duration in a conventional hazard-based model. In addition, user socio-demographic attributes, vehicle characteristics, land use type of the trip origin, etc., collected from the Australian carsharing company GoGet are utilized to parameterize the shape/scale/location parameter of the hazard function. A number of forms of parametric SHBMs are tested to determine the best fit to the data. The accelerated failure time model with a Log-logistic distribution was found to provide the best fit. The estimation results of the coefficients of the parameters can provide a starting point for carsharing organizations to optimize their pod locations and types of cars available at different pods to maximize usage.

Jiang, J, Chen, Q & Nimbalkar, S 2016, 'Field Data Based Method for Predicting Long-Term Settlements', American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 466-476.
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© 2016 Jianping Jiang, Qingsheng Chen and Sanjay Nimbalkar. The estimation of the long-term foundation settlement in soft soil is very complex, which is attributed to a number of uncertainties associated with various factors, such as: (i) The compressibility parameters obtained in the laboratory from samples of relatively small size that are more homogeneous compared to heterogeneous field sediments in which various soil types may be interlayered at random and may occur without exhibiting any real stratification; (ii) limitations and unrealistic assumptions prevailing in the conventional consolidation analysis. These have often resulted in the large discrepancy between actual in-situ settlements and the predictions from the conventional consolidation models (e.g., Terzaghi’s model). In this study, a field data based method inspired from an observational approach is proposed and validated against a number of high quality long-term field settlement data. Moreover, the corresponding geological soil properties obtained from field and laboratory tests have been presented, with the aim of providing useful practical references for other projects with similar geological profile. Furthermore, the proposed model is compared with existing prediction models. The results show that the newly proposed model can provide more reliable and accurate prediction of foundation settlements compared with other methods established in practice.

Jiang, YB, He, N, Zhou, YZ, Xu, BH & Lin, ZQ 2016, 'Concept and measuring technique of groundwater level in vacuum preloading', Yantu Gongcheng Xuebao/Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 38, no. 10, pp. 1917-1922.
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Nowadays there are controversial viewpoints on variation rules of groundwater level in vacuum preloading technique due to insufficient analysis of concepts and shortcomings of measuring techniques. In this study, based on the status of the water in soil, the potential energy condition of the groundwater level and the reference datum, the groundwater level in vacuum preloading is redefined as the absolute elevation of a surface where the gravity field hydraulic pressure component of the gravity water in the soil is zero. In addition, two basic conditions, which are required to meet the accuracy criteria of groundwater level measurements in vacuum preloading, are proposed. Then, the water lifting function in filter pipe section and the confining effect in impermeable pipe section, which are two negative effects of the existing measuring techniques of groundwater level affected by the distribution of the filter pipe, are analyzed. Consequently, a sectional type buoy groundwater measuring technique is put forward, including the full outer filter tube installed in the foundation and the built-in partition sectional type buoy water level indicator with the special rubber concave-convex partition. It is a method which can keep sealing while measuring, overcoming the negative effects of the distribution of the filter pipe. This proposed technique is theoretically suitable for measuring groundwater level under negative pressure and sealing membrane in vacuum preloading practice.

Jin, P, Wang, X, Zhang, Q, Wang, X, Ngo, HH & Yang, L 2016, 'A new activated primary tank developed for recovering carbon source and its application', Bioresource Technology, vol. 200, pp. 722-730.
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Johir, MAH, Nguyen, TT, Mahatheva, K, Pradhan, M, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Removal of phosphorus by a high rate membrane adsorption hybrid system', Bioresource Technology, vol. 201, pp. 365-369.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd Membrane adsorption hybrid system (MAHS) was evaluated for the removal of phosphate from a high rate membrane bioreactor (HR-MBR) effluent. The HR-MBR was operated at permeate flux of 30 L/m2 h. The results indicated that the HR-MBR could eliminate 93.1 ± 1.5% of DOC while removing less than 53% phosphate (PO4-P). Due to low phosphate removal by HR-MBR, a post-treatment of strong base anion exchange resin (Dowex∗21K-XLT), and zirconium (IV) hydroxide were used as adsorbent in MAHS for further removal of phosphate from HR-MBR effluent. It was found that the MAHS enabled to eliminate more than 85% of PO4-P from HR-MBR effluent. Hence, HR-MBR followed by MAHS lead to simultaneous removal of organics and phosphate in a reliable manner. The experiments were conducted only for a short period to investigate the efficiency of these resins/adsorbents on the removal of phosphorus and high rate MBR for organic removal.

Johir, MAH, Pradhan, M, Loganathan, P, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Phosphate adsorption from wastewater using zirconium (IV) hydroxide: Kinetics, thermodynamics and membrane filtration adsorption hybrid system studies', JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, vol. 167, pp. 167-174.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Excessive phosphate in wastewater should be removed to control eutrophication of water bodies. The potential of employing amorphous zirconium (Zr) hydroxide to remove phosphate from synthetic wastewater was studied in batch adsorption experiments and in a submerged membrane filtration adsorption hybrid (MFAH) reactor. The adsorption data satisfactorily fitted to Langmuir, pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order models. Langmuir adsorption maxima at 22 °C and pHs of 4.0, 7.1, and 10.0 were 30.40, 18.50, and 19.60 mg P/g, respectively. At pH 7.1 and temperatures of 40 °C and 60 °C, they were 43.80 and 54.60 mg P/g, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters, δG° and δS° were negative and δH° was positive. FTIR, zeta potential and competitive phosphate, sulphate and nitrate adsorption data showed that the mechanism of phosphate adsorption was inner-sphere complexation. In the submerged MFAH reactor experiment, when Zr hydroxide was added at doses of 1-5 g/L once only at the start of the experiment, the removal of phosphate from 3 L of wastewater containing 10 mg P/L declined after 5 h of operation. However, when Zr hydroxide was repeatedly added at 5 g/L dose every 24 h, satisfactory removal of phosphate was maintained for 3 days.

Johir, MAH, Shim, WG, Pradhan, M, Vigneswaran, S & Kandasamy, J 2016, 'Benefit of adding adsorbent in submerged membrane microfiltration treatment of wastewater', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 44, pp. 1-11.
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In this study, the effect of coupling ion-exchange resin (purolite) and powdered activated carbon (PAC) in a submerged membrane reactor was investigated in terms of (i) removal of different classes of organic matter and (ii) reduction of membrane fouling. The degree of fouling in a membrane hybrid system was modelled in terms of transmembrane pressure development and organic removal efficiency using a simple semi-empirical model. Among these three absorbents, PAC was the most effective with higher removal efficiency for DOC (almost 100% reduction of hydrophobic organic compounds). Excitation–emission matrix analysis and LC–OCD were employed for the detailed organic characterisation.

Jupp, JR 2016, 'Cross industry learning: a comparative study of product lifecycle management and building information modelling', International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 258-258.
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© Copyright 2016 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Discrete manufacturing industries have made significant improvements in productivity and management efficiency over the past three decades in part due to the application of product lifecycle management (PLM). This progress has not been matched in the construction industry. As construction firms continue to adopt building information modelling (BIM) and strive to achieve similar improvements, learning from the experiences of discrete manufacturing and implementations of PLM could prove valuable. Based on a review of existing literature, this paper provides a typology for comparing PLM and BIM so as to discuss and associate findings from existing studies. The review of 56 papers contrasts the underlying concepts, objectives, methods and supporting technologies of PLM and BIM. In addition, their intended impacts and criticisms are also explored. Discussion centres on elucidating the differences and similarities between PLM and BIM relative to the unique characteristics of their application domains. The paper shows that whilst the differences are significant, their similarities merit further research into the transfer of lessons learned.

Jupp, JR & Singh, V 2016, 'A PLM perspective of BIM research initiatives', International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 180-197.

Jupp, JR & Singh, V 2016, 'Editorial: A PLM perspective of BIM research initiatives', International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 180-197.

Kalam, MA, Rashed, MM, Imdadul, HK & Masjuki, HH 2016, 'Property development of fatty acid methyl ester from waste coconut oil as engine fuel', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 87, pp. 333-339.
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Kalaruban, M, Loganathan, P, Shim, WG, Kandasamy, J, Naidu, G, Nguyen, TV & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Removing nitrate from water using iron-modified Dowex 21K XLT ion exchange resin: Batch and fluidised-bed adsorption studies', SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY, vol. 158, pp. 62-70.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Elevated concentrations of nitrate in surface waters can cause eutrophication, while in drinking water they pose a threat to human health, especially causing blue baby syndrome in infants. An anion exchange resin - Dowex 21K XLT - was surface modified by incorporating Fe (Dowex-Fe) and tested to remove nitrate from aqueous solutions in batch and fluidised-bed adsorption experiments. Solution pH in the 4.0-7.5 range had no effect on nitrate adsorption. The adsorption data at pH 6.5 fitted well to the Langmuir model with maximum adsorption capacities of 27.6 mg N/g, and 75.3 mg N/g for Dowex and Dowex-Fe resins, respectively. Energy dispersion spectrometry and zeta potential measurements indicated that the increase in adsorption due to Fe impregnation was caused by additional surface positive charges induced on the resin by Fe. In both batch and fluidised-bed experiments, nitrate adsorption capacity declined markedly when sulphate was added, but phosphate and chloride additions had little effect. Batch kinetic data fitted well to the pseudo-first, pseudo-second and homogeneous surface diffusion models. Data from the fluidised-bed experiments satisfactorily fitted to the Thomas and plug-flow models. More than 95% of adsorbed nitrate was desorbed by 1 M KCl in all three adsorption/desorption cycles and the resins were successfully regenerated in each cycle with little reduction in adsorption capacity. No significant reduction in the Fe content of Dowex-Fe occurred during the regeneration.

Kalaruban, M, Loganathan, P, Shim, WG, Kandasamy, J, Ngo, HH & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Enhanced removal of nitrate from water using amine-grafted agricultural wastes', SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, vol. 565, pp. 503-510.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Adsorption using low-cost adsorbents is a favourable water treatment method for the removal of water contaminants. In this study the enhanced removal of nitrate, a contaminant at elevated concentration affecting human health and causing eutrophication of water, was tested using chemically modified agricultural wastes as adsorbents. Batch and fixed-bed adsorption studies were performed on corn cob and coconut copra that were surface modified by amine-grafting to increase the surface positive charges. The Langmuir nitrate adsorption capacities (mg N/g) were 49.9 and 59.0 for the amine-grafted (AG) corn cob and coconut copra, respectively at pH 6.5 and ionic strength 1 × 10-3 M NaCl. These values are higher than those of many commercially available anion exchange resins. Fixed-bed (15-cm height) adsorption capacities (mg N/g) calculated from the breakthrough curves were 15.3 and 18.6 for AG corn cob and AG coconut copra, respectively, for an influent nitrate concentration 20 mg N/L at a flow velocity 5 m/h. Nitrate adsorption decreased in the presence of sulphate, phosphate and chloride, with sulphate being the most competitive anion. The Thomas model fitted well to the fixed-bed adsorption data from four repeated adsorption/desorption cycles. Plug-flow model fitted well to the data from only the first cycle.

Kalhori, H, Ye, L, Mustapha, S, Li, J & Li, B 2016, 'Reconstruction and Analysis of Impact Forces on a Steel-Beam-Reinforced Concrete Deck', Experimental Mechanics, vol. 56, no. 9, pp. 1547-1558.
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Kanimozhi, C, Kim, M, Larson, SR, Choi, JW, Choo, Y, Sweat, DP, Osuji, CO & Gopalan, P 2016, 'Isomeric Effect Enabled Thermally Driven Self-Assembly of Hydroxystyrene-Based Block Copolymers', ACS Macro Letters, vol. 5, no. 7, pp. 833-838.
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Keshavarzi, A, Hamidifar, H & Ball, J 2016, 'Bed morphology in vegetated estuarine river with mild-curved meander bend', Hydrological Sciences Journal, vol. 61, no. 11, pp. 2033-2049.
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In this study, the effect of single and double row piles for reducing scouring in a mild-curved river meander was studied experimentally. The experimental study focused on the effect of vegetation on bed topography in a mild-curved meander bend. The experimental tests were conducted in a laboratory flume under clear water flow conditions. A series of experimental tests were carried out with a fixed bed and non-vegetated and vegetated moveable beds with different vegetation patterns. Analysis of the flow characteristics indicated that when the bed was mobile with vegetation on the inner bank, the core of maximum streamwise velocity shifted towards the centreline of the bend. Additionally, the cross-sectional kinetic energy increased from 0.05% for the fixed-bed test to 4.30% for the test with a double row of vegetation. Furthermore, the presence of vegetation was found to increase the uniformity of the distribution of turbulence intensity and to reduce the Reynolds shear stress along the test section. Also, the mass fluxes increased from the outer bank to the inner bank and from the upstream towards the downstream of the bend. Finally, comparison of bed topography in vegetated and non-vegetated channels showed that the maximum scour depth at the bend apex was reduced by 77% and 62% for the cases with one row and two rows of vegetation, respectively. The results of this study were compared with previously proposed models for predicting the vertical distribution of the streamwise velocity at the bend apex. It was found that Johannesson and Parker’s model (JPM) gave the lowest value of standard error. The above findings are useful in river training works and, in particular, for restoration of meandering rivers. Editor D. M.C. Acreman; Associate editor C. Cudennec

Keshavarzi, A, Omran, E-SE, Bateni, SM, Pradhan, B, Vasu, D & Bagherzadeh, A 2016, 'Modeling of available soil phosphorus (ASP) using multi-objective group method of data handling', Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, vol. 2, no. 3, p. 157.
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The accurate estimation of available soil phosphorus (ASP) is required for the effective management of environmental resources and improving agricultural productivity. Direct measurement of ASP at large scales is time-consuming and expensive. Therefore, many empirical models or pedotransfer functions (PTFs) have been developed to obtain ASP. This study introduces a new model that estimates ASP from easily measurable soil properties by using the multi-objective group method of data handling (mGMDH) approach. Organic carbon, clay content, calcium carbonate equivalent, pH and ASP were obtained from 100 soil samples, which were collected by the stratified random sampling strategy in Mashhad Plain, Khorasan-e-Razavi Province, Northeast Iran. The suggested model for the prediction of ASP generated satisfactory results in terms of the statistical performance criteria. The coefficient of determination (R2) and mean square error (MSE) values of the mGMDH model in training step were 0.606 and 4.9671 mg kg−1, respectively, whereas those were 0.504 and 5.6685 mg kg−1, in the testing step. It was concluded that only 50 % of variations of ASP could be described by selecting easy-to-measure soil variables and owing to the key role of phosphorus in soil fertility and precision agriculture, the other related factors such as terrain attributes and fertilizer management should also be considered as they influence the distribution of the soil phosphorus.

Khabbaz, H & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Environmental geotechnics challenges in Australia', Environmental Geotechnics, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 2-3.
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Khan, I, Castel, A & Gilbert, RI 2016, 'Prediction of early-age creep and cracking age of concrete: a proposed modification for AS3600 provisions', Australian Journal of Structural Engineering, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 151-166.
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© 2016 Engineers Australia. Early-age thermal and shrinkage-induced cracking is a major problem in concrete structures. The risk of early-age thermal cracking is increased if the degree of restraint to early-age contraction is increased. At this early age, tensile creep plays a key role in relaxing shrinkage-induced stresses and delaying the time to cracking. However, limited data are available concerning tensile creep of concrete and the magnitude and rate of development of the early-age shrinkage of Australian concrete. As a consequence, tensile creep is often poorly modelled in predictions of early-age cracking. The current method to calculate creep in the Australian Standard AS3600 is based on compressive creep data obtained from specimens loaded at ages generally greater than 14 days and cannot be used to predict very early-age creep confidently. In order to accurately quantify the early-age shrinkage and creep of concrete, a comprehensive experimental programme is being conducted at the UNSW Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Safety. Creep and shrinkage strains were measured on different specimens subjected to sustained loading. Tests were conducted on two different concrete mixes of normal strength concrete (32 and 45 MPa). Restrained ring specimens were tested to observe the cracking age of concrete. A model is proposed to predict the early-age tensile creep of concrete.

Khan, MA, Ngo, HH, Guo, WS, Liu, Y, Nghiem, LD, Hai, FI, Deng, LJ, Wang, J & Wu, Y 2016, 'Optimization of process parameters for production of volatile fatty acid, biohydrogen and methane from anaerobic digestion', Bioresource Technology, vol. 219, pp. 738-748.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd The anaerobic digestion process has been primarily utilized for methane containing biogas production over the past few years. However, the digestion process could also be optimized for producing volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and biohydrogen. This is the first review article that combines the optimization approaches for all three possible products from the anaerobic digestion. In this review study, the types and configurations of the bioreactor are discussed for each type of product. This is followed by a review on optimization of common process parameters (e.g. temperature, pH, retention time and organic loading rate) separately for the production of VFA, biohydrogen and methane. This review also includes additional parameters, treatment methods or special additives that wield a significant and positive effect on production rate and these products’ yield.

Khan, MA, Ngo, HH, Guo, WS, Liu, YW, Zhou, JL, Zhang, J, Liang, S, Ni, BJ, Zhang, XB & Wang, J 2016, 'Comparing the value of bioproducts from different stages of anaerobic membrane bioreactors', Bioresource Technology, vol. 214, pp. 816-825.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd The anaerobic digestion process in anaerobic membrane bioreactors is an effective way for waste management, energy sustainability and pollution control in the environment. This digestion process basically involves the production of volatile fatty acids and biohydrogen as intermediate products and methane as a final product. This paper compares the value of bioproducts from different stages of anaerobic membrane bioreactors through a thorough assessment. The value was assessed in terms of technical feasibility, economic assessment, environmental impact and impact on society. Even though the current research objective is more inclined to optimize the production of methane, the intermediate products could also be considered as economically attractive and environment friendly options. Hence, this is the first review study to correlate the idea into an anaerobic membrane bioreactor which is expected to guide future research pathways regarding anaerobic process and its bioproducts.

Khan, MH, Casillas, G, Mitchell, DRG, Liu, HK, Jiang, L & Huang, Z 2016, 'Carbon- and crack-free growth of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets and their uncommon stacking order', Nanoscale, vol. 8, no. 35, pp. 15926-15933.
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The quality of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNS) is often associated with the most visible aspects such as lateral size and thickness. Less obvious factors such as sheet stacking order could also have a dramatic impact on the properties of BNNS and therefore its applications. The stacking order can be affected by contamination, cracks, and growth temperatures. In view of the significance of chemical-vapour-decomposition (CVD) assisted growth of BNNS, this paper reports on strategies to grow carbon- and crack-free BNNS by CVD and describes the stacking order of the resultant BNNS. Pretreatment of the most commonly used precursor, ammonia borane, is necessary to remove carbon contamination caused by residual hydrocarbons. Flattening the Cu and W substrates prior to growth and slow cooling around the Cu melting point effectively facilitate the uniform growth of h-BNNS, as a result of a minimal temperature gradient across the Cu substrate. Confining the growth inside alumina boats effectively minimizes etching of the nanosheet by silica nanoparticles originating from the commonly used quartz reactor tube. h-BNNS grown on solid Cu surfaces using this method adopt AB, ABA, AC', and AC'B stacking orders, which are known to have higher energies than the most stable AA' configuration. These findings identify a pathway for the fabrication of high-quality h-BNNS via CVD and should spur studies on stacking order-dependent properties of h-BNNS.

Khan, MSH, Castel, A, Akbarnezhad, A, Foster, SJ & Smith, M 2016, 'Utilisation of steel furnace slag coarse aggregate in a low calcium fly ash geopolymer concrete', Cement and Concrete Research, vol. 89, pp. 220-229.
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This paper evaluates the performance of steel furnace slag (SFS) coarse aggregate in blended slag and low calcium fly ash geopolymer concrete (GPC). The geopolymer binder is composed of 90% of low calcium fly ash and 10% of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). Mechanical and physical properties, shrinkage, and detailed microstructure analysis were carried out. The results showed that geopolymer concrete with SFS aggregate offered higher compressive strength, surface resistivity and pulse velocity than that of GPC with traditional aggregate. The shrinkage results showed no expansion or swelling due to delayed calcium oxide (CaO) hydration after 320 days. No traditional porous interfacial transition zone (ITZ) was detected using scanning electron microscopy, indicating a better bond between SFS aggregate and geopolymer matrix. Energy dispersive spectroscopy results further revealed calcium (Ca) diffusion at the vicinity of ITZ. Raman spectroscopy results showed no new crystalline phase formed due to Ca diffusion. X-ray fluorescence result showed Mg diffusion from SFS aggregate towards geopolymer matrix. The incorporation of Ca and Mg into the geopolymer structure and better bond between SFS aggregate and geopolymer matrix are the most likely reasons for the higher compressive strength observed in GPC with SFS aggregate.

Khanahmadi, S, Yusof, F, Chyuan Ong, H, Amid, A & Shah, H 2016, 'Cocoa pod husk: A new source of CLEA-lipase for preparation of low-cost biodiesel: An optimized process', Journal of Biotechnology, vol. 231, pp. 95-105.
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Khezri, N, Mohamad, H & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Stability assessment of tunnel face in a layered soil using upper bound theorem of limit analysis', Geomechanics and Engineering, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 471-492.
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Underground tunnelling is one of the sustainable construction methods which can facilitate the increasing passenger transportation in the urban areas and benefit the community in the long term. Tunnelling in various ground conditions requires careful consideration of the stability factor. This paper investigates three dimensional stability of a shallow circular tunnel in a layered soil. Upper bound theorem of limit analysis was utilised to solve the tunnel face stability problem. A three dimensional kinematic admissible failure mechanism was improved to model a layered soil and limiting assumptions of the previous studies were resolved. The study includes calculation of the minimum support pressure acting on the face of the excavation in closed-face excavations. The effects of the characteristics of the layers on the minimum support pressure were examined. It was found that the ratio of the thickness of cover layers particularly when a weak layer is overlying a stronger layer, has the most significant influence on the minimum tunnel support pressure. Comparisons have been made with the results of the numerical modelling using FLAC3D software. Results of the current study were in a remarkable agreement with those of numerical modelling.

Khorsandnia, N, Valipour, H, Schänzlin, J & Crews, K 2016, 'Experimental Investigations of Deconstructable Timber–Concrete Composite Beams', Journal of Structural Engineering, vol. 142, no. 12, pp. 04016130-04016130.
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Kim, J, Fu, Q, Scofield, JMP, Kentish, SE & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Ultra-thin film composite mixed matrix membranes incorporating iron(iii)–dopamine nanoparticles for CO₂separation', Nanoscale, vol. 8, no. 15, pp. 8312-8323.
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Iron dopamine nanoparticles (FeDA NPs) are incorporated into a nanoscale thick polyethylene glycol (PEG) matrix for the first time, to form ultra-thin film composite mixed matrix membranes (UTFC-MMMs) via a recently developed continuous assembly of polymers (CAP) nanotechnology. The FeDA NPs are prepared by in situ nano-complexation between Fe(3+) and DA and have a particle size that can be varied from 3 to 74 nanometers by adjusting the molar ratio of DA to Fe(3+) ion. The cross-linked selective layer with sub 100 nanometer thickness is prepared by atom transfer radical polymerisation of a mixture of PEG macrocross-linkers and FeDA NPs on top of a highly permeable poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) prelayer, which is spin-coated onto a porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) substrate. The incorporation of the FeDA NPs within the PEG-based selective layer is confirmed by XPS analysis. The UTFC-MMMs (thickness: ∼45 nm) formed present excellent gas separation performance with a CO2 permeance of ∼1200 GPU (1 GPU = 10(-6) cm(3) (STP) cm(-2) s(-1) cmHg(-1)) and an enhanced CO2/N2 selectivity of over 35, which is the best performance for UTFC membranes in the reported literature.

Kim, J, Fu, Q, Xie, K, Scofield, JMP, Kentish, SE & Qiao, GG 2016, 'CO2 separation using surface-functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles incorporated ultra-thin film composite mixed matrix membranes for post-combustion carbon capture', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 515, pp. 54-62.
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CO2 separation across polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based ultra-thin film composite mixed matrix membranes (UTFC-MMMs) containing surface-functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles (SFSNPs) were investigated. The SFSNPs were prepared by physicochemical adsorption of polyethyleneimine (PEI), polydopamine (PDA) and codeposition of PEI and PDA onto the porous SiO2 nanoparticles (diameter of ~10 nm). A cross-linked PEG-based polymer incorporating the SFSNPs was formed into an ultra-thin, CO2 selective layer of ~ 55 nm via a novel nano-coating technology, namely continuous assembly of polymers (CAP). The resulting PEG-based UTFC-MMMs demonstrate the potential of ultra thin films prepared by the CAP nanotechnology to enhance CO2 separation. The mixed matrix membranes achieved a CO2 permeance of ~1300 GPU (1 GPU=10-6 cm3 (STP) cm-2 s-1 cmHg-1) and a favorable CO2/N2 selectivity of 27, which is a 30% and 25% rise in CO2 permeance and CO2/N2 selectivity respectively above the values obtained from simple PEG-based UTFC membranes.

Kim, J, Park, M, Shon, HK & Kim, JH 2016, 'Performance analysis of reverse osmosis, membrane distillation, and pressure-retarded osmosis hybrid processes', Desalination, vol. 380, pp. 85-92.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. A performance analysis of a tri-combined process that consists of reverse osmosis (RO), membrane distillation (MD), and pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) was conducted by using numerical approaches in order to evaluate its feasibility. In the hybrid process, the RO brine is partially used as the MD feed solution, and the concentrated MD brine is then mixed with the rest of the RO brine to be considered as the PRO draw solution. Here, the brine division ratio, incoming flow rate of RO, dimensions of the MD and PRO processes, and the supply cost of the MD heat source were considered as influential parameters. Previously validated process models were employed and the specific energy consumption (SEC) was calculated to examine the performance of the RO-MD-PRO hybrid process. The simulation results confirmed that the RO-MD-PRO hybrid process could outperform stand-alone RO in terms of reducing the SEC and the environmental footprint by dilution of the RO brine in locations where free or low-cost thermal energy can be exploited. Despite the need for further investigations and pilot-tests to determine its commercial practicability, this study provides insights into future directions for water and energy nexus processes for energy efficient desalination.

Kim, J, Park, MJ, Park, M, Shon, HK, Kim, S-H & Kim, JH 2016, 'Influence of colloidal fouling on pressure retarded osmosis', Desalination, vol. 389, pp. 207-214.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. In this study, colloidal fouling behavior in pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) was systematically investigated in terms of the effects of draw solution concentration, applied hydraulic pressure at the draw side, feed solution pH, and particle size. Commercially-available cellulose triacetate (CTA) membranes were fouled with feed solution containing silica colloidal particles. Two different silica particles with mean diameter of 27 and 152 nm were used as model foulants. Our findings demonstrated that the colloidal fouling in PRO was dominantly affected by the cake layer buildup at the membrane surface. Fouling was further exacerbated by diffused salts from the draw side because retained salts within the cake layer elevated the salt concentration on the membrane surface, and consequently reduced the driving force of PRO. Substantial flux decline with the smaller particles was attributed to the high cake layer resistance due to the formation of the void-less cake layer. In addition, our approaches to mitigate the colloidal fouling revealed that the hydraulic cleaning by increasing the cross-flow rates was not effective to eliminate the compact cake layer. However, adjusting the feed solution pH showed the high potential to relieve the colloidal fouling resulting from the more stabilization of particles at low solution pH.

Kim, Y, Chekli, L, Shim, W-G, Phuntsho, S, Li, S, Ghaffour, N, Leiknes, T & Shon, HK 2016, 'Selection of suitable fertilizer draw solute for a novel fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis-anaerobic membrane bioreactor hybrid system', BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY, vol. 210, pp. 26-34.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. In this study, a protocol for selecting suitable fertilizer draw solute for anaerobic fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (AnFDFOMBR) was proposed. Among eleven commercial fertilizer candidates, six fertilizers were screened further for their FO performance tests and evaluated in terms of water flux and reverse salt flux. Using selected fertilizers, bio-methane potential experiments were conducted to examine the effect of fertilizers on anaerobic activity due to reverse diffusion. Mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP) showed the highest biogas production while other fertilizers exhibited an inhibition effect on anaerobic activity with solute accumulation. Salt accumulation in the bioreactor was also simulated using mass balance simulation models. Results showed that ammonium sulfate and MAP were the most appropriate for AnFDFOMBR since they demonstrated less salt accumulation, relatively higher water flux, and higher dilution capacity of draw solution. Given toxicity of sulfate to anaerobic microorganisms, MAP appears to be the most suitable draw solution for AnFDFOMBR.

Kyong Shon, H, Duc Nghiem, L, Kim, S, Akmar Zakaria, Z, Tijing, L, Shu, L & Jegatheesan, V 2016, 'Editorial', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 60, pp. 29192-29192.
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Le Thi Minh, T, Nguyen Phuoc, D, Dinh Quoc, T, Ngo, HH & Do Hong Lan, C 2016, 'Presence of e-EDCs in surface water and effluents of pollution sources in Sai Gon and Dong Nai river basin', Sustainable Environment Research, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 20-27.
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© 2016 This study aimed to assess the presence of estrogenic endocrine disrupting compounds (e-EDCs) including estriol, bisphenol A (BPA), atrazine (ATZ), octylphenol, octylphenol diethoxylate, octylphenol triethoxylate, nonylphenol, Nonylphenol triethoxylate (NPE3), nonylphenol diethoxylate (NPE2) and 17β-estradiol in: (i) Sai Gon and Dong Nai river waters which have been major raw water sources for drinking water supply for Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and neighbouring provinces, and (ii) water pollution sources located in their catchment basin. NPE3 and NPE2 were detected in most of the surface water samples. Concentrations of NPE3 were in a range of less than 5.9–235 ng L −1 , whereas BPA was detected at significantly high concentrations in the dry season in canals in HCMC. In the upstream of Sai Gon and Dong Nai Rivers, ATZ concentrations were observed at water intake of water treatment plants served for HCMC water supply system. Similarly, high potential risk of NPE2 and NPE3 contamination at Phu Cuong Bridge near Hoa Phu water intake was identified. The significant correlation between NPE2, dissolved organic carbon and total nitrogen was found. Estrogenic equivalent or estrogenic activity of Sai Gon and Dong Nai Rivers was lower than those of the previous studies. Compared with other studies, e-EDCs of pollution in Sai Gon river basin were relatively low.

Le, TM & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Trust-region reflective optimisation to obtain soil visco-plastic properties', Engineering Computations, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 410-442.
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Purpose A non-linear creep function embedded in an elastic visco-plastic (EVP) model can simulate the decrease of creep compression rate with time. It overcomes the limitation of a linear logarithmic creep function, by which creep continuously increases to infinite value as time approaches infinity. However, the determination of the creep model parameters is a challenging task to apply the EVP model. Therefore, this paper presents a new numerical solution to determine the EVP model parameters applying trust-region reflective least square optimisation algorithm and the finite difference scheme to simulate stress-strain behaviour of soft soil. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the developed method is verified against the field case study of Väsby test fill. A set of EVP model parameters is obtained by applying the developed method to the available laboratory consolidation results of Väsby clay. Then, the predictions of settlement and the excess pore water pressure at different depths are compared to the available field measurement. Findings The analysis results show the developed method is a reliable tool to evaluate the long-term performance of soft soils under embankments. Practical implications Practicing engineers can use the proposed optimisation algorithm to increase the accuracy of the soil visco-plastic model parameters by utilising all laboratory results of several loading stages during and after the...

Lee, E-J, An, AK, He, T, Woo, YC & Shon, HK 2016, 'Electrospun nanofiber membranes incorporating fluorosilane-coated TiO2 nanocomposite for direct contact membrane distillation', JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE, vol. 520, pp. 145-154.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. The electrospinning technique as a method for fabricating hydrophobic membranes for membrane distillation (MD) has received much attention in recent times. In this study, TiO2 functionalized with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane was added directly to the dope solution for electrospinning in order to increase the hydrophobicity of the resulting MD membranes. Three concentrations (10%, 15% and 20%) of polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PH) dope solution were used for electrospinning with various amounts of TiO2 (1%, 5% and 10%) to generate nanofibers. The electrospun nanofiber membrane (ENM) of 20% PH with 10% TiO2 exhibited the highest surface hydrophobicity (contact angle=149°) resulting from good dispersion of the TiO2 particles, while the highest liquid entry pressure of 194.5 kPa was observed for the ENM comprising 10% PH with 10% TiO2 due to its reduced pore sizes. Furthermore, the ENMs containing 10% TiO2 exhibited better flux and stable salt rejection than commercial and ENMs without TiO2. Notably, there was no severe wetting in the 20% PH ENM with 10% TiO2 over seven days of operation, despite the high salt concentration (7.0 wt% NaCl) of the feed water.

Lee, H, Juan, J, Yun Hin, T-Y & Ong, H 2016, 'Environment-Friendly Heterogeneous Alkaline-Based Mixed Metal Oxide Catalysts for Biodiesel Production', Energies, vol. 9, no. 8, pp. 611-611.
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Lee, J, Jeong, S, Naidu, G, Ye, Y, Chen, V, Liu, Z & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Performance evaluation of carbon nanotube enhanced membranes for SWRO pretreatment application', Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 38, no. 8, pp. 123-131.
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© 2016 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) membrane was tested for SWRO pretreatment. The MWCNT membrane itself showed a superior permeate flux (321.3. LMH/bar), which was 4-times as polyethersulfone ultrafiltration (PES-UF) membrane. Reduction of dissolved organic matter improved to 66% with fewer amounts of powder activated carbon (PAC) (0.5. g/L) in MWCNT membrane filtration maintaining a high permeate flux of 600. LMH/bar. It was due to the increased porosity (84.5%) and hydrophilicity (52.9°) by incorporating MWCNT/polyaniline into PES membrane. Ionic strength affected organic removal in seawater filtration by altering electrostatic interaction between organic matter and surface charge of the positively charged MWCNT membrane.

Lee, KY, Park, SM, Kim, JB, Saliby, IE, Shahid, M, Kim, G-J, Shon, HK & Kim, J-H 2016, 'Synthesis and Characterisation of Porous Titania-Silica Composite Aerogel for NO<SUB><I>x</I></SUB> and Acetaldehyde Removal', Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 4505-4511.
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Copyright © 2016 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved. In this study, the synthesis of porous titania-silica (TiO2-SiO2) composite aerogel at ambient pressure by using non-hazardous chemicals as a source of silica was investigated. TiO2-SiO2 composite aerogels were characterised and their photocatalytic performances were investigated for the removal efficiency of acetaldehyde and NOx under UV light. Results showed that porous composite aerogel with aggregated morphology, high surface area and an increased mesoporosity were formed. TiO2-SiO2(1.8) composite, with high Ti/Si ratio, showed the best results in terms of photocatalytic removal of acetaldehyde and nitrogen oxide.

Leong, KY, Ong, HC, Amer, NH, Norazrina, MJ, Risby, MS & Ku Ahmad, KZ 2016, 'An overview on current application of nanofluids in solar thermal collector and its challenges', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 53, pp. 1092-1105.
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Li, A, Pi, S, Wei, W, Chen, T, Yang, J & Ma, F 2016, 'Adsorption behavior of tetracycline by extracellular polymeric substrates extracted from Klebsiella sp. J1', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 24, pp. 25084-25092.
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The extracellular polymeric substrate (EPS) extracted from Klebsiella sp. J1 was used to adsorb low concentrations of tetracycline, and the efficiency and mechanism of tetracycline adsorption by EPS from strain J1 were studied. Adsorption efficiency was evaluated at different conditions. Results showed that optimal adsorption efficiency was 71.68 % with 60 mg L-1 of EPS from strain J1 and 90 μL of 10 % (w/v) CaCl2 in 100 mL of tetracycline solution (80 μg L-1) with pH of 8.0. Experimental data was fitted well with Langmuir, Freundlich isotherm, and pseudo-second-order models. Analyses of E value, Ea value, thermodynamics, zeta potential variation, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra proved that chemisorption was the main adsorption type and bridging was the main adsorption mechanism. Thermodynamic analysis indicated that adsorptive reaction was exothermic from 20 to 40 °C. In addition, humic acid (HA) showed little effect on the tetracycline adsorption by MFX.

Li, E, Chen, J, Zhang, Z, Fang, J, Liu, GR & Li, Q 2016, 'Smoothed finite element method for analysis of multi-layered systems – Applications in biomaterials', Computers & Structures, vol. 168, pp. 16-29.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. In general, the biologic system can be rather sophisticated and commonly present in hierarchical layers. Hence, the quadrilateral or brick elements are very difficult to precisely capture the anatomic details for mechanobiologic modeling. Further, the conventional finite element method (FEM) could possibly give poor solutions using triangular or tetrahedral elements due to its overly-stiff property. In addition, the biologic soft tissues are often considered as 'incompressible' materials, where conventional FEM could suffer from volumetric locking in numerical solution. For these reasons, smoothed finite element methods (SFEM) are proposed here to solve the multi-layered bio-systems for softening conventional FEM models.

Li, J, Stewart, MG, Masia, MJ & Lawrence, SJ 2016, 'Spatial Correlation of Material Properties and Structural Strength of Masonry in Horizontal Bending', Journal of Structural Engineering, vol. 142, no. 11.
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Spatial variability of material properties might significantly affect the structural performance and reliability of unreinforced masonry (URM) walls. The paper develops a computational method to predict the strength for URM walls subject to one-way horizontal bending considering unit-to-unit spatial variability of the material properties of mortar joints and bricks. In this context, the term unit is being used to describe the location in the wall associated with a single brick and the adjacent mortar joints. In this way, the material properties are assumed to be uniform along the length, height, and thickness of individual bricks but may vary from brick to brick within the wall. Tensile strength, shear bond strength, and associated fracture energies of the mortar joints and tensile strength and fracture energy of the bricks are the main parameters considered herein. The authors examine how correlation and spatial variability in unit strengths (mortar joints and bricks) affect the variability of ultimate strength and damage progression of clay brick URM walls in one-way horizontal bending. Stochastic analysis in the form of Monte Carlo simulations used a three-dimensional (3D) nonlinear finite-element analysis. The results were validated from a database of available experimental results on masonry four-course beams. It was found that good agreement of peak load exists between the stochastic simulation and the experimental results for the four-course beam subject to horizontal bending.

Li, J, Wu, C, Hao, H, Su, Y & Liu, Z 2016, 'Blast resistance of concrete slab reinforced with high performance fibre material', Journal of Structural Integrity and Maintenance, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 51-59.
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Concrete is now the most abundantly used material in construction. Despite good compressive strength, concrete is marked with brittleness and low tensile strength. A widely adopted method to enhance the concrete material performance especially the tensile strength and ductility is fibrous material addition. In the present study, concrete mix designs with different fibre additions have been developed, and high-performance polyethylene fibre and micro steel fibre are considered with varying volume fractions in the concrete matrix. Material static properties are obtained from laboratory tests, and further study on the dynamic performance of theses fibre reinforced concrete materials is investigated through field blast tests. Concrete slabs with high-performance polyethylene fibre reinforcement and hybrid steel and polyethylene reinforcement are casted and tested under close-in blast scenarios. Discussion on the structural damage and material performance is briefed based on the test results.

Li, J, Wu, C, Hao, H, Wang, Z & Su, Y 2016, 'Experimental investigation of ultra-high performance concrete slabs under contact explosions', International Journal of Impact Engineering, vol. 93, pp. 62-75.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Unlike ductile behaviour under static loads, a reinforced concrete structure can respond in a brittle manner with highly localised damage like concrete spalling, cratering and reinforcement rupturing under close-in or contact explosions. High speed fragmentation resulting from concrete spall may cause severe casualties and injuries. It is therefore important to have a better understanding of the concrete spall phenomena and fragments distribution. In the present study, contact explosion tests were carried out on concrete slabs to observe the concrete crater and spall damage. Seven slabs including two control specimens made of normal strength concrete (NRC) and five ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) slabs are tested. The superior blast resistance capacity of UHPC slabs is verified through comparison against NRC slabs. The influence of longitudinal reinforcement spacing and slab depth on the spall resistance of UHPC slabs is investigated. Predictions through available empirical methods are made and compared with the test observations. The accuracy of these empirical methods is discussed. All fragments resulting from the contact blast tests are collected and analysed through sieve analysis. It is found that Weibull distribution can be used to model the fragments size distribution of NRC slabs while Log-normal distribution better models the fragments size distribution of UHPC slabs.

Li, W, Huang, Z, Zu, T, Shi, C, Duan, WH & Shah, SP 2016, 'Influence of Nanolimestone on the Hydration, Mechanical Strength, and Autogenous Shrinkage of Ultrahigh-Performance Concrete', Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 04015068-04015068.
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© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers. The influence of nanolimestone/nanoCaCo3 (NC) on the properties of ultrahigh-performance concrete (UHPC) cured at standard and heat conditions was experimentally investigated. The NC was used at ratios of 1, 2, and 3% as partial mass replacement for cement. Incorporating NC accelerated the hydration reactions of UHPC because of the nucleation effect. On the mechanical properties aspect, a threshold value of the NC content was found so that the compressive, flexural strengths, and flexural to compressive strength ratio of the UHPC were found to increase as the NC content increased towards the threshold content, and then to decrease with the increase of NC contents when the threshold was surpassed. Conversely, replacing cement with NC decreased flowability and increased the amount of autogenous shrinkage of the UHPC. While the NC accelerated the cement hydration process, it also acted as an effective filling material, resulting in enhanced mechanical properties and denser microstructure compared with the control UHPC mixture. Thus, through the use of NC, more environmentally friendly UHPC can be produced by reducing its cement factor and achieving enhanced engineering properties.

Li, W, Kawashima, S, Xiao, J, Corr, DJ, Shi, C & Shah, SP 2016, 'Comparative investigation on nanomechanical properties of hardened cement paste', Materials and Structures, vol. 49, no. 5, pp. 1591-1604.
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© 2015, RILEM. Three types of nanomechanical methods including static nanoindentation, modulus mapping and peak-force quantitative nanomechanical mapping (QNM) were applied to investigate the quantitative nanomechanical properties of the same indent location in hardened cement paste. Compared to the nanoindentation, modulus mapping and peak-force QNM allow for evaluating local mechanical properties of a smaller area with higher resolution. Beside, the ranges of elastic modulus distribution measured by modulus mapping and peak-force QNM are relatively greater than that obtained from nanoindentation, which may be due to a result of the shaper probe and local confinement effect between multiple phases. Moreover, the average value of elastic modulus obtained using peak-force QNM were consistent with those obtained by modulus mapping, while the different in modulus probability distribution could be related to the different nanomechancial theories and contact forces. The probability distributions of elastic modulus measured using nanomechanical methods to provide a basis for the different types of phases existing in cement paste. Based on the observation with high spatial resolution, cement paste can be likely found as nanocalse granular material, in which different submicron scale or basic nanoscale grain units pack together. It indicates that the peak-force QNM can effectively provide an effective insight into the nanostructure characteristic and corresponding nanomechanical properties of cement paste.

Li, W, Luo, Z, Long, C, Wu, C, Duan, WH & Shah, SP 2016, 'Effects of nanoparticle on the dynamic behaviors of recycled aggregate concrete under impact loading', Materials & Design, vol. 112, pp. 58-66.
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A 100 mm-diameter split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) was applied to investigate effects of nanoparticles on the dynamic mechanical properties of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) under impact loading. The nano-SiO2 (NS) and nano-CaCO3 (NC) were incorporated to replace cement by mass of 1 and 2% in RACs. The impact velocities were set as 7.7, 9.8 and 11.6 m/s in the SHPB tests. The effects of nanoparticles on failure patterns, compressive strengths, elastic modulus, peak strain and dynamic increase factor (DIF) of RACs under different strain rates were analyzed and discussed. The results show that nanomodified RACs exhibit higher both quasi-static and dynamic compressive strengths compared to control RAC. Dynamic elastic modulus of RAC seems not be affected by nanoparticle dosages and impact velocities. Compared to NC, NS is more effective to improve dynamic compressive strengths of RAC. On the other hand, the nanoparticles modified RACs exhibit lower DIF values than that of the control RAC. Moreover, NC obviously more reduces the DIF values of nanomodified RAC than NS.

Liu, C, Han, K, Lee, D-J & Wang, Q 2016, 'Simultaneous biological removal of phenol, sulfide, and nitrate using expanded granular sludge bed reactor', Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, vol. 100, no. 9, pp. 4211-4217.
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Biological removal of sulfide, nitrate, and phenol at loading rates of 600 g S/(m(3) day), 900 g N/(m(3) day), and 450 g C/(m(3) day), respectively, from synthetic wastewaters was achieved in an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor, whose rates are much higher than literature works and are considered feasible for handling high-strength petrochemical wastewaters without dilution. Effects of C/S ratio (2-2.5:1) on EGSB performance were noted insignificantly. The strains Bacillus sp., Thauera sp., and Pseudomonas sp. were the heterotrophic denitrifiers and the strains Thiobacillus sp., Azoarcus sp., and Sulfurovum sp. were the autotrophic denitrifiers in the EGSB granules. The EGSB reactor experienced biological breakdown at loadings higher than 1200 g S/(m(3) day), 1800 g N/(m(3) day), and 900 g C/(m(3) day) by the following mechanism: high sulfide first inhibits heterotrophic denitrifies (Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp.), thereby accumulating nitrite in the system; then, the accumulated nitrite inhibits autotrophic denitrifiers (Thiobacillus sp., Azoarcus sp., and Sulfurovum sp.) to complete breakdown of the system.

Liu, C, Zhao, D, Ma, W, Guo, Y, Wang, A, Wang, Q & Lee, D-J 2016, 'Denitrifying sulfide removal process on high-salinity wastewaters in the presence of Halomonas sp.', Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, vol. 100, no. 3, pp. 1421-1426.
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Biological conversion of sulfide, acetate, and nitrate to, respectively, elemental sulfur (S(0)), carbon dioxide, and nitrogen-containing gas (such as N2) at NaCl concentration of 35-70 g/L was achieved in an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor. A C/N ratio of 1:1 was noted to achieve high sulfide removal and S(0) conversion rate at high salinity. The extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) quantities were increased with NaCl concentration, being 11.4-mg/g volatile-suspended solids at 70 mg/L NaCl. The denitrifying sulfide removal (DSR) consortium incorporated Thauera sp. and Halomonas sp. as the heterotrophs and Azoarcus sp. being the autotrophs at high salinity condition. Halomonas sp. correlates with the enhanced DSR performance at high salinity.

Liu, H, Hu, Z, Zhang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Liang, S, Fan, J, Lu, S & Wu, H 2016, 'Optimizations on supply and distribution of dissolved oxygen in constructed wetlands: A review', Bioresource Technology, vol. 214, pp. 797-805.
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© 2016 Dissolved oxygen (DO) is one of the most important factors that can influence pollutants removal in constructed wetlands (CWs). However, problems of insufficient oxygen supply and inappropriate oxygen distribution commonly exist in traditional CWs. Detailed analyses of DO supply and distribution characteristics in different types of CWs were introduced. It can be concluded that atmospheric reaeration (AR) served as the promising point on oxygen intensification. The paper summarized possible optimizations of DO in CWs to improve its decontamination performance. Process (tidal flow, drop aeration, artificial aeration, hybrid systems) and parameter (plant, substrate and operating) optimizations are particularly discussed in detail. Since economic and technical defects are still being cited in current studies, future prospects of oxygen research in CWs terminate this review.

Liu, Y, Guo, J, Wang, Q & Huang, D 2016, 'Prediction of Filamentous Sludge Bulking using a State-based Gaussian Processes Regression Model', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 31303.
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AbstractActivated sludge process has been widely adopted to remove pollutants in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, stable operation of activated sludge process is often compromised by the occurrence of filamentous bulking. The aim of this study is to build a proper model for timely diagnosis and prediction of filamentous sludge bulking in an activated sludge process. This study developed a state-based Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) model to monitor the filamentous sludge bulking related parameter, sludge volume index (SVI), in such a way that the evolution of SVI can be predicted over multi-step ahead. This methodology was validated with SVI data collected from one full-scale WWTP. Online diagnosis and prediction of filamentous bulking sludge with real-time SVI prediction was tested through a simulation study. The results showed that the proposed methodology was capable of predicting future SVIs with good accuracy, thus providing sufficient time for predicting and controlling filamentous sludge bulking.

Liu, Y, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Peng, L, Pan, Y, Guo, J, Chen, X & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Autotrophic nitrogen removal in membrane-aerated biofilms: Archaeal ammonia oxidation versus bacterial ammonia oxidation', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 302, pp. 535-544.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Recent discovery of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) not only substantially improved our understanding of the global nitrogen cycle, but also provided new possibilities for nitrogen removal from wastewater. In particular, compared to ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), the high ammonia oxidation under oxygen-limited conditions driven by AOA is potentially more suitable for autotrophic nitrogen removal in a single-stage membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) through coupling with anaerobic ammonia oxidation (Anammox). In this work, mathematical modeling is applied to assess the system performance and associated microbial community structure of an AOA–Anammox MABR under low- (30 mg N L−1) and high-strength (500 mg N L−1) ammonium conditions, with a side-by-side comparison to an AOB–Anammox MABR system under the same conditions. Results demonstrate that both ammonium surface loading (or hydraulic retention time) and oxygen surface loading significantly affect the system performance. In contrast to AOB–Anammox system, the AOA–Anammox MABR shows higher total nitrogen (TN) removal and lower oxygen supply, with much better repression of NOB and substantially wider operating window for high-level TN removal (>80%) in terms of varied oxygen and ammonium loadings. These results provide first insights and useful information for design and operation of this novel AOA–Anammox MABR system in its potential future applications.

Liu, Y, Peng, L, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Wang, D, Pan, Y, Sun, J & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Evaluation of Nitrous Oxide Emission from Sulfide- and Sulfur-Based Autotrophic Denitrification Processes', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 50, no. 17, pp. 9407-9415.
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© 2016 American Chemical Society. Recent studies have shown that sulfide- and sulfur-based autotrophic denitrification (AD) processes play an important role in contributing to nitrous oxide (N2O) production and emissions. However, N2O production is not recognized in the current AD models, limiting their ability to predict N2O accumulation during AD. In this work, a mathematical model is developed to describe N2O dynamics during sulfide- and sulfur-based AD processes for the first time. The model is successfully calibrated and validated using N2O data from two independent experimental systems with sulfide or sulfur as electron donors for AD. The model satisfactorily describes nitrogen reductions, sulfide/sulfur oxidation, and N2O accumulation in both systems. Modeling results revealed substantial N2O accumulation due to the relatively low N2O reduction rate during both sulfide- and sulfur-based AD processes. Application of the model to simulate long-term operations of activated sludge systems performing sulfide- and sulfur-based AD processes indicates longer sludge retention time reduced N2O emission. For sulfide-based AD process, higher initial S/N ratio also decreased N2O emission but with a higher operational cost. This model can be a useful tool to support process operation optimization for N2O mitigation during AD with sulfide or sulfur as electron donor.

Liu, Y, Sun, J, Peng, L, Wang, D, Dai, X & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Assessment of Heterotrophic Growth Supported by Soluble Microbial Products in Anammox Biofilm using Multidimensional Modeling', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 27576.
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AbstractAnaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is known to autotrophically convert ammonium to dinitrogen gas with nitrite as the electron acceptor, but little is known about their released microbial products and how these are relative to heterotrophic growth in anammox system. In this work, we applied a mathematical model to assess the heterotrophic growth supported by three key microbial products produced by bacteria in anammox biofilm (utilization associated products (UAP), biomass associated products (BAP), and decay released substrate). Both One-dimensional and two-dimensional numerical biofilm models were developed to describe the development of anammox biofilm as a function of the multiple bacteria–substrate interactions. Model simulations show that UAP of anammox is the main organic carbon source for heterotrophs. Heterotrophs are mainly dominant at the surface of the anammox biofilm with small fraction inside the biofilm. 1-D model is sufficient to describe the main substrate concentrations/fluxes within the anammox biofilm, while the 2-D model can give a more detailed biomass distribution. The heterotrophic growth on UAP is mainly present at the outside of anammox biofilm, their growth on BAP (HetB) are present throughout the biofilm, while the growth on decay released substrate (HetD) is mainly located in the inner layers of the biofilm.

Liu, Y, Tugtas, AE, Sharma, KR, Ni, B-J & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Sulfide and methane production in sewer sediments: Field survey and model evaluation', Water Research, vol. 89, pp. 142-150.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Sewer sediment processes have been reported to significantly contribute to overall sulfide and methane production in sewers, at a scale comparable to that of sewer biofilms. The physiochemical and biological characteristics of sewer sediments are heterogeneous; however, the variability of in-sediments sulfide and methane production rates among sewers has not been assessed to date. In this study, five sewer sediment samples were collected from two cities in Australia with different climatic conditions. Batch assays were conducted to determine the rates of sulfate reduction and methane production under different flow velocity (shear stress) conditions as well as under completely mixed conditions. The tests showed substantial and variable sulfate reduction and methane production activities among different sediments. Sulfate reduction and methane production from sewer sediments were confirmed to be areal processes, and were dependent on flow velocity/shear stress. Despite of the varying characteristics and reactions kinetics, the sulfate reduction and methane production processes in all sediments could be well described by a one-dimensional sewer sediment model recently developed based on results obtained from a laboratory sewer sediment reactor. Model simulations indicated that the in-situ contribution of sewer sediment emissions could be estimated without the requirement of measuring the specific sediment characteristics or the sediment depths.

Liu, Y, Xiao, H, Pan, Y, Huang, D & Wang, Q 2016, 'Development of multiple-step soft-sensors using a Gaussian process model with application for fault prognosis', Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, vol. 157, pp. 85-95.
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Predicting the degradation of working conditions and trending of fault propagation before they reach the alarm or failure control limit is significantly important to optimize the operational capacity of a chemical process. However, traditional one-step-ahead (OS) soft-sensors render such benefits inadequate. Direct, Recursive and Direct-recursive strategies are proposed to generalize the Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) model for multi-step-ahead (MS) prediction, thereby supporting the fault diagnosis and prognosis of the product qualities control for chemical processes. The proposed methodology was firstly demonstrated by applying the designed algorithm to a wastewater plant (WWTP) simulated with the well-established model, i.e., Benchmark Simulation Model 1 (BSM1), then extended to a full-scale WWTP with data collected from the field influenced by filamentous sludge bulking. Results showed that the proposed strategies significantly improved the prediction performance.

Liu, Z, Liang, J & Wu, C 2016, 'The diffraction of Rayleigh waves by a fluid-saturated alluvial valley in a poroelastic half-space modeled by MFS', Computers & Geosciences, vol. 91, pp. 33-48.
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Lu, M, Sloan, SW, Indraratna, B, Jing, H & Xie, K 2016, 'A new analytical model for consolidation with multiple vertical drains', International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, vol. 40, no. 11, pp. 1623-1640.
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SummaryVarious analytical theories of consolidation for soils with vertical drains have been proposed in the past. Most conventional theories are based on a cylindrical unit cell that contains only a single vertical drain. This paper described a new analytical model where a vertical drain located at the centre (the ‘inner vertical drain’) and is surrounded by two or three vertical drains (the ‘outer vertical drains’), the number of which depends on whether the configuration is triangular or rectangular. Both types of drains are combined into a cylindrical unit cell, and the water is assumed to flow both inwards to the inner vertical drain and outwards to the outer vertical drains distributed around the circumference. The outer radial boundary of the unit cell is regarded as a permeable boundary, with a drainage capacity of two or three separate vertical drains for triangular and rectangular configurations, respectively. The smear effects and the drainage resistances for both the inner and outer vertical drains are considered in the analysis as well. In this way, the equations governing the consolidation process with multiple vertical drains are derived, and the corresponding analytical solutions are obtained for instantaneously loading, ramp loading and multi‐stage of instantaneously loading and multi‐stage of ramp loading. The present solutions are finally compared with several conventional solutions for a single vertical drain in the literature. The results show that the present model predicts the same average degree of consolidation as conventional models do, which verifies the correctness of this new model. Finally, the settlement predicted by the present solution is compared with the measured settlement from a field test at the Port of Brisbane, Australia, which shows a good agreement between them. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Lu, S, Chen, F, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Feng, C, Wu, J & Zheng, B 2016, 'Effect of straw and polyacrylamide on the stability of land/water ecotone soil and the field implementation', Ecological Engineering, vol. 94, pp. 12-21.
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Luo, L, Wang, XC, Ngo, HH & Guo, W 2016, 'Thermodynamic entropy of organic oxidation in the water environment: experimental evaluation compared to semi-empirical calculation', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 21, pp. 21350-21359.
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Luo, W, Hai, FI, Price, WE, Elimelech, M & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Evaluating ionic organic draw solutes in osmotic membrane bioreactors for water reuse', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 514, pp. 636-645.
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Luo, W, Hai, FI, Price, WE, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Yamamoto, K & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Phosphorus and water recovery by a novel osmotic membrane bioreactor–reverse osmosis system', Bioresource Technology, vol. 200, pp. 297-304.
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Luo, W, Phan, HV, Hai, FI, Price, WE, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Yamamoto, K & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Effects of salinity build-up on the performance and bacterial community structure of a membrane bioreactor', Bioresource Technology, vol. 200, pp. 305-310.
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Luo, W, Xie, M, Hai, FI, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Biodegradation of cellulose triacetate and polyamide forward osmosis membranes in an activated sludge bioreactor: Observations and implications', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 510, pp. 284-292.
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Lyu, H, Gong, Y, Tang, J, Huang, Y & Wang, Q 2016, 'Immobilization of heavy metals in electroplating sludge by biochar and iron sulfide', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 14, pp. 14472-14488.
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Electroplating sludge (ES) containing large quantities of heavy metals is regarded as a hazardous waste in China. This paper introduced a simple method of treating ES using environmentally friendly fixatives biochar (BC) and iron sulfide (FeS), respectively. After 3 days of treatment with FeS at a FeS-to-ES mass ratio of 1:5, the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP)-based leachability of total Cr (TCr), Cu(II), Ni(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II) was decreased by 59.6, 100, 63.8, 73.5, and 90.5 %, respectively. After 5 days of treatment with BC at a BC-to-ES mass ratio of 1:2, the TCLP-based leachability was declined by 35.1, 30.6, 22.3, 23.1, and 22.4 %, respectively. Pseudo first-order kinetic model adequately simulated the sorption kinetic data. Structure and morphology analysis showed that adsorption, electrostatic attraction, surface complexation, and chemical precipitation were dominant mechanisms for heavy metals immobilization by BC, and that chemical precipitation (formation of metal sulfide and hydroxide precipitates), iron exchange (formation of CuFeS2), and surface complexation were mainly responsible for heavy metals removal by FeS. Economic costs of BC and FeS were 500 and 768 CNY/t, lower than that of Na2S (940 CNY/t). The results suggest that BC and FeS are effective, economic, and environmentally friendly fixatives for immobilization of heavy metals in ES before landfill disposal.

Lyu, M, Zhu, X & Yang, Q 2016, 'Dynamic field monitoring data analysis of an ancient wooden building in seismic and operational environments', Earthquakes and Structures, vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 1043-1060.
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The engineering background of this article is an ancient wooden building with extremely high historic and cultural values in Tibet. A full understanding of the dynamic behaviour of this historic building under in-service environments is the basis to assess the condition of the structure, especially its responses to earthquake, environmental and operational loading. A dynamic monitoring system has been installed in the building for over one year and the large amounts of high quality data have been obtained. The paper aims at studying the dynamic behaviour of the wooden building in seismic and operational conditions using the field monitoring data. Specifically the effects of earthquake and crowd loading on the structure's dynamic response are investigated. The monitoring data are decomposed into principal components using the Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) technique. The relationship between the average acceleration amplitude and frequencies of the principle components and operational conditions has been discussed. One main contribution is to understand the health condition of complex ancient building based on large databases collected on the field.

Ma, XY, Wang, XC, Wang, D, Ngo, HH, Zhang, Q, Wang, Y & Dai, D 2016, 'Function of a landscape lake in the reduction of biotoxicity related to trace organic chemicals from reclaimed water', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 318, pp. 663-670.
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Mahdavi, H, Fatahi, B, Khabbaz, H, Vincent, P & Kelly, R 2016, 'Comparison of Coupled Flow-deformation and Drained Analyses for Road Embankments on CMC Improved Ground', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 462-469.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. The use of controlled modulus columns (CMC) is gaining increased popularity in the support of rail and road bridge approach embankments on soft soils. The further columns are driven into the competent firm soils, the further the design will rely on the inclusions to take the bulk of the vertical loads, as they become rigid inclusions. The advantage of this design approach is that it produces increased control over the settlement, but as a result the columns will attract greater loads, including bending moment and shear force in situations where non-uniform loading or ground conditions exist. The load on the composite soil-CMC is uniformly distributed by the upper layer of granular load transfer platform (LTP), which also includes a layer of reinforcement. Finite difference program FLAC3D has been used to numerically simulate an embankment on the improved ground with end-bearing CMC. A geosynthetic reinforcement layer has been simulated using the inbuilt FLAC3D geogrid element. In this paper, a comparison has been made between the drained and coupled flow-deformation analyses. The force in the reinforcement layer, in particular, has been compared for the two analysis approaches. It was found that according to the numerical simulation, the drained analysis provides lower estimates of the settlement, lateral displacement; and therefore, predicts less tension in the geosynthetic layer.

Majeed, T, Phuntsho, S, Chekli, L, Lee, S-H, Kim, K & Shon, HK 2016, 'Role of various physical and chemical techniques for hollow fibre forward osmosis membrane cleaning', DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT, vol. 57, no. 17, pp. 7742-7752.
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© 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Fouling is an inevitable phenomenon with most of the water treatment systems. Similar to RO, NF and other membrane-based systems, fouling also seriously affects the performance of low-cost forward-osmosis (FO) systems and disturbs the overall efficiency of these systems, and various cleaning practices have been evaluated to restore their designed performances. This study evaluates the performance of various physical and chemical cleaning techniques for hollow fibre forward-osmosis (HFFO) membrane. HFFO membrane was subjected to various fouling conditions using different brackish groundwater qualities and model organic foulants such as alginate, humic acid and bovine serum albumin. Results indicated that physical cleaning affects differently the flux restoration according to the type of foulants (i.e. inorganic or organic) and the crossflow rates play an important role in membrane cleaning in both membrane orientation. The higher cross flow Re values at any particular area seem important for the cleaning. With hydraulic flushing, the flux performances of HFFO were recovered fully when operated in AL-FS orientation, as high shear force helps to detach all scaling layers from the surface; however, the lower shear force did not fully restore the flux for the FS membrane in AL-DS orientation. Chemical cleaning was planned for the fouled HFFO membrane, and HCl and NaOH were used in various combination sequences. It was found that HCl did not clean the membrane used for AL-DS orientation for combined fouling. HCl cleaning (at pH 2) was found to be more effective for removing inorganic scale, whereas NaOH cleaning (at pH 11) for a similar period successfully restored the flux for all the membranes used for FS with inorganic and/or organic foulants. ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) was also evaluated for its cleaning performances and it was found that compared to NaOH, EDTA cleaning (1 mM con...

Majeed, T, Phuntsho, S, Jeong, S, Zhao, Y, Gao, B & Shon, HK 2016, 'Understanding the risk of scaling and fouling in hollow fiber forward osmosis membrane application', Process Safety and Environmental Protection, vol. 104, pp. 452-464.
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© 2016 Institution of Chemical Engineers Fouling studies of forward osmosis (FO) were mostly conducted based on fouling evaluation principals applied to pressure membrane processes such as reverse osmosis (RO)/nanofiltration (NF)/microfiltration (MF)/ultrafiltration (UF). For RO/NF/MF/UF processes, the single flux driving force (hydraulic pressure) remains constant, thus the fouling effect is easily evaluated by comparing flux data with the baseline. Whilst, the scenario of fouling effects for FO process is entirely different from RO/NF/MF/UF processes. Continuously changing driving force (osmotic pressure difference), the changes in concentration polarization associated with the varying draw solution/feed solution concentration and the fouling layer effects collectively influence the FO flux. Thus, usual comparison of the FO flux outcome with the baseline results cannot exactly indicate the real affect of membrane fouling, rather presents a misleading cumulative effect. This study compares the existing FO fouling technique with an alternate fouling evaluation approach using two FO set-ups. Scaling and fouling risk for hollow fiber FO was separately investigated using synthetic water samples and model organic foulants as alginate, humic acid and bovine serum albumin. Results indicated that FO flux declines up to 5% and 49% in active layer-feed solution and active layer-draw solution orientations respectively.

Makki Alamdari, M, Samali, B, Li, J, Kalhori, H & Mustapha, S 2016, 'Spectral-Based Damage Identification in Structures under Ambient Vibration', Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 04015062-04015062.
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Masjuki, HH, Ruhul, AM, Mustafi, NN, Kalam, MA, Arbab, MI & Rizwanul Fattah, IM 2016, 'Study of production optimization and effect of hydroxyl gas on a CI engine performance and emission fueled with biodiesel blends', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 41, no. 33, pp. 14519-14528.
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Depletion and environmental impacts of the fossil fuel are the major concerns to think about the alternative energy sources to reduce the load on petroleum fuel. Researchers worldwide are working years to improve the biodiesel fuel economy and emission characteristic. At the same time, they are working on fuel development so that can be used in the IC engine without significant modification in vehicle design. Among different alternative fuels biodiesel as well as hydroxyl gas (HHO, also known as Oxyhydrogen gas) are renewable, recyclable and non-polluting fuel. In this study, HHO gas has been introduced with ordinary diesel (OD) and 20% (v/v) palm biodiesel blended with OD (PB20) for evaluating the engine performance and emission characteristics. Optimum yield of HHO was found using single anode and two cathodes from a solution containing 1% KOH and 100 ml of water producing 2150 cc of HHO gas when electrolysis was carried out for 15 min. Using the HHO generator, about 2% more power and 5% less consumption was observed for biodiesel blended fuel in a single cylinder CI engine at full load variable speed operating conditions. Besides, on an average 20% and 10% reduction of CO and HC emission were observed respectively.

McKenzie, TG, Costa, LPDM, Fu, Q, Dunstan, DE & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Investigation into the photolytic stability of RAFT agents and the implications for photopolymerization reactions', Polymer Chemistry, vol. 7, no. 25, pp. 4246-4253.
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The photolytic stability of RAFT agents under blue LED irradiation has been investigated with regard to photopolymerization reactions.

McKenzie, TG, Fu, Q, Uchiyama, M, Satoh, K, Xu, J, Boyer, C, Kamigaito, M & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Beyond Traditional RAFT: Alternative Activation of Thiocarbonylthio Compounds for Controlled Polymerization', Advanced Science, vol. 3, no. 9, pp. 1500394-1500394.
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Recent developments in polymerization reactions utilizing thiocarbonylthio compounds have highlighted the surprising versatility of these unique molecules. The increasing popularity of reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) radical polymerization as a means of producing well‐defined, ‘controlled’ synthetic polymers is largely due to its simplicity of implementation and the availability of a wide range of compatible reagents. However, novel modes of thiocarbonylthio activation can expand the technique beyond the traditional system (i.e., employing a free radical initiator) pushing the applicability and use of thiocarbonylthio compounds even further than previously assumed. The primary advances seen in recent years are a revival in the direct photoactivation of thiocarbonylthio compounds, their activation via photoredox catalysis, and their use in cationic polymerizations. These synthetic approaches and their implications for the synthesis of controlled polymers represent a significant advance in polymer science, with potentially unforeseen benefits and possibilities for further developments still ahead. This Research News aims to highlight key works in this area while also clarifying the differences and similarities of each system.

McKenzie, TG, Fu, Q, Uchiyama, M, Satoh, K, Xu, J, Boyer, C, Kamigaito, M & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Controlled Polymerization: Beyond Traditional RAFT: Alternative Activation of Thiocarbonylthio Compounds for Controlled Polymerization (Adv. Sci. 9/2016)', Advanced Science, vol. 3, no. 9.
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Merenda, A, Ligneris, ED, Sears, K, Chaffraix, T, Magniez, K, Cornu, D, Schütz, JA & Dumée, LF 2016, 'Assessing the temporal stability of surface functional groups introduced by plasma treatments on the outer shells of carbon nanotubes', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 31565.
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AbstractPlasma treatments are emerging as superior efficiency treatment for high surface to volume ratio materials to tune functional group densities and alter crystallinity due to their ability to interact with matter at the nanoscale. The purpose of this study is to assess for the first time the long term stability of surface functional groups introduced across the surface of carbon nanotube materials for a series of oxidative, reductive and neutral plasma treatment conditions. Both plasma duration dose matrix based exposures and time decay experiments, whereby the surface energy of the materials was evaluated periodically over a one-month period, were carried out. Although only few morphological changes across the graphitic planes of the carbon nanotubes were found under the uniform plasma treatment conditions, the time dependence of pertinent work functions, supported by Raman analysis, suggested that the density of polar groups decreased non-linearly over time prior to reaching saturation from 7 days post treatment. This work provides critical considerations on the understanding of the stability of functional groups introduced across high specific surface area nano-materials used for the design of nano-composites, adsorptive or separation systems, or sensing materials and where interfacial interactions are key to the final materials performance.

Milano, J, Ong, HC, Masjuki, HH, Chong, WT, Lam, MK, Loh, PK & Vellayan, V 2016, 'Microalgae biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuel for power generation', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 58, pp. 180-197.
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Mirmomeni, M, Heidarpour, A, Zhao, X-L, Hutchinson, CR, Packer, JA & Wu, C 2016, 'Fracture behaviour and microstructural evolution of structural mild steel under the multi-hazard loading of high-strain-rate load followed by elevated temperature', Construction and Building Materials, vol. 122, pp. 760-771.
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Mofijur, M, Rasul, MG, Hyde, J, Azad, AK, Mamat, R & Bhuiya, MMK 2016, 'Role of biofuel and their binary (diesel–biodiesel) and ternary (ethanol–biodiesel–diesel) blends on internal combustion engines emission reduction', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 53, pp. 265-278.
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Exhaust emission from transportation sector affects the human health. It is the main contributor to degrade the air quality. Biofuel is promising alternative to maintain both human health and environment quality better by reducing harmful emission from biofuel runs diesel engines. This study explores the global and Australian greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scenario along with the contribution of transportation sector to the GHG emission in Australia. Besides, the world biofuel standard with the target and mandate taken by the government of different countries to use biofuel are also discussed in the paper. This review indicated that engine emission is dependant on some factors such as engine operating condition, biofuel types, blending etc. Both biodiesel-diesel and ethanol-biodiesel-diesel blending plays a significant role in reducing the exhaust gas emission such as carbon monoxides (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), particulate matter (PM). But ethanol-biodiesel-diesel and biodiesel-diesel blends produce higher carbon dioxides emission, which is absorbed by the crops and considered as lower net CO2 emission. Finally, about 5-10% of ethanol with 20-25% biodiesel can be added with petro-diesel effectively and efficiently to reduce global GHG emission, thus to maintain environment and human health better.

Mohammed Oludare, I & Pradhan, B 2016, 'A decade of modern cave surveying with terrestrial laser scanning: A review of sensors, method and application development', International Journal of Speleology, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 71-88.
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Mojumder, JC, Chong, WT, Ong, HC, Leong, KY & Abdullah-Al-Mamoon 2016, 'An experimental investigation on performance analysis of air type photovoltaic thermal collector system integrated with cooling fins design', Energy and Buildings, vol. 130, pp. 272-285.
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Mojumder, JC, Ong, HC, Chong, WT, Shamshirband, S & Abdullah-Al-Mamoon 2016, 'Application of support vector machine for prediction of electrical and thermal performance in PV/T system', Energy and Buildings, vol. 111, pp. 267-277.
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Monirul, IM, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Mosarof, MH, Zulkifli, NWM, Teoh, YH & How, HG 2016, 'Assessment of performance, emission and combustion characteristics of palm, jatropha and Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel blends', Fuel, vol. 181, pp. 985-995.
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Mosarof, MH, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH & Ashraful, AM 2016, 'Evaluation of Lubricating Performance of Biodegradable Moringa Oleifera Oil', Modern Environmental Science and Engineering, vol. 2, no. 08, pp. 530-536.
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Mosarof, MH, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Alabdulkarem, A, Ashraful, AM, Arslan, A, Rashedul, HK & Monirul, IM 2016, 'Optimization of performance, emission, friction and wear characteristics of palm and Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel blends', Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 118, pp. 119-134.
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A running automobile engine produces more friction and wear between its sliding components than an idle one, and thus requires lubrication to reduce this frictional effect. Biodiesel is an alternative diesel fuel that is produced from renewable resources. Energy studies conducted over the last two decades focused on solutions to problems of rising fossil fuel price, increasing dependency on foreign energy sources, and worsening environmental concerns. Palm oil biodiesel is mostly used in Malaysia. This study conducted engine performance and emission tests with a single-cylinder diesel engine fueled with palm and Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel blends (PB10, PB20, PB30, CIB10, CIB20, and CIB30) at a full-load engine speed range of 1000-2400 rpm, and then compared the results with those of diesel fuel. Friction and wear tests were conducted using the four-ball tester with different temperatures at 40 and 80 kg load conditions and a constant speed of 1800 rpm. The average brake specific fuel consumption increased from 7.96% to 10.15% while operating on 10%, 20%, and 30% blends of palm and C. inophyllum biodiesel. The respective average brake powers for PB20 and PB30 were 9.31% and 12.93% lower compared with that for diesel fuel. PB20 produced relatively lower CO and HC emissions than the diesel and biodiesel blends. Diesel produced low amounts of NOX emission, and the CIB blend produced a lower frictional coefficient compared with the diesel and PB blends. PB30 showed high average FTP and low average WSD, both of which enhanced lubricating performance. An average metal element composition was found in PB20 under the 40 and 80 kg load conditions. PB20 showed lower worn scar surface areas compared with the diesel and biodiesel blends. Results indicated that PB20 has better engine performance, lower emission, and good lubrication properties compared with diesel and biodiesel blends. Thus, PB20 is suitable for use in diesel engines without the need for any en...

Mosarof, MH, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Alabdulkarem, A, Habibullah, M, Arslan, A & Monirul, IM 2016, 'Assessment of friction and wear characteristics of Calophyllum inophyllum and palm biodiesel', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 83, pp. 470-483.
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Mueller, J & Stewart, MG 2016, 'The curse of the Black Swan', Journal of Risk Research, vol. 19, no. 10, pp. 1319-1330.
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When unexpected and emotion-engaging events become Black Swans and carry an ‘extreme impact,’ this derives not so much those qualities or from their intrinsic size or importance as from reaction, or overreaction, they generate; but one that is often as extreme and unpredictable as the event itself. Most consequential development in human history, however, stems not from such events, but from changes in thinking and behavior that are gradual and often little-noticed as they occur. In addition, when an unexpected, emotion-grabbing event becomes a Black Swan, the response is likely to become internalized, and getting people to re-evaluate through sensible risk analysis and risk communication is extremely difficult. As part of this, events that are aberrations are often unwisely taken instead to be harbingers – and continue to be so even in the face of repeated disconfirming evidence. An examination of the 9/11 response in the US illustrates these points.

Murray, A, Castel, A, Gilbert, RI & Chang, Z-T 2016, 'Time-dependent changes in the instantaneous stiffness of reinforced concrete beams', Engineering Structures, vol. 126, pp. 641-651.
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Musa, IA, Mashiri, FR & Zhu, X 2016, 'Fatigue behaviour of concrete-filled steel tubular joints - a review', International Journal of Lifecycle Performance Engineering, vol. 2, no. 1/2, pp. 22-22.
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Naidu, G, Jeong, S, Vigneswaran, S, Hwang, T-M, Choi, Y-J & Kim, S-H 2016, 'A review on fouling of membrane distillation', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 22, pp. 10052-10076.
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© 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Membrane distillation (MD) has been developed for the past 40 years. Nevertheless, only in recent times, MD technology has shown substantial progress, including the development of a few commercial systems. In this study, a comprehensive review is carried out on the application of MD for the production of drinking water. Based on a broad perspective, this review describes the applications of MD for drinking water production, its advantages, and limitations. Specifically, this review focuses on the scaling and organic fouling phenomena in MD for drinking water production as one of the major challenge to MD implementation. The fouling and wetting phenomena in MD is discussed in detail as well as fouling detection methods, the influence of feed solution characteristics, and operational parameters on MD fouling and related areas requiring future investigations. The study highlights a number of approaches on fouling reduction in MD.

Naidu, G, Jeong, S, Vigneswaran, S, Jang, E-K, Choi, Y-J & Hwang, T-M 2016, 'Fouling study on vacuum-enhanced direct contact membrane distillation for seawater desalination', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 22, pp. 10042-10051.
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© 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Vacuum-enhanced direct contact membrane distillation (VE-DCMD) has been proposed to improve the DCMD system performance with better effective energy efficiency. However, the higher driving forces by the presence of vacuum pressure at permeate side of the VE-DCMD system could contribute to higher fouling development. In this study, thus, the biochemical fouling development of VE-DCMD with different vacuum pressures (700, 500, and 300 mbar) for seawater desalination was investigated in comparison with DCMD (1,000 mbar of pressure applied). VE-DCMD showed a significant increase in initial permeate flux while its flux decline was faster than DCMD. Low molecular weight (LMW) organics were found to be a dominant organic foulant on DCMD with thermally disaggregated humic substances (HS) to LMW HS-like organics. On the other hand, the presence of vacuum reduced the disaggregation HS to LMW HS-like organics. However, high driving force of VE-DCMD caused higher deposition of organic foulant including the LMW organics as well as HS. It also led to the higher LMW organic contents in permeate. Fluorescence excitation–emission matrix (F-EEM) analysis result showed that fulvic-like organic is a dominant HS foulant in VE-DCMD. Fouling development on membrane was observed using scanning electron microscope, contact angle, and confocal laser scanning microscope.

Naidu, G, Loganathan, P, Jeong, S, Johir, MAH, To, VHP, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Rubidium extraction using an organic polymer encapsulated potassium copper hexacyanoferrate sorbent', CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL, vol. 306, pp. 31-42.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) brine contains significant quantity of Rb. As an economically valuable metal, extracting Rb using a suitable and selective extraction method would be beneficial. An inorganic sorbent, copper based potassium hexacyanoferrate (KCuFC), exhibited high selectivity to extract Rb compared to potassium hexacyanoferrate consisting of other transition metal combinations such as Ni, Co and Fe. An organic polymer (polyacrylonitrile, PAN) encapsulated KCuFC (KCuFC-PAN) achieved a Langmuir maximum Rb sorption capacity of 1.23 mmol/g at pH 7.0 ± 0.5. KCuFC-PAN showed Rb selectivity over a wide concentration range of co-existing ions and salinity of SWRO brine. High salinity (0.5–2.5 M NaCl) resulted in 12–30% sorption capacity reduction. At a molar ratio of Li:Rb (21:1), Cs:Rb (0.001:1) and Ca:Rb (14,700:1) commonly found in SWRO brine, sorption reduction of only 18% occurred. Nevertheless, at a very high K:Rb molar ratio (7700:1), KCuFC-PAN sorption capacity of Rb reduced significantly by 65–70%. KCuFC-PAN was well suited for column operation. In a fixed-bed KCuFC-PAN column (influent concentration 0.06 mmol Rb/L, flow velocity 2 m/h), two sorption/desorption cycles were successfully achieved with a maximum Rb sorption capacity of 1.01 (closely similar to the batch study) and 0.85 mmol/g in the first and second cycles, respectively. Around 95% of Rb was desorbed from the column with 0.2 M KCl. Resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) resin showed promising results of separating Rb from K/Rb mixed solution in effluents from a fixed-bed column, and a subsequent sequential acid desorption, producing 68% purified Rb.

Naidu, G, Nur, T, Loganathan, P, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Selective sorption of rubidium by potassium cobalt hexacyanoferrate', SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY, vol. 163, pp. 238-246.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Recovering economically valuable rubidium (Rb) from natural resources is challenged due to its low concentration and limited selectivity of extracting agents. Equilibrium and kinetic studies were conducted on the sorptive removal of Rb at low concentration (5 mg/L) using a commercial and a laboratory prepared potassium cobalt hexacyanoferrate (KCoFC). These laboratory and commercial KCoFCs exhibited similar characteristics in terms of chemical composition, surface morphology (scanning electron microscopy) and crystal structure (X-ray diffraction peaks). KCoFC exhibited a higher sorption capacity for Rb (Langmuir maximum sorption 96.2 mg/g) and cesium (Cs) (Langmuir maximum sorption 60.6 mg/g) compared to other metals such as lithium (Li), sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca) (sorption capacity < 2 mg/g). KCoFC sorption capacity for Rb was affected only when Cs was present at twice the concentration of Rb, while the influence of other metals (Li, Na, and Ca) was minimal even at high concentrations. High Rb sorption capacity was due to the exchange of Rb for K inside the crystal lattice and strong sorption on the sorbent surface. These were evident from the data on K release during Rb sorption and reduced negative zeta potential at the sorbent surface in the presence of Rb, respectively. Kinetic sorption of Rb was satisfactorily described by the pseudo-second order model with intraparticle diffusion and exchange of Rb with structural K acting as major rate limiting steps. Up to 74% desorption of Rb was achieved with 0.1 M KCl. Overall, the results established the superior selectivity of KCoFC for Rb sorption.

Nam, E, Wong, EHH, Tan, S, Guntari, SN, Fu, Q, Kim, J, Delalat, B, Blencowe, A & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Spatial-controlled nanoengineered films prepared via rapid catalyst induced cross-linking', Polym. Chem., vol. 7, no. 19, pp. 3251-3258.
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A new top-down approach to generate stable nanoscale films via catalyst induced cross-linking (CIC) is demonstrated. Polymers with various compositions and bearing pendent norbornene groups (defined as macrocross-linkers) are initially spin-coated onto substrates to form nanometre-thick films; when the films are brought into contact with a catalyst solution, ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP)-mediated cross-linking efficiently occurs to lock the film into place. CIC provides a new paradigm for the fabrication of stable nanoscale films and provides an alternative to traditional methods that use external stimuli (e.g., heat or light) to trigger film cross-linking. The process requires short cross-linking times (<3 min) to generate covalently bonded and stable nanoscale films. This facile nanoengineering approach allows for the creation of complex multi-layered and multi-compositional patterned films, enables excellent control over film properties such as thickness and swellability, and provides access to nanoscale free-standing polymer sheets. To highlight the versatility of the CIC approach, cross-linked, nanostructured and stratified multi-layered films with tunable film thickness were prepared from norbornene functionalised poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate), poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(3-hexylthiophene) macrocross-linkers. CIC proceeds at low catalyst concentrations and allows the catalyst solution to be recycled multiple times, as demonstrated through repetition of 10 individual CIC cycles, making the process economical, scalable and applicable to advanced manufacturing techniques. Furthermore, the technique can be used to produce patterned films through selective exposure of specific regions of the polymer film to the catalyst solution. The CIC approach mediated by ROMP is highly efficient, rapid, robust and versatile, providing new opportunities in film assembly, and complementing existing nanoscale film fabrication methodologies.

Nasruddin, Idrus Alhamid, M, Daud, Y, Surachman, A, Sugiyono, A, Aditya, HB & Mahlia, TMI 2016, 'Potential of geothermal energy for electricity generation in Indonesia: A review', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 53, pp. 733-740.
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Geothermal energy is counted as a type of renewable energy, which means the availability is not affected by the lack of source and the increasing price of fossil oil. Environmental friendly is also one of the advantages of geothermal energy. In general, not all countries have the potential of geothermal energy, only countries traversed by the ring of fire have the geothermal energy resource. As one of the countries that traversed by the world's ring of fire, Indonesia hence holds the geothermal potential, which is indicated by the existing 117 active volcanoes spread across the country. Indonesia's geothermal energy potential is estimated about 40% of the world's geothermal energy potential or about 28,617 MW. However, only about 4.5% is being utilized as electrical energy in the country. The government of Indonesia is continuously putting the effort to increase the capacity of geothermal power plant. It is planned to install more geothermal power plant in Indonesia that amounted up to 9500 MW by 2025.

Navaratnarajah, SK, Indraratna, B & Nimbalkar, S 2016, 'Application of Shock Mats in Rail Track Foundation Subjected to Dynamic Loads', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 1108-1119.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.Rail track substructure (ballast, subballast and subgrade) is the most essential component of the railway system in view of track stability. The ballast is the largest component of the track substructure and it is the key load-bearing stratum packed with rock aggregates underneath and around the sleepers, thereby providing structural support against dynamic stresses caused by moving trains. However under large dynamic stresses exerted by heavy haul and high speed trains, the degradation of track substructure including ballast becomes significant. This in turn affects the track stability and creates frequent maintenance, thus increasing the life cycle cost of the rail network. Therefore, mitigating degradation of the ballast layer is vital in view of track longevity. In recent years, the use of resilient soft pads (shock mats) above the ballast (i.e. Under Sleeper Pad, USP) and below the ballast (i.e. Under Ballast Mat, UBM) has become a common practice. Many countries, including Australia have adopted the use of resilient pads in the rail track foundation. Currently, the studies on resilient mats are mostly limited to the reduction of vibration and noise. There is a lack of proper assessment of the geotechnical behavior of ballast when used along with shock mats. This paper provides an assessment of the triaxial behavior of the track substructure with and without shock mats under dynamic loading condition. A numerical model was developed based on the modified stress-dilatancy approach to capture the stress-strain and volume change behavior of ballast during impact loading. Model predictions are compared with laboratory results. It was found that the shock mats provide significant advantages in terms of reduced particle breakage and enhanced track stability.

Netherton, MD & Stewart, MG 2016, 'Risk-based blast-load modelling: Techniques, models and benefits', International Journal of Protective Structures, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 430-451.
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There are many deterministic blast-load methods currently in use, such as (1) those for the ready calculation of explosive pressure, impulse and duration; (2) the derivation of explosive safety distances; or (3) the determination of safety hazards (and other consequences) following an explosive’s detonation. In this article, we argue that deterministic blast-loading methods do not fully account for society’s usual acceptance (or rejection) of the risks associated with damage, safety and/or injury as a result of an explosive blast-load. This article details the state of the art of probabilistic blast-load modelling that supports a quantitative calculation of risk, with respect to damage, safety and injury. The probabilistic models draw data from the literature and from our own field trials. The article details the benefits that flow from this form of blast-load characterisation and concludes with a discussion on how probabilistic methods be used to derive cost–benefit advice with respect to any proposed risk mitigation solution.

Neupane, K, Kidd, P, Chalmers, D, Baweja, D & Shrestha, R 2016, 'Investigation on compressive strength development and drying shrinkage of ambient cured powder-activated geopolymer concretes', Australian Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 72-83.
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© 2016 Engineers Australia. Geopolymer is an inorganic polymer binding material, generally formed by the reaction between aluminosilicate materials and alkali activator solution. Previous researches on geopolymer concrete around the world suggested that geopolymer concrete possess superior mechanical and durability properties over ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete, such as higher indirect tensile strength and resistance to sulphate attack. Generally, fly ash-based geopolymer concrete was cured in elevated temperature for higher early age strength because of their longer setting time in ambient temperature. Published engineering properties of geopolymer concrete cured at ambient temperature are not abundant. In this research, two types of powder-activated geopolymer binders were used as binding material. A detailed study of compressive strength and drying shrinkage of different grades (40, 50, 65 and 80 MPa) of geopolymer and OPC concrete with different workability levels (normal-workable and super-workable) were carried out. All the concrete specimens were cured at standard laboratory temperature. The compressive strength development of geopolymer concrete in early age was relatively lower than OPC concrete; however, the later age strength was significantly higher. The drying shrinkage of geopolymer concrete was similar to OPC concrete of same grade and complied with Australian Standard 1379; however, it was higher than estimated values from Australian Standard 3600. The drying shrinkage results of this study were higher than drying shrinkage of accelerated cured geopolymer concretes in previous investigations. Super workable concrete exhibited higher drying shrinkage than normal workable concrete of same grade.

Ngo, NT & Indraratna, B 2016, 'Improved Performance of Rail Track Substructure Using Synthetic Inclusions: Experimental and Numerical Investigations', International Journal of Geosynthetics and Ground Engineering, vol. 2, no. 3, p. 24.
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Ballasted rail tracks offer the most important means of transporting bulk freight and passengers in terms of the sheer tonnage of traffic. Ballast is a prominent component of conventional rail infrastructure because it controls the stability and performance of track. Repetitive train loads degrade ballast grains due to breakage and the progressive accumulation of external fines or mud-pumping from the softer subgrade. They decrease the shear strength and drainage capacity of track embankments, while adversely affecting its safety and efficiency as speed restrictions are imposed and track maintenance becomes more frequent. Although synthetic inclusions such as geogrids and rubber mats placed between the ballast and subballast definitely improve track performance, further study is needed before incorporating them into existing design routines catering for future high speed trains and heavier haul trains. This paper presents the very latest knowledge of rail track geomechanics, including several important concepts and topics related to laboratory testing and discrete element modelling approaches to study the load and deformation of ballast improved by rubber mats and synthetic geogrids. This paper focuses on studies carried out at the University of Wollongong on track infrastructure, and includes examples whereby innovation progresses from theory to practice. Discrete element modelling is also used to carry out a micromechanical analysis of the ballast and geogrid interface to provide further insight into ballast subjected to shearing.

Ngo, NT, Indraratna, B & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 2016, 'Modelling geogrid-reinforced railway ballast using the discrete element method', Transportation Geotechnics, vol. 8, pp. 86-102.
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Rail ballast is an unbounded granular material that spreads laterally when subjected to train loading. Railroads can be reinforced by geogrids to reduce lateral movement and to optimize track performance. This paper presents a study of the behaviour of geogrid-reinforced ballast subjected to monotonic and cyclic loading using a large-scale direct shear box and a novel Track Process Simulation Apparatus (TPSA). The shear stress–strain response of fresh and fouled ballast reinforced by geogrid was investigated using large-scale direct shear tests subjected to normal stresses from 15 kPa to 75 kPa, where the levels of fouling varied from 20% to 95% Void Contamination Index (VCI). Cyclic tests for fresh and fouled ballast were conducted using the TPSA to realistically simulate real track conditions. The experimental results showed that a geogrid provides extra internal confinement and interlocks the aggregates in its apertures, hence reduces ballast deformation. The discrete element method (DEM) was used to model geogrid-reinforced fresh and fouled ballast subjected to monotonic and cyclic loading. Irregularly-shaped particles and geogird were simulated by clumping spherical balls together, while the coal fines were simulated by adding 1.5 mm diameter spheres into the pore spaces of ballast. The predicted stress-displacement responses obtained from the DEM were in good agreement with those measured in the laboratory, where the peak shear stress of fouled ballast decreased and the dilation of fouled ballast increased with an increasing level of fouling. The contact force distributions and the orientations of normal and shear force were analyzed to provide more insight into the behaviour of ballast subjected to shearing.

Ngo, NT, Indraratna, B, Rujikiatkamjorn, C & Mahdi Biabani, M 2016, 'Experimental and Discrete Element Modeling of Geocell-Stabilized Subballast Subjected to Cyclic Loading', Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, vol. 142, no. 4, pp. 04015100-04015100.
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This paper presents a study of the load-deformation behavior of geocell-stabilized subballast subjected to cyclic loading using a novel track process simulation apparatus. The tests were conducted at frequencies varying from 10 to 30 Hz. This frequency range is generally representative of Australian standard gauge trains operating up to 160 km/h. The discrete-element method (DEM) was also used to model geocell-reinforced subballast under plane strain conditions. The geocell was modeled by connecting a group of small circular balls together to form the desired geometry and aperture using contact and parallel bonds. Tensile and bending tests were carried out to calibrate the model parameters adopted for simulating the geocell. To model irregularly shaped particles of subballast, clusters of bonded circular balls were used. The simulated load-deformation curves of the geocell-reinforced subballast assembly at varying cyclic load cycles were in good agreement with the experimental observations. The results indicated that the geocell decreased the vertical and lateral deformation of subballast assemblies at any given frequency. Furthermore, the DEM can also provide insight into the distribution of contact force chains, and average contact normal and shear force distributions, which cannot be determined experimentally.

Nguyen, DD, Chang, SW, Jeong, SY, Jeung, J, Kim, S, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Dry thermophilic semi-continuous anaerobic digestion of food waste: Performance evaluation, modified Gompertz model analysis, and energy balance', ENERGY CONVERSION AND MANAGEMENT, vol. 128, pp. 203-210.
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Nguyen, DD, Ngo, HH & Yoon, YS 2016, 'Effect of internal recycling ratios on biomass parameters and simultaneous reduction of nitrogen and organic matter in a hybrid treatment system', Ecological Engineering, vol. 89, pp. 24-31.
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Nguyen, DD, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Nguyen, TT, Chang, SW, Jang, A & Yoon, YS 2016, 'Can electrocoagulation process be an appropriate technology for phosphorus removal from municipal wastewater?', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 563-564, pp. 549-556.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. This paper evaluated a novel pilot scale electrocoagulation (EC) system for improving total phosphorus (TP) removal from municipal wastewater. This EC system was operated in continuous and batch operating mode under differing conditions (e.g. flow rate, initial concentration, electrolysis time, conductivity, voltage) to evaluate correlative phosphorus and electrical energy consumption. The results demonstrated that the EC system could effectively remove phosphorus to meet current stringent discharge standards of less than 0.2 mg/L within 2 to 5 min. This target was achieved in all ranges of initial TP concentrations studied. It was also found that an increase in conductivity of solution, voltages, or electrolysis time, correlated with improved TP removal efficiency and reduced specific energy consumption. Based on these results, some key economic considerations, such as operating costs, cost-effectiveness, product manufacturing feasibility, facility design and retrofitting, and program implementation are also discussed. This EC process can conclusively be highly efficient in a relatively simple, easily managed, and cost-effective for wastewater treatment system.

Nguyen, DD, Ngo, HH, Yoon, YS, Chang, SW & Bui, HH 2016, 'A new approach involving a multi transducer ultrasonic system for cleaning turbine engines’ oil filters under practical conditions', Ultrasonics, vol. 71, pp. 256-263.
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Nguyen, HH, Khabbaz, H, Fatahi, B & Kelly, R 2016, 'Bridge Pile Response to Lateral Soil Movement Induced by Installation of Controlled Modulus Columns', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 475-482.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Controlled modulus columns (CMC) for ground improvement are installed using a hollow stem displacement auger to induce lateral soil displacement effect, followed by grout injection. While the method reduces spoils, the excessive lateral soil displacement may damage adjacent structures. Although there has been growing interest in quantifying such effects, only a handful of studies have been attempted. This paper presents the results of a numerical investigation on the CMC installation effect on an existing bridge pile using the three-dimensional finite difference software package FLAC3D. It has been found that when the CMC is long and the existing bridge pile is slender, the pile bending moment and pile lateral movement, induced by the CMC installation effect, can be significant.

Nguyen, L & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Behaviour of clay treated with cement & fibre while capturing cementation degradation and fibre failure – C3F Model', International Journal of Plasticity, vol. 81, pp. 168-195.
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Crown Copyright © 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Soil treated with cement becomes brittle because its shear strength decreases rapidly in a post-peak state, which is why in recent years the inclusion of fibre into soil treated with cement has become an increasingly popular research area. This paper presents a constitutive model to simulate the behaviour of the fibre reinforced cement treated soil, referred to as the improved soil composite. In this model, a non-linear failure envelope was formulated to merge with the Critical State Line (CSL) of the reconstituted soil mixture at high levels of stress in order to capture the broken cementation bonds and ruptured fibre. A non-associated plastic potential function and a general stress strain relationship that includes the softening of the composite soil were also proposed to simulate the pre-and-post peak state. Moreover, many researchers focus on the addition of fibre into sand, soft clay, and sand treated with cement, whereas the behaviour of soft clay treated with fibre and cement requires further investigation. Hence, in this study a series of undrained triaxial tests were carried out on natural Ballina clay treated with cement and 0.3%-0.5% of fibre to determine how the amount of fibre and cement affects the behaviour of soft clay. SEM images were also analysed to study the structure of the improved Ballina composite at the micro-structural level. The laboratory results indicated that the combined effects of cementation and fibre reinforcement increased the shear strength and ductility of treated soft clay. Under triaxial conditions the peak shear strength of soft clay treated with cement and fibre increases dramatically due to the formation of cementation bonds and the bridging effect provided by the fibres, and the brittleness caused by the cementation bonds breaking also improves significantly due to the inclusion of fibre. However, when shearing at a high mean effective stress the ceme...

Nguyen, L, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2016, 'Predicting the Behaviour of Fibre Reinforced Cement Treated Clay', ADVANCES IN TRANSPORTATION GEOTECHNICS III, vol. 143, pp. 153-160.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Treating soft clay with cement and fibre has become an effective ground improvement technique for transport infrastructure. Application of recycled fibres in deep soil mixing columns in soft soil sections of road and rail projects is being considered by designers and clients as an efficient technique. However, the combined effect of cement and fibre at failure requires further investigation. As the effective stresses increase to a sufficiently high stress, the effect of cementation is diminished due to the degradation of cementation bonds and the fibre exhibits failure due to either complete pull-out or breakage from the soil matrix. Thus, the failure envelope of the reinforced soil gradually merges with that of un-reinforced soil at higher stresses. In this paper, a constitutive model is proposed to simulate the behaviour of the cement treated-fibre reinforced soil based on the Critical State Soil Mechanic and the Modified Cam Clay model. In particular, the proposed model captures the beneficial effects of cementation and fibre reinforcement such as the improvement in strength and ductility while the cementation degradation and the failure mechanism of the fibre are also considered. In addition, a series of un-drained triaxial tests were conducted to verify the performance of the proposed model. This paper concludes that adding fibre into the cement treated soil clearly improves its residual strength, thus, a significant increase in ductility is observed and well simulated. In this study, by modifying the mean effective stress to include the cementation degradation and the fibre failure mechanism, the proposed model results in realistic prediction for the behaviour of soil treated with cement and fibre.

Nguyen, LN, Hai, FI, Dosseto, A, Richardson, C, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Continuous adsorption and biotransformation of micropollutants by granular activated carbon-bound laccase in a packed-bed enzyme reactor', Bioresource Technology, vol. 210, pp. 108-116.
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Nguyen, LN, van de Merwe, JP, Hai, FI, Leusch, FDL, Kang, J, Price, WE, Roddick, F, Magram, SF & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Laccase–syringaldehyde-mediated degradation of trace organic contaminants in an enzymatic membrane reactor: Removal efficiency and effluent toxicity', Bioresource Technology, vol. 200, pp. 477-484.
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Redox-mediators such as syringaldehyde (SA) can improve laccase-catalyzed degradation of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) but may increase effluent toxicity. The degradation performance of 14 phenolic and 17 non-phenolic TrOCs by a continuous flow enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) at different TrOC and SA loadings was assessed. A specific emphasis was placed on the investigation of the toxicity of the enzyme (laccase), SA, TrOCs and the treated effluent. Batch tests demonstrated significant individual and interactive toxicity of the laccase and SA preparations. Reduced removal of resistant TrOCs by the EMR was observed for dosages over 50μg/L. SA addition at a concentration of 10μM significantly improved TrOC removal, but no removal improvement was observed at the elevated SA concentrations of 50 and 100μM. The treated effluent showed significant toxicity at SA concentrations beyond 10μM, providing further evidence that higher dosage of SA must be avoided.

Nguyen, NC, Chen, S-S, Nguyen, HT, Ray, SS, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Lin, P-H 2016, 'Innovative sponge-based moving bed–osmotic membrane bioreactor hybrid system using a new class of draw solution for municipal wastewater treatment', Water Research, vol. 91, pp. 305-313.
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For the first time, an innovative concept of combining sponge-based moving bed (SMB) and an osmotic membrane bioreactor (OsMBR), known as the SMB-OsMBR hybrid system, were investigated using Triton X-114 surfactant coupled with MgCl2 salt as the draw solution. Compared to traditional activated sludge OsMBR, the SMB-OsMBR system was able to remove more nutrients due to the thick-biofilm layer on sponge carriers. Subsequently less membrane fouling was observed during the wastewater treatment process. A water flux of 11.38 L/(m(2) h) and a negligible reverse salt flux were documented when deionized water served as the feed solution and a mixture of 1.5 M MgCl2 and 1.5 mM Triton X-114 was used as the draw solution. The SMB-OsMBR hybrid system indicated that a stable water flux of 10.5 L/(m(2) h) and low salt accumulation were achieved in a 90-day operation. Moreover, the nutrient removal efficiency of the proposed system was close to 100%, confirming the effectiveness of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in the biofilm layer on sponge carriers. The overall performance of the SMB-OsMBR hybrid system using MgCl2 coupled with Triton X-114 as the draw solution demonstrates its potential application in wastewater treatment.

Nguyen, NC, Nguyen, HT, Chen, S-S, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Chan, WH, Ray, SS, Li, C-W & Hsu, H-T 2016, 'A novel osmosis membrane bioreactor-membrane distillation hybrid system for wastewater treatment and reuse', Bioresource Technology, vol. 209, pp. 8-15.
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© 2016 . A novel approach was designed to simultaneously enhance nutrient removal and reduce membrane fouling for wastewater treatment using an attached growth biofilm (AGB) integrated with an osmosis membrane bioreactor (OsMBR) system for the first time. In this study, a highly charged organic compound (HEDTA3-) was employed as a novel draw solution in the AGB-OsMBR system to obtain a low reverse salt flux, maintain a healthy environment for the microorganisms. The AGB-OsMBR system achieved a stable water flux of 3.62 L/m2 h, high nutrient removal of 99% and less fouling during a 60-day operation. Furthermore, the high salinity of diluted draw solution could be effectively recovered by membrane distillation (MD) process with salt rejection of 99.7%. The diluted draw solution was re-concentrated to its initial status (56.1 mS/cm) at recovery of 9.8% after 6 h. The work demonstrated that novel multi-barrier systems could produce high quality potable water from impaired streams.

Nguyen, NC, Nguyen, HT, Ho, S-T, Chen, S-S, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Ray, SS & Hsu, H-T 2016, 'Exploring high charge of phosphate as new draw solute in a forward osmosis–membrane distillation hybrid system for concentrating high-nutrient sludge', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 557-558, pp. 44-50.
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Nguyen, QV, Fatahi, B & Hokmabadi, AS 2016, 'The effects of foundation size on the seismic performance of buildings considering the soil-foundation-structure interaction', Structural Engineering and Mechanics, vol. 58, no. 6, pp. 1045-1075.
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Copyright © 2016 Techno-Press, Ltd. Shallow footings are one of the most common types of foundations used to support mid-rise buildings in high risk seismic zones. Recent findings have revealed that the dynamic interaction between the soil, foundation, and the superstructure can influence the seismic response of the building during earthquakes. Accordingly, the properties of a foundation can alter the dynamic characteristics (natural frequency and damping) of the soil-foundation-structure system. In this paper the influence that shallow foundations have on the seismic response of a mid-rise moment resisting building is investigated. For this purpose, a fifteen storey moment resisting frame sitting on shallow footings with different sizes was simulated numerically using ABAQUS software. By adopting a direct calculation method, the numerical model can perform a fully nonlinear time history dynamic analysis to realistically simulate the dynamic behaviour of soil, foundation, and structure under seismic excitations. This three-dimensional numerical model accounts for the nonlinear behaviour of the soil medium and structural elements. Infinite boundary conditions were assigned to the numerical model to simulate free field boundaries, and appropriate contact elements capable of modelling sliding and separation between the foundation and soil elements are also considered. The influence of foundation size on the natural frequency of the system and structural response spectrum was also studied. The numerical results for cases of soil-foundation-structure systems with different sized foundations and fixed base conditions (excluding soil-foundation-structure interaction) in terms of lateral deformations, inter-storey drifts, rocking, and shear force distribution of the structure were then compared. Due to natural period lengthening, there was a significant reduction in the base shears when the size of the foundation was reduced. It was concluded that the size of a...

Nguyen, T, Ghabraie, K, Tran-Cong, T & Fatahi, B 2016, 'Improving Rockbolt Design in Tunnels Using Topology Optimization', International Journal of Geomechanics, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 04015023-04015023.
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© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers. Finding an optimum reinforcement layout for underground excavation can result in a safer and more economical design, and is therefore highly desirable. Some works in the literature have applied topology optimization in tunnel reinforcement design in which reinforced rock is modeled as homogenized isotropic material. Optimization results, therefore, do not clearly show reinforcement distributions, leading to difficulties in explaining the final outcomes. To overcome this deficiency, a more sophisticated modeling technique in which reinforcements are explicitly modeled as truss elements embedded in rock mass media is used. An optimization algorithm extending the solid isotropic material with penalization method is introduced to seek for an optimal bolt layout. To obtain the stiffest structure with a given amount of reinforced material, external work along the opening is selected as the objective function with a constraint on the volume of reinforcement. The presented technique does not depend on material models used for rock and reinforcements and can be applied to any material model. Nonlinear material behavior of rock and reinforcement is considered in this work. Through solving some typical examples, the proposed approach is proved to enhance the conventional reinforcement design and provide clear and practical reinforcement layouts.

Nguyen, TT & Indraratna, B 2016, 'Hydraulic behaviour of parallel fibres under longitudinal flow: a numerical treatment', Canadian Geotechnical Journal, vol. 53, no. 7, pp. 1081-1092.
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Modelling fluid flow through fibrous porous materials has gained increasing attention from industry and research communities. Analytical and numerical methods are commonly used to predict the hydraulic characteristics of fibrous material during fluid flow, although to date most techniques have been conducted using the same assumption that the geometric features of fibres remain unchanged. In other words, the mutual interaction between fibre elements and fluid is ignored, which undermines the actual working condition of fibres. This paper therefore presents a potential numerical approach that is capable of capturing the behaviour of a fluid–solid system. Individual fibres are simulated by the discrete element method (DEM) coupled with the concept of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), whereby the information contained in each phase is constantly exchanged and updated with other phases. In comparison with conventional solutions, including the Kozeny–Carman (K–C) fluid flow principle and other valid studies, the results show an acceptable agreement in predicting the hydraulic conductivity of a fibrous system. Subjected to laminar longitudinal flow, fibre motion is also evaluated with respect to varying bond stiffness and flow velocity. The study indicates the potential of the proposed technique in modelling drainage and filtration that is based on the hydraulic behaviour of fibrous porous geomaterials.

Nguyen, TT, Bui, XT, Pham, MD, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Effect of Tris-(hydroxymethyl)-amino methane on microalgae biomass growth in a photobioreactor', Bioresource Technology, vol. 208, pp. 1-6.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. One of the buffers namely Tris (Tris-(hydroxymethyl)-amino methane) was used to increase the growth of microalgae by stabilizing the pH value in microalgae cultures. The objective of this research is to determine the growth rate and biomass productivity of Chlorella sp. with and without Tris addition. Both conditions function at various N:P ratios cultured in photobioreactors (carbon dioxide of 5% (v/v), light intensity of 3.3 Klux). Daily variations in nutrient removal (nitrogen and phosphorus), cell concentration, DO, temperature and pH were measured for data analysis. The results show that the largest yield of biomass was achieved at the N:P ratio of 15:1 with and without Tris. After cultivation lasting 92 h, the algae concentration at this ratio was 1250 mg L-1 and 3568 mg L-1 with and without Tris, respectively. This indicates that adding Tris to the photobioreactor greatly reduces algae biomass due to bacterial competition.

Nguyen, T-T, Bui, X-T, Vo, T-D-H, Nguyen, D-D, Nguyen, P-D, Do, H-L-C, Ngo, H-H & Guo, W 2016, 'Performance and membrane fouling of two types of laboratory-scale submerged membrane bioreactors for hospital wastewater treatment at low flux condition', Separation and Purification Technology, vol. 165, pp. 123-129.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. The performance and membrane fouling of a lab-scale submerged sponge-membrane bioreactor (Sponge-MBR) and a conventional MBR were investigated and compared for hospital wastewater treatment at low fluxes of 2-6 LMH. COD removal by the Sponge-MBR was similar to that of the MBR, while the Sponge-MBR achieved 9-16% removed more total nitrogen than the MBR. This was due to 60% of total biomass being entrapped in the sponges, which enhanced simultaneous nitrification denitrification. Additionally, the fouling rates of the Sponge-MBR were 11-, 6.2- and 3.8-times less than those of the MBR at flux rates of 2, 4 and 6 LMH, respectively. It indicates the addition of sponge media into a MBR could effectively reduce the fouling caused by cake formation and absorption of soluble substances in a low flux scenario.

Ni, J, Zhu, Y, Chen, YL, Du, X & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 2016, 'Cumulative pore water pressure behaviour of soft clays installed with prefabricated vertical drains under cyclic loads', Yantu Lixue/Rock and Soil Mechanics, vol. 37, no. 2.
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Large-scale cyclic triaxial tests are conducted on remoulded kaolin specimens with 300 mm diameter and 600 mm height. To achieve radial drainage during and after the cyclic tests, a single prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) is installed in the centre of the soil cylinder. The test results verify that radial drainage can effectively dissipate the pore water pressure induced by cyclic loads. A radial consolidation model under cyclic loading is proposed to capture the behavior of soft clays subjected to cyclic loading when radial drainage is allowed during the loading and rest periods. It is achieved by combining radial consolidation theory with an undrained cyclic loading model. The effects of the stress history and dissipation of pore water pressure on the generation of pore water pressure are considered in the proposed model, which is verified by large-scale cyclic triaxial tests. It is found that for a high cyclic stress load, the radial drainage decreases the cumulative rate of pore water pressure up to the critical value, so the soil could undergo more loading cycles prior to failure. With a moderate cyclic stress load, the radial drainage prevents the pore water pressure from accumulating to the critical value. Furthermore, the effect of rest period on the generation of pore water pressure is investigated. It is indicated that the cumulative pore water pressure begins to decrease after three sets of cyclic loading, showing that no substantial pore water pressure will be observed if more sets of cyclic loading are applied.

Nimbalkar, S & Indraratna, B 2016, 'Field Assessment of Ballasted Railroads Using Geosynthetics and Shock Mats', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 1485-1494.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.The ballasted railroads form an integral part of the modern transportation infrastructure in Australia. However, they are subjected to large stresses especially on mixed traffic lines, where heavy freight trains are operated. Under such adverse operational conditions, ballast progressively degrades contributing to overall track deformations and frequent maintenance. Maintaining geometry of ballast embankments is necessary to improve safety and efficiency of railway operations. The use of artificial inclusions (geosynthetics and shock mats) as well as recycled (discarded) ballast in track can be economically viable options. In order to gain more insight, the CGRE has conducted extensive field trials on two rail lines in Bulli and Singleton in New South Wales supported by Sydney Trains and Australian Rail Track Corporation, respectively. In these studies, different types of geosynthetics (geogrid, geotextile and geocomposite) and shock mats were installed beneath the ballast layer constructed on varying subgrade conditions. Relative advantages of different geogrids were studied. Traffic induced stresses, ballast breakage, transient and permanent deformations were routinely monitored using precise instrumentation schemes. This paper discusses the details of track construction, instrumentation, monitoring processes and results of these field studies.

Nimbalkar, S & Indraratna, B 2016, 'Improved Performance of Ballasted Rail Track Using Geosynthetics and Rubber Shockmat', Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, vol. 142, no. 8, pp. 04016031-04016031.
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Norjannah, B, Ong, HC, Masjuki, HH, Juan, JC & Chong, WT 2016, 'Enzymatic transesterification for biodiesel production: a comprehensive review', RSC Advances, vol. 6, no. 65, pp. 60034-60055.
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Biodiesel catalyzed by enzyme is affected by many factors. This review will critically discuss the three major components of enzymatic production of biodiesel and the methods used to improve the reaction.

Noushini, A & Castel, A 2016, 'The effect of heat-curing on transport properties of low-calcium fly ash-based geopolymer concrete', Construction and Building Materials, vol. 112, pp. 464-477.
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The aim of this study is to evaluate the transport properties of class F fly ash-based geopolymer concrete cured at various conditions. Twelve different heat curing regimes including three temperatures of 60, 75 and 90 °C and four curing durations of 8, 12, 18 and 24 h, as well as ambient curing, were imposed to the specimens. The material properties such as compressive strength, elastic modulus, ultrasonic pulse velocity, absorption, volume of permeable voids, pore size distribution and resistivity were evaluated against the reference Portland cement (OPC) concrete. Experiments showed that proper curing conditions such as curing at 75 °C for 18-24 h yield a geopolymer concrete with low volume of permeable voids and low sorptivity coefficient. The reduced volume of permeable voids and less continuous capillaries, attained by applying the proper curing regime, leads to an increased electrical resistivity and compressive strength of the low-calcium fly ash-based GPCs.

Noushini, A, Aslani, F, Castel, A, Gilbert, RI, Uy, B & Foster, S 2016, 'Compressive stress-strain model for low-calcium fly ash-based geopolymer and heat-cured Portland cement concrete', Cement and Concrete Composites, vol. 73, pp. 136-146.
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This research focuses on elucidating the present knowledge gaps in geopolymer concrete's engineering properties, specifically its stress-strain behaviour. Geopolymer concrete (GPC) is an emerging alternative to ordinary Portland cement concrete (OPCC), and is produced via a polycondensation reaction between aluminosilicate source materials and an alkaline solution. As a relatively new material, many engineering properties of geopolymer concrete are still undetermined. In this paper, the compressive strength, modulus of elasticity and stress-strain behaviour of ambient and heat-cured GPC and OPCC have been studied experimentally. A total of 195 geopolymer concrete cylinders and 210 Portland cement concrete cylinders were tested for the above mentioned characteristics. Based on the experimental results, constitutive models describing the complete stress–strain behaviour in uniaxial compression have been developed for the low-calcium fly ash-based geopolymer concrete and the heat-cured Portland cement concrete.

Noushini, A, Babaee, M & Castel, A 2016, 'Suitability of heat-cured low-calcium fly ash-based geopolymer concrete for precast applications', Magazine of Concrete Research, vol. 68, no. 4, pp. 163-177.
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This paper discusses the advantages of using low-calcium fly ash (FA)-based geopolymer concrete (GPC) for precast applications when high early-age strength is required. Heat curing is known to be the reaction accelerator for both Portland cement (OPC) concrete and the newly emerged GPC. Here, the influence of 12 different heat-curing regimes, as well as internal curing, on mechanical properties of an FA-based GPC is investigated. The curing regimes include three temperatures of 60, 75 and 90°C, and four curing durations of 8, 12, 18 and 24 h. Results are compared with that of OPC concrete counterpart, with the same amount of binder and aggregate. Test results show that, in optimum heat-curing conditions, GPC can achieve more than 90% of its 28 d compressive strength after 1 d, compared to only 55% to 71% for normal concrete. The optimum heat-curing regime for GPC, combining best performance and energy efficiency, is found to be 75°C for 18 h. Contrary to conventional concrete, heat curing has no detrimental effect on the long-term compressive strength of GPC. It is concluded that, for precast applications, FA-based GPC appears to perform better than OPC concrete in terms of both early and long-term compressive strength using the same amount of binder.

Nur, T, Loganathan, P, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Phosphate Adsorption from Membrane Bioreactor Effluent Using Dowex 21K XLT and Recovery as Struvite and Hydroxyapatite', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH, vol. 13, no. 3.
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© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Discharging phosphate through wastewaters into waterways poses a danger to the natural environment due to the serious risks of eutrophication and health of aquatic organisms. However, this phosphate, if economically recovered, can partly overcome the anticipated future scarcity of phosphorus (P) resulting from exhaustion of natural phosphate rock reserves. An experiment was conducted to determine the efficiency of removing phosphate from a membrane bioreactor effluent (pH 7.0–7.5, 20, 35 mg phosphate/L) produced in a water reclamation plant by adsorption onto Dowex 21K XLT ion exchange resin and recover the phosphate as fertilisers. The data satisfactorily fitted to Langmuir adsorption isotherm with a maximum adsorption capacity of 38.6 mg_ P/g. The adsorbed phosphate was quantitatively desorbed by leaching the column with 0.1 M NaCl solution. The desorbed phosphate was recovered as struvite when ammonium and magnesium were added at the molar ratio of phosphate, ammonium and magnesium of 1:1:1 at pH 9.5. Phosphate was also recovered from the desorbed solution as hydroxyapatite precipitate by adding calcium hydroxide to the solution at a phosphate to calcium molar ratio of 1:2 at pH 7.0. The P contents of struvite and hydroxyapatite produced were close to those of the respective commercial phosphate fertilisers.

Nur, T, Naidu, G, Loganathan, P, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Rubidium recovery using potassium cobalt hexacyanoferrate sorbent', DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT, vol. 57, no. 55, pp. 26577-26585.
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© 2016 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Rubidium (Rb) is a highly valued and economically important metal present in large quantities in many natural and wastewaters. However, its recovery is hampered by its low concentration and extracting agents’ limited selectivity. A batch sorption study showed that a potassium cobalt hexacyanoferrate (KCoFC) sorbent had much higher sorption capacities for Rb and caesium (Cs) than for lithium (Li), sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca). Equilibrium sorption data at pH 7 and 24 ± 1°C for Rb and Cs satisfactorily fitted to the Langmuir model with sorption maxima of 96 and 61 mg/g, respectively. A fixed-bed column (12 cm height) containing a mixture of 2.2 g KCoFC and 19.8 g granular activated carbon had a breakthrough sorption capacity of 61 mg/g when a solution containing 5 mg Rb/L was passed through the column at a velocity of 2.5 m/h (0.7 L/h). When 1 and 5 mg Cs/L were added to the Rb solution, Rb sorption capacity dropped to 46 and 41 mg/g, respectively. During Rb sorption, K from the KCoFC lattice was released. Leaching the column containing sorbed Rb with 0.1 M KCl for 60 min at a velocity of 10 m/h desorbed 99% of sorbed Rb. A process for recovering Rb from sea water reverse osmosis brine is presented.

Nurfahmi, Ong, HC, Jan, BM, Tong, CW, Fauzi, H & Chen, W-H 2016, 'Effects of organosolv pretreatment and acid hydrolysis on palm empty fruit bunch (PEFB) as bioethanol feedstock', Biomass and Bioenergy, vol. 95, pp. 78-83.
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Oi, LE, Choo, M-Y, Lee, HV, Ong, HC, Hamid, SBA & Juan, JC 2016, 'Recent advances of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) for green organic synthesis', RSC Advances, vol. 6, no. 110, pp. 108741-108754.
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This review focuses on the recent development of TiO₂ as a catalyst in green organic synthesis including in hydrodeoxygenation, hydrogenation, esterification/transesterification, the water–gas shift reaction, and visible light-induced organic transformation.

Ouyang, J, Han, B, Cao, Y, Zhou, W, Li, W & Shah, SP 2016, 'The role and interaction of superplasticizer and emulsifier in fresh cement asphalt emulsion paste through rheology study', Construction and Building Materials, vol. 125, pp. 643-653.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd The workability and mechanical properties of cement asphalt emulsion (CA) mortar are unstable due to the complex interaction between cement and asphalt emulsion. To reveal the interaction between cement and asphalt emulsion, the effect of emulsifier and superplasticizer on the rheology of cement paste and asphalt emulsion is investigated, respectively, and the effect of the interaction between emulsifier and superplasticizer on the rheology of cement paste is studied in this paper as well. Results show that the apparent viscosity and yield stress of asphalt emulsion increase with superplasticizer and emulsifier dosage. Emulsifier can change the yield stress and apparent viscosity of cement paste, and its effect on cement paste differs greatly with the type and dosage of emulsifier. Some emulsifiers can increase the yield stress of cement paste, but some emulsifiers can decrease the yield stress of cement paste. Emulsifier has interaction with superplasticizer, thus affecting the reducing water effect of superplasticizer on cement paste. There is a competition relationship between emulsifier and superplasticizer when they are adsorbed by cement particles. The mixing method, in which superplasticizer is mixed with cement before emulsifier added, is beneficial to obtain a lower apparent viscosity of cement paste for all tested emulsifiers.

Pan, Y, Ni, B-J, Liu, Y & Guo, J 2016, 'Modeling of the interaction among aerobic ammonium-oxidizing archaea/bacteria and anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria', Chemical Engineering Science, vol. 150, pp. 35-40.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Biological nitrogen removal by using a co-culture of Anammox bacteria, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and (ammonia-oxidizing bacteria) AOB microorganisms in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) has previously been demonstrated experimentally. In this work, a mathematical model is developed to describe the microbial interaction among AOA, AOB and Anammox bacteria in the single-stage SBR and provide the first insights on the key role of AOA in such system. In this model, AOA and AOB jointly convert ammonium to nitrite partially, which provides electron acceptors to Anammox bacteria to oxidize the remaining ammonium forming dinitrogen gas. The model is successfully calibrated and validated using the long-term (around 350 days) dynamic experimental data from the SBR system, as well as two independent batch tests at different operational stages of the SBR. The model satisfactorily describes the nitrogen conversion data from the system. Modeling results show that AOA would outcompete AOB under low ammonium concentration and low dissolved oxygen conditions due to the revealed higher NH4+ affinity (KNH4AOA of 0.06 g N m-3) and thus higher ammonia oxidation rate under oxygen-limited conditions, indicating that AOA could be a better partner to Anammox bacteria compared to AOB when treating low strength nitrogen sewage. The developed model could also predict and distinguish the different contributions of AOA and AOB to overall aerobic ammonia oxidizing potential, with more than 50% of ammonia oxidation being mediated by AOB at initial stage (~300 days) and AOA being responsible for up to 90% of the ammonium removal afterwards. The results suggest AOA coupled with Anammox could provide new possibilities for biological nitrogen removal from low strength ammonium wastewater.

Pan, Y, van den Akker, B, Ye, L, Ni, B-J, Watts, S, Reid, K & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Unravelling the spatial variation of nitrous oxide emissions from a step-feed plug-flow full scale wastewater treatment plant', SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1-10.
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Plug-flow activated sludge reactors (ASR) that are step-feed with wastewater are widely adopted in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) due to their ability to maximise the use of the organic carbon in wastewater for denitrification. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are expected to vary along these reactors due to pronounced spatial variations in both biomass and substrate concentrations. However, to date, no detailed studies have characterised the impact of the step-feed configuration on emission variability. Here we report on the results from a comprehensive online N2O monitoring campaign, which used multiple gas collection hoods to simultaneously measure emission along the length of a full-scale, step-fed, plug-flow ASR in Australia. The measured N2O fluxes exhibited strong spatial-temporal variation along the reactor path. The step-feed configuration had a substantial influence on the N2O emissions, where the N2O emission factors in sections following the first and second step feed were 0.68% ± 0.09% and 3.5% ± 0.49% of the nitrogen load applied to each section. The relatively high biomass-specific nitrogen loading rate in the second section of the reactor was most likely cause of the high emissions from this section.

Pang, YL, Lim, S, Ong, HC & Chong, WT 2016, 'Research progress on iron oxide-based magnetic materials: Synthesis techniques and photocatalytic applications', Ceramics International, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 9-34.
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Pang, YL, Lim, S, Ong, HC & Chong, WT 2016, 'Synthesis, characteristics and sonocatalytic activities of calcined γ-Fe2O3 and TiO2 nanotubes/γ-Fe2O3 magnetic catalysts in the degradation of Orange G', Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, vol. 29, pp. 317-327.
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Parsa-Pajouh, A, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 2016, 'Experimental and Numerical Investigations to Evaluate Two-Dimensional Modeling of Vertical Drain–Assisted Preloading', International Journal of Geomechanics, vol. 16, no. 1.
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© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers. In this study, the efficiency of proposed formulations for plane-strain modeling of vertical drain-assisted consolidation was evaluated. For this aim, the vertical drain-assisted preloading process was experimentally simulated using a fully instrumented large-scale Rowe cell. Nine pore-water-pressure transducers were installed in various locations to measure the changes in pore-water pressure during the test. Two pressure/volume controllers were connected to an infinite-volume controller to provide continuous water flow. Soft clays with predefined properties were used to form the intact and smear zones. A numerical code was developed by using the finite-difference program FLAC 2D to simulate the consolidation test. A numerical study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed solutions for converting the axisymmetric state to a plane-strain condition and was subsequently compared with corresponding numerical analysis. From the results, it is observed that some of the proposed methods resulted in more accurate predictions of settlement and changes of pore-water pressure in the early stages of the consolidation process, whereas other proposed methods performed more accurately in the later stages of consolidation. Thus, three-dimensional modeling with actual soil-permeability properties to simulate the time-dependent behavior of soft soil improved with vertical drains is recommended.

Pasupathy, K, Berndt, M, Castel, A, Sanjayan, J & Pathmanathan, R 2016, 'Carbonation of a blended slag-fly ash geopolymer concrete in field conditions after 8 years', Construction and Building Materials, vol. 125, pp. 661-669.
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Pathirana, SW, Uy, B, Mirza, O & Zhu, X 2016, 'Bolted and welded connectors for the rehabilitation of composite beams', Journal of Constructional Steel Research, vol. 125, pp. 61-73.
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Recent research studies revealed that blind-bolts can be used to strengthen existing composite steel-concrete beams more efficiently and effectively than welded stud connectors. In the general retrofitting operation procedure, the holes created in the concrete slab of composite beams to fix shear connectors are finally backfilled with grout. However, it is clear from a review of the open literature that very few studies have been conducted on the behaviour of shear connectors in grout in retrofitted composite beams. This paper investigates the load-slip behaviour of blind-bolt and welded stud connectors in grout under retrofitted conditions both experimentally and numerically. A series of push-out test experiments was carried out based on the Eurocode 4. The behaviour of retrofitted push-out test specimens during the testing was simulated using Finite Element (FE) models. The concrete and grout properties were modelled by specifying damage criteria using the concrete damage plasticity (CDP) option available in ABAQUS. The effects of height:diameter ratio of the connectors and grout strength on the shear capacity of blind-bolt and welded stud connectors were verified using parametric FE analyses. A modified design equation was proposed to estimate the ultimate shear capacity of bolted connectors in grout. The shear connector properties such as shear resistance, stiffness, ductility and failure modes have been compared and discussed in detail by using the experimental and FE results. These results provide an extended understanding of the feasibility of utilising blind-bolts for retrofitting substandard composite beams.

Peng, L & Stewart, MG 2016, 'Climate change and corrosion damage risks for reinforced concrete infrastructure in China', Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 499-516.
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A changing climate which leads to increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration, and changes in temperature and relative humidity (RH), especially in the longer term, will accelerate the deterioration processes and consequently decline the safety, serviceability and durability of reinforced concrete (RC) infrastructure. This paper presents an investigation of carbonation-induced deterioration in three typical Chinese cities (Kunming, Xiamen and Jinan) under a changing climate. The changing trends of atmospheric CO2, local temperature and RH of typical Chinese cities are projected based on the latest CO2 emission scenarios. The time-dependent analysis is based on Monte Carlo simulation, and includes the uncertainty of climate projections, deterioration processes, material properties, dimensions and accuracy of predictive models. Deterioration of RC structures is represented by the probabilities of reinforcement corrosion initiation and damage. It was found that the mean carbonation depths by 2100 may increase by up to 45% for RC structures in China due to a changing climate. It was also found that climate change can cause an additional 7–20% of carbonation-induced damage by 2100 for RC buildings in temperate or cold climate areas in China. The findings provide a basis for the development of climate adaptation strategies through the improved design of concrete structures.

Peng, L, Liu, Y & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Nitrous oxide production in completely autotrophic nitrogen removal biofilm process: A simulation study', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 287, pp. 217-224.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. The dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration is known to be one of the most important factors affecting nitrous oxide (N2O) production, which might weaken the advantages of nitrogen removal in completely autotrophic nitrogen removal biofilm process. In this work, a mathematical model is applied to study the N2O production in a biofilm reactor performing nitritation followed by anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) for nitrogen removal. The nitrifier denitrification pathway through utilization of nitrite as the terminal electron acceptor under oxygen limiting conditions is used to predict N2O production. Simulations explicitly show that a large number of N2O is produced under conditions of low DO concentration for high nitrogen removal. A low ammonium concentration (<50mgNL-1) and a suitable DO level (at around 0.5mgO2L-1) could lead to high total nitrogen (TN) removal with a low N2O production. Biofilm has to be controlled to be in the optimal thickness (1000μm under the simulating conditions of this study), which allows relatively high TN removal, avoiding higher thickness that favors N2O production.

Peng, L, Liu, Y, Gao, S-H, Chen, X & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Evaluating simultaneous chromate and nitrate reduction during microbial denitrification processes', Water Research, vol. 89, pp. 1-8.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Sulfur-based autotrophic denitrification and heterotrophic denitrification have been demonstrated to be promising technological processes for simultaneous removal of nitrate (NO3-) and chromate (Cr (VI)), two common contaminants in surface and ground waters. In this work, a mathematical model was developed to describe and evaluate the microbial and substrate interactions among sulfur oxidizing denitrifying organism, methanol-based heterotrophic denitrifiers and chromate reducing bacteria in the biofilm systems for simultaneous nitrate and chromate removal. The concomitant multiple chromate reduction pathways by these microbes were taken into account in this model. The validity of the model was tested using experimental data from three independent biofilm reactors under autotrophic, heterotrophic and mixotrophic conditions. The model sufficiently described the nitrate, chromate, methanol, and sulfate dynamics under varying conditions. The modeling results demonstrated the coexistence of sulfur-oxidizing denitrifying bacteria and heterotrophic denitrifying bacteria in the biofilm under mixotrophic conditions, with chromate reducing bacteria being outcompeted. The sulfur-oxidizing denitrifying bacteria substantially contributed to both nitrate and chromate reductions although heterotrophic denitrifying bacteria dominated in the biofilm. The mixotrophic denitrification could improve the tolerance of autotrophic denitrifying bacteria to Cr (VI) toxicity. Furthermore, HRT would play an important role in affecting the microbial distribution and system performance, with HRT of higher than 0.15 day being critical for a high level removal of nitrate and chromate (over 90%).

Peng, L, Ni, B-J, Law, Y & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Modeling N2O production by ammonia oxidizing bacteria at varying inorganic carbon concentrations by coupling the catabolic and anabolic processes', Chemical Engineering Science, vol. 144, pp. 386-394.
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Several mathematical models have been proposed to describe nitrous oxide (N2O) production by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) under varying operational conditions. However, none of these N2O models are able to capture N2O dynamics caused by the variation of inorganic carbon (IC) concentration, which has recently been demonstrated to be a significant factor influencing N2O production by AOB. In this work, a mathematical model that describes the effect of IC on N2O production by AOB is developed and experimentally validated. The IC effect is considered by explicitly including the AOB anabolic process in the model, which is coupled to the catabolic process with the use of the Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and Adenosine diphosphate (ADP) pools. The calibration and validation of the model were conducted using experimental data obtained with two independent cultures, including a full nitrification culture and a partial nitritation culture. The model satisfactorily describes the N2O data from both systems at varying IC concentrations. This new model enhances our ability to predict N2O production by AOB in wastewater treatment systems under varying IC conditions.

Peng, L, Sun, J, Liu, Y, Dai, X & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Nitrous Oxide Production in Co- Versus Counter-Diffusion Nitrifying Biofilms', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1.
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AbstractFor the application of biofilm processes, a better understanding of nitrous oxide (N2O) formation within the biofilm is essential for design and operation of biofilm reactors with minimized N2O emissions. In this work, a previously established N2O model incorporating both ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) denitrification and hydroxylamine (NH2OH) oxidation pathways is applied in two structurally different biofilm systems to assess the effects of co- and counter-diffusion on N2O production. It is demonstrated that the diffusion of NH2OH and oxygen within both types of biofilms would form an anoxic layer with the presence of NH2OH and nitrite ( 'Equation missing'), which would result in a high N2O production via AOB denitrification pathway. As a result, AOB denitrification pathway is dominant over NH2OH oxidation pathway within the co- and counter-diffusion biofilms. In comparison, the co-diffusion biofilm may generate substantially higher N2O than the counter-diffusion biofilm due to the higher accumulation of NH2OH in co-diffusion biofilm, especially under the condition of high-strength ammonium influent (500 mg N/L), thick biofilm depth (300 μm) and moderate oxygen loading (~1–~4 m3/d). The effect of co- and counter-diffusion on N2O production from the AOB biofilm is minimal when treating low-strength nitrogenous wastewater.

Perreault, F, Jaramillo, H, Xie, M, Ude, M, Nghiem, LD & Elimelech, M 2016, 'Biofouling Mitigation in Forward Osmosis Using Graphene Oxide Functionalized Thin-Film Composite Membranes', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 50, no. 11, pp. 5840-5848.
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Pham, BT, Pradhan, B, Tien Bui, D, Prakash, I & Dholakia, MB 2016, 'A comparative study of different machine learning methods for landslide susceptibility assessment: A case study of Uttarakhand area (India)', Environmental Modelling & Software, vol. 84, pp. 240-250.
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Landslide susceptibility assessment of Uttarakhand area of India has been done by applying five machine learning methods namely Support Vector Machines (SVM), Logistic Regression (LR), Fisher's Linear Discriminant Analysis (FLDA), Bayesian Network (BN), and Naïve Bayes (NB). Performance of these methods has been evaluated using the ROC curve and statistical index based methods. Analysis and comparison of the results show that all five landslide models performed well for landslide susceptibility assessment (AUC = 0.910–0.950). However, it has been observed that the SVM model (AUC = 0.950) has the best performance in comparison to other landslide models, followed by the LR model (AUC = 0.922), the FLDA model (AUC = 0.921), the BN model (AUC = 0.915), and the NB model (AUC = 0.910), respectively.

Phan, HV, McDonald, JA, Hai, FI, Price, WE, Khan, SJ, Fujioka, T & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Biological performance and trace organic contaminant removal by a side-stream ceramic nanofiltration membrane bioreactor', International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, vol. 113, pp. 49-56.
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Phuntsho, S, Kim, JE, Johir, MAH, Hong, S, Li, Z, Ghaffour, N, Leiknes, T & Shon, HK 2016, 'Fertiliser drawn forward osmosis process: Pilot-scale desalination of mine impaired water for fertigation', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 508, pp. 22-31.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. The pilot-scale fertiliser driven forward osmosis (FDFO) and nanofiltration (NF) system was operated in the field for about six months for the desalination of saline groundwater from the coal mining activities. Long-term operation of the FDFO-NF system indicates that simple hydraulic cleaning could effectively restore the water flux with minimal chemical cleaning frequency. No fouling/scaling issues were encountered with the NF post-treatment process. The study indicates that, FDFO-NF desalination system can produce water quality that meets fertigation standard. This study also however shows that, the diffusion of solutes (both feed and draw) through the cellulose triacetate (CTA) FO membrane could be one of the major issues. The FO feed brine failed to meet the effluent discharge standard for NH4+ and SO42+ (reverse diffusion) and their concentrations are expected to further increase at higher feed recovery rates. Low rejection of feed salts (Na+, Cl-) by FO membrane may result in their gradual build-up in the fertiliser draw solution (DS) in a closed FDFO-NF system eventually affecting the final water quality unless it is balanced by adequate bleeding from the system through NF and re-reverse diffusion towards the FO feed brine. Therefore, FO membrane with higher reverse flux selectivity than the CTA-FO membrane used in this study is necessary for the application of the FDFO desalination process.

Porter, SH, Xiong, J, Avdeev, M, Merz, D, Woodward, PM & Huang, Z 2016, 'Structural, Magnetic, and Optical Properties of A₃V₄(PO₄)₆ (A = Mg, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni)', Inorganic Chemistry, vol. 55, no. 12, pp. 5772-5779.
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Combined synchrotron and neutron powder diffraction indicates that A3V4(PO4)6 (A = Mg, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) compounds crystallize with triclinic P1̅ symmetry. Lattice parameters expand as expected with successive increases in the ionic radius of the A(2+) ion. Cation disorder on the octahedral sites increases as the ionic radii of A(2+) ion decreases. Direct-current magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that all compounds with magnetic A(2+) ions order anti-ferromagnetically with transition temperatures ranging from 12 to 15 K. Effective magnetic moments for A3V4(PO4)6 (A = Mg, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) are 5.16, 11.04, 10.08, 9.76, and 7.96 μB per formula unit, respectively, in line with calculated values for high-spin transition metal ions. With the exception of Co3V4(PO4)6 the ultraviolet-visible spectra are dominated by d-d transitions of the V(3+) ions. The striking emerald green color of Co3V4(PO4)6 arises from the combined effects of d-d transitions involving both V(3+) and Co(2+).

Pourghasemi, HR, Beheshtirad, M & Pradhan, B 2016, 'A comparative assessment of prediction capabilities of modified analytical hierarchy process (M-AHP) and Mamdani fuzzy logic models using Netcad-GIS for forest fire susceptibility mapping', Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 861-885.
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Pradhan, B, Abdullahi, S & Seddighi, Y 2016, 'Detection of urban environments using advanced land observing satellite phased array type L-band synthetic aperture radar data through different classification techniques', Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 036029-036029.
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Pradhan, B, Jebur, MN, Shafri, HZM & Tehrany, MS 2016, 'Data Fusion Technique Using Wavelet Transform and Taguchi Methods for Automatic Landslide Detection From Airborne Laser Scanning Data and QuickBird Satellite Imagery', IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 1610-1622.
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Landslide mapping is indispensable for efficient land use management and planning. Landslide inventory maps must be produced for various purposes, such as to record the landslide magnitude in an area and to examine the distribution, types, and forms of slope failures. The use of this information enables the study of landslide susceptibility, hazard, and risk, as well as of the evolution of landscapes affected by landslides. In tropical countries, precipitation during the monsoon season triggers hundreds of landslides in mountainous regions. The preparation of a landslide inventory in such regions is a challenging task because of rapid vegetation growth. Thus, enhancing the proficiency of landslide mapping using remote sensing skills is a vital task. Various techniques have been examined by researchers. This study uses a robust data fusion technique that integrates high-resolution airborne laser scanning data (LiDAR) with high-resolution QuickBird satellite imagery (2.6-m spatial resolution) to identify landslide locations in Bukit Antarabangsa, Ulu Klang, Malaysia. This idea is applied for the first time to identify landslide locations in an urban environment in tropical areas. A wavelet transform technique was employed to achieve data fusion between LiDAR and QuickBird imagery. An object-oriented classification method was used to differentiate the landslide locations from other land use/covers. The Taguchi technique was employed to optimize the segmentation parameters, whereas the rule-based technique was used for object-based classification. In addition, to assess the impact of fusion in classification and landslide analysis, the rule-based classification method was also applied on original QuickBird data which have not been fused. Landslide locations were detected, and the confusion matrix was used to examine the proficiency and reliability of the results. The achieved overall accuracy and kappa coefficient were 90.06% and 0.84, respectively, for fus...

Pradhan, B, Tehrany, MS & Jebur, MN 2016, 'A New Semiautomated Detection Mapping of Flood Extent From TerraSAR-X Satellite Image Using Rule-Based Classification and Taguchi Optimization Techniques', IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 54, no. 7, pp. 4331-4342.
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Floods are among the most destructive natural disasters worldwide. In flood disaster management programs, flood mapping is an initial step. This research proposes an efficient methodology to recognize and map flooded areas by using TerraSAR-X imagery. First, a TerraSAR-X satellite image was captured during a flood event in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, to map the inundated areas. Multispectral Landsat imagery was then used to detect water bodies prior to the flooding. In synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, the water bodies and flood locations appear in black; thus, both objects were classified as one. To overcome this drawback, the class of the water bodies was extracted from the Landsat image and then subtracted from that extracted from the TerraSAR-X image. The remaining water bodies represented the flooded locations. Object-oriented classification and Taguchi method were implemented for both images. The Landsat images were categorized into three classes, namely, urban, vegetation, and water bodies. By contrast, only water bodies were extracted from the TerraSAR-X image. The classification results were then evaluated using a confusion matrix. To examine the efficiency of the proposed method, iterative self-organizing data analysis technique (ISODATA) classification method was applied on TerraSAR-X after employing the segmentation process during object-oriented-rule-based method, and the results were compared. The overall accuracy values of the classified maps derived from TerraSAR-X using the rule-based method and Landsat imagery were 86.18 and 93.04, respectively. Consequently, the flooded locations were recognized and mapped by subtracting the two classes of water bodies from these images. The acquired overall accuracy for TerraSAR-X using ISODATA was considerably low at only 57.98. The current research combined the methods and the optimization technique used as an innovative flood detection application. The successful production of a reliable and...

Prationo, W & Zhang, L 2016, 'Influence of steam on ignition of Victorian brown coal particle stream in oxy-fuel combustion: In-situ diagnosis and transient ignition modelling', Fuel, vol. 181, pp. 1203-1213.
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Qian, J, Zhou, J, Zhang, Z, Liu, R & Wang, Q 2016, 'Biological Nitrogen Removal through Nitritation Coupled with Thiosulfate-Driven Denitritation', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 27502.
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AbstractA novel biological nitrogen removal system based on nitritation coupled with thiosulfate-driven denitritation (Nitritation-TDD) was developed to achieve a high nitrogen removal rate and low sludge production. A nitritation sequential batch reactor (nitritation SBR) and an anoxic up-flow sludge bed (AnUSB) reactor were applied for effective nitritation and denitritation, respectively. Above 75% nitrite was accumulated in the nitritation SBR with an influent ammonia loading rate of 0.43 kg N/d/m3. During Nitritation-TDD operation, particle sizes (d50) of the sludge decreased from 406 to 225 um in nitritation SBR and from 327–183 um in AnUSB reactor. Pyrosequencing tests revealed that ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) population was stabilized at approximately 7.0% (calculated as population of AOB-related genus divided by the total microbial population) in the nitritation SBR. In contrast, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) population decreased from 6.5–0.6% over the same time, indicating the effective nitrite accumulation in the nitritation SBR. Thiobacillus, accounting for 34.2% in the AnUSB reactor, was mainly responsible for nitrogen removal via autotrophic denitritation, using an external source of thiosulfate as electron donor. Also, it was found that free nitrous acid could directly affect the denitritation activity.

Qiang, L, Cheng, J, Yi, J, Rotchell, JM, Zhu, X & Zhou, J 2016, 'Environmental concentration of carbamazepine accelerates fish embryonic development and disturbs larvae behavior', Ecotoxicology, vol. 25, no. 7, pp. 1426-1437.
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Environmental pollution caused by pharmaceuticals has been recognized as a major threat to the aquatic ecosystems. Carbamazepine, as the widely prescribed antiepileptic drug, has been frequently detected in the aquatic environment and has created concerns about its potential impacts in the aquatic organisms. The effects of carbamazepine on zebrafish embryos were studied by examining their phenotype, behavior and molecular responses. The results showed that carbamazepine disturbed the normal growth and development of exposed zebrafish embryos and larvae. Upon exposure to carbamazepine at 1 μg/L, the hatching rate, body length, swim bladder appearance and yolk sac absorption rate were significantly increased. Embryos in treatment groups were more sensitive to touch and light stimulation. At molecular level, exposure to an environmentally relevant concentration (1 μg/L) of carbamazepine disturbed the expression pattern of neural-related genes of zebrafish embryos and larvae. This study suggests that the exposure of fish embryo to antiepileptic drugs, at environmentally relevant concentrations, affects their early development and impairs their behavior. Such impacts may have future repercussions by affecting fish population structure.

Qiu, N, Gao, Y, Fang, J, Feng, Z, Sun, G & Li, Q 2016, 'Theoretical prediction and optimization of multi-cell hexagonal tubes under axial crashing', Thin-Walled Structures, vol. 102, pp. 111-121.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. In this paper, the analytical formulas of mean crashing force for four different hexagonal tubes with multiple cells were first derived based on the Simplified Super Folding Element (SSFE) theory through several typical constituent elements: corner element, three-panel angular element I and three-panel angular element II. The numerical simulations of hexagonal multi-cell configurations were then correlated with the derived analytical solutions. Finally, both analytical formulas and finite element analysis (FEA) based surrogate models were employed to optimize the cross-sectional dimensions of the hexagonal tubes. From the optimization results, web-to-web (W2W) is the most efficient configuration in improving the crashing behavior, while corner-to-corner (C2C) is the worst of these four configurations. Importantly, the Pareto fronts obtained from the analytical formulas agree well with those from the FEA based surrogate models. As a result, analytical formulas could be recommended in crashworthiness optimization for the sake of computational efficiency.

Rahman, M, Rasul, M, Hassan, N & Hyde, J 2016, 'Prospects of Biodiesel Production from Macadamia Oil as an Alternative Fuel for Diesel Engines', Energies, vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 403-403.
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This paper investigated the prospects of biodiesel production from macadamia oil as an alternative fuel for diesel engine. The biodiesel was produced using conventional transesterification process using the base catalyst (KOH). A multi-cylinder diesel engine was used to evaluate the performance and emission of 5% (B5) and 20% (B20) macadamia biodiesel fuel at different engine speeds and full load condition. It was found that the characteristics of biodiesel are within the limit of specified standards American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM D6751) and comparable to diesel fuel. This study also found that the blending of macadamia biodiesel-diesel fuel significantly improves the fuel properties including viscosity, density (D), heating value and oxidation stability (OS). Engine performance results indicated that macadamia biodiesel fuel sample reduces brake power (BP) and increases brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) while emission results indicated that it reduces the average carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and particulate matter (PM) emissions except nitrogen oxides (NOx) than diesel fuel. Finally, it can be concluded that macadamia oil can be a possible source for biodiesel production and up to 20% macadamia biodiesel can be used as a fuel in diesel engines without modifications.

Rao, P, Chen, Q, Zhou, Y, Nimbalkar, S & Chiaro, G 2016, 'Determination of Active Earth Pressure on Rigid Retaining Wall Considering Arching Effect in Cohesive Backfill Soil', International Journal of Geomechanics, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 04015082-04015082.
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Rasekh, H & McCarthy, TJ 2016, 'DELIVERING SUSTAINABLE BUILDING PROJECTS – CHALLENGES, REALITY AND SUCCESS', Journal of Green Building, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 143-161.
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This research concerns the delivery of sustainable building projects. These projects are defined as those which either attempt to achieve green ratings or are claimed to address certain sustainability issues. A key focus is to examine how the client's vision for sustainability is achieved or compromised by the practicality of construction. Two sustainability rating systems, the Australian Green Star and the Living Building Challenge from the U.S. are discussed. This research examines two projects; one university multipurpose building (SMART Infrastructure Facility); and an advanced research facility, the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre (SBRC). The methodology used is semi-structured interviews of key participants and stakeholders for the two university building. The outcome of this research indicates that environmental rating systems are useful tools to construct reasonably sustainable buildings. Many interviewees, however, believe that for their next projects the concern would be to continue to construct sustainable buildings but not necessarily by following the strict criteria and reporting requirements of the environmental rating system.

Rashed, MM, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Habibullah, M, Imdadul, HK, Shahin, MM & Rahman, MM 2016, 'Improving oxidation stability and NOX reduction of biodiesel blends using aromatic and synthetic antioxidant in a light duty diesel engine', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 89, pp. 273-284.
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Poor oxidation stability of biodiesel is now a major concern all over the world, especially due to its extensive utilisation in transport and industrialisation. Therefore, biodiesel needs better stability, in order to be sustainably utilised in the long term. The oxygen inhibitor antioxidant can counter the poor oxidation. In this experiment, 20% of Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel (CIB20) was used as biodiesel feedstock. Three most effective antioxidants N, N′-diphenyl-1, 4-phenylenediamine (DPPD), N-phenyl-1, 4-phenylenediamine (NPPD) and 2-ethylhexyl nitrate (EHN) were used at a 1000ppm concentration with CIB20. The oxidation stability, exhaust emission and performance of a single cylinder diesel engine were analysed and compared to those of diesel. From the results, it was concluded that there was no significant negative impact on biodiesel physiochemical properties, while the stability of biodiesel (CIB20) with the addition of antioxidants with tested blends increased. Among these three antioxidants, DPPD exhibits a better stability in biodiesel. The results shows that CIB20 produced an average of 5.23% lower brake power (BP), 7.84% less brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and 11.2% higher brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), compared to pure diesel. However, by mixing the antioxidant with CIB20, the BP and BTE, increased while the BSFC slightly decreased. For exhaust emission, antioxidants reduced NOx by about 5.92%–8.83%, with an increment of hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon-monoxide (CO) for all blends. For this reason, CIB20 blends with aromatic amine antioxidants can be used in diesel engine without any engine modifications.

Rashed, MM, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Mofijur, M, Rasul, MG & Zulkifli, NWM 2016, 'Performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with palm, jatropha, and moringa oil methyl ester', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 79, pp. 70-76.
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This paper aims to investigate the diesel engine performance and emission characteristics fueled with moringa biodiesel and compare those with the performance and emission characteristics of palm biodiesel, jatropha biodiesel, and diesel fuel. In this study, only 20% of each biodiesel (described by MB20, PB20, and JB20, respectively) was tested in diesel engine, given that open literature indicates the possible use of biodiesel of up to 20% in a diesel engine without modification. The physical and chemical properties of all fuel samples are also presented and compared with ASTM D6751 standards. A naturally aspirated multi-cylinder, four-stroke direct-injection diesel engine was used to evaluate their performance at different speeds and full load condition. All biodiesel fuel samples reduce brake power (BP) and increase brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) than diesel fuel. Engine emission results indicated that blended fuel reduces the average carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) emissions except nitric oxides (NO) emissions than diesel fuel. Among the biodiesel-blended fuel, Palm biodiesel showed better performance and minimal emission than jatropha and moringa biodiesel fuel. Although PB20 showed better performance, but performance of MB20 biodiesel blend is comparable with other fuels. Correspondingly, 20% of moringa biodiesel can be used in a diesel engine without any engine modification.

Rashed, MM, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Alabdulkarem, A, Rahman, MM, Imdadul, HK & Rashedul, HK 2016, 'Study of the oxidation stability and exhaust emission analysis of Moringa olifera biodiesel in a multi-cylinder diesel engine with aromatic amine antioxidants', Renewable Energy, vol. 94, pp. 294-303.
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In this study, the two most effective aromatic amine antioxidants N,N'-diphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine (DPPD) and N-phenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine (NPPD), were used at a concentration of 2000 ppm. The impact of antioxidants on the oxidation stability, exhaust emission and engine performance of a multi-cylinder diesel engine fuelled with MB20 (20% Moringa oil methyl ester and 80% diesel fuel blend) were analysed at varying speed conditions at an interval of 500 rpm and a constant load. It was observed that, blending with diesel enhanced the oxidation stability of the moringa biodiesel by approximately 6.97 h, and the addition of DPPD and NPPD to MB20 increased the oxidation stability up to 34.5 and 18.4 h, respectively. The results also showed that the DPPD- and NPPD-treated blends reduced the NOx emission by 7.4% and 3.04%, respectively, compared to the untreated blend. However, they do have higher carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) levels and smoke opacities, but it should be noted that these emissions are still well below the diesel fuel emission level. The results show that the addition of antioxidant with MB20 also improves the engine's performance characteristics. Based on this study, MB20 blends with amine antioxidants can be used in diesel engines without any modification.

Ren, JM, Ishitake, K, Satoh, K, Blencowe, A, Fu, Q, Wong, EHH, Kamigaito, M & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Stereoregular High-Density Bottlebrush Polymer and Its Organic Nanocrystal Stereocomplex through Triple-Helix Formation', Macromolecules, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 788-795.
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We report the synthesis of a well-defined molecular bottlebrush polymer with stereoregular side chains (i.e., syndiotactic PMMA). The simultaneous control over the molecular weight, side-chain tacticity, and architecture allows the macromolecule to stereocomplex with the complementary linear stereoregular polymers (i.e., isotactic PMMAs) in controlled manners. By modulating the feed ratio of the complexing materials and chain length of the linear assembling component, a variety of crystalline materials with different sizes and morphologies, including discrete spherical nanoparticle, multiple-particle assembly, and cross-linked network structure, can be produced. Among these, uniformed sized, stable nanocrystals that exhibit temperature-induced solution assembly and disassembly properties can be derived from a combined process of PMMA triple-helix stereocomplex formation and polymer architecture-directed intramolecular crystallization. This work has established a new, facile synthetic protocol toward stimuli-responsive organic nanocrystals, which is applicable to the fabrication of a wide variety of functional crystal nanomaterials with practical applications.

Ren, JM, McKenzie, TG, Fu, Q, Wong, EHH, Xu, J, An, Z, Shanmugam, S, Davis, TP, Boyer, C & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Star Polymers', Chemical Reviews, vol. 116, no. 12, pp. 6743-6836.
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Recent advances in controlled/living polymerization techniques and highly efficient coupling chemistries have enabled the facile synthesis of complex polymer architectures with controlled dimensions and functionality. As an example, star polymers consist of many linear polymers fused at a central point with a large number of chain end functionalities. Owing to this exclusive structure, star polymers exhibit some remarkable characteristics and properties unattainable by simple linear polymers. Hence, they constitute a unique class of technologically important nanomaterials that have been utilized or are currently under audition for many applications in life sciences and nanotechnologies. This article first provides a comprehensive summary of synthetic strategies towards star polymers, then reviews the latest developments in the synthesis and characterization methods of star macromolecules, and lastly outlines emerging applications and current commercial use of star-shaped polymers. The aim of this work is to promote star polymer research, generate new avenues of scientific investigation, and provide contemporary perspectives on chemical innovation that may expedite the commercialization of new star nanomaterials. We envision in the not-too-distant future star polymers will play an increasingly important role in materials science and nanotechnology in both academic and industrial settings.

Rijal, R, Samali, B, Shrestha, R & Crews, K 2016, 'Experimental and analytical study on dynamic performance of timber floor modules (timber beams)', Construction and Building Materials, vol. 122, pp. 391-399.
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Rizeei, HM, Saharkhiz, MA, Pradhan, B & Ahmad, N 2016, 'Soil erosion prediction based on land cover dynamics at the Semenyih watershed in Malaysia using LTM and USLE models', Geocarto International, vol. 31, no. 10, pp. 1158-1177.
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This study attempts to identify and forecast future land cover (LC) by using the Land Transformation Model (LTM), which considers pixel changes in the past and makes predictions using influential spatial features. LTM applies the Artificial Neural Networks algorithm) in conducting the analysis. In line with these objectives, two satellite images (Spot 5 acquired in 2004 and 2010) were classified using the Maximum Likelihood method for the change detection analysis. Consequently, LC maps from 2004 to 2010 with six classes (forest, agriculture, oil palm cultivations, open area, urban, and water bodies) were generated from the test area. A prediction was made on the actual soil erosion and the soil erosion rate using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) combined with remote sensing and GIS in the Semenyih watershed for 2004 and 2010 and projected to 2016. Actual and potential soil erosion maps from 2004 to 2010 and projected to 2016 were eventually generated. The results of the LC change detections indicated that three major changes were predicted from 2004 to 2016 (a period of 12 years): (1) forest cover and open area significantly decreased at rates of almost 30 and 8 km2, respectively; (2) cultivated land and oil palm have shown an increment in sizes at rates of 25.02 and 5.77 km2, respectively; and, (3) settlement and Urbanization has intensified also by almost 5 km2. Soil erosion risk analysis results also showed that the Semenyih basin exhibited an average annual soil erosion between 143.35 ton ha−1 year−1 in 2004 and 151 in 2010, followed by the expected 162.24 ton ha−1 year−1. These results indicated that Semenyih is prone to water erosion by 2016. The wide range of erosion classes were estimated at a very low level (0–1 t/ha/year) and mainly located on steep lands and forest areas. This study has shown that using both LTM and USLE in combination with remote sensing and GIS is a suitable method for forecasting LC and accurately measuring the amo...

Ruhul, AM, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Alabdulkarem, A, Atabani, AE, Fattah, IMR & Abedin, MJ 2016, 'Production, characterization, engine performance and emission characteristics of Croton megalocarpus and Ceiba pentandra complementary blends in a single-cylinder diesel engine', RSC Advances, vol. 6, no. 29, pp. 24584-24595.
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Potentiality and sustainability of two biodiesel feedstocks namelyCroton megalocarpusandCeiba pentandrahave been investigated. 20% (v/v) optimum combined blending of this two sources can substitute the fossil diesel.

Ruhul, AM, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Fattah, IMR, Reham, SS & Rashed, MM 2016, 'ChemInform Abstract: State of the Art of Biodiesel Production Processes: A Review of the Heterogeneous Catalyst', ChemInform, vol. 47, no. 9, pp. no-no.
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AbstractReview: 183 refs.

Ruhul, MA, Abedin, MJ, Rahman, SMA, Masjuki, BHH, Alabdulkarem, A, Kalam, MA & Shancita, I 2016, 'Impact of fatty acid composition and physicochemical properties of Jatropha and Alexandrian laurel biodiesel blends: An analysis of performance and emission characteristics', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 133, pp. 1181-1189.
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Ryan, PC, Stewart, MG, Spencer, N & Li, Y 2016, 'Probabilistic analysis of climate change impacts on timber power pole networks', International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, vol. 78, pp. 513-523.
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The IPCC, a collection of 800 of the world's leading climate change scientists, state that future climate related risks to society and infrastructure are likely to change. It is therefore important for the power industry to consider the possible impacts of future climate change on infrastructure performance. However, very few studies have been published to date examining the potential impacts of climate change on power distribution poles networks, which constitute large and valuable infrastructure assets worldwide. The work presented in this paper builds on the limited research in this area by developing a framework for examination of the possible impacts of climate change on timber power pole networks. The time-dependent event-based model developed herein allows network maintenance and predicted climate change effects to be considered, while also incorporating uncertainty associated with both climate change predictions, and structural reliability modelling of infrastructure networks over time. The results of a case study which examined notional power pole networks for five Australian cities revealed that the effects of climate change on predicted power pole performance can be significant. Wind failures for the Brisbane location were predicted to increase by approximately 60% when considering a period from 2015 to 2070, under the severe climate change scenario. However, the predicted impacts are also highly regionally variable, with one location considered experiencing positive climate change impacts for a medium climate change scenario.

Sahebi, S, Phuntsho, S, Woo, YC, Park, MJ, Tijing, LD, Hong, S & Shon, HK 2016, 'Effect of sulphonated polyethersulfone substrate for thin film composite forward osmosis membrane', DESALINATION, vol. 389, pp. 129-136.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Sulphonated polyethersulfone (SPES) has been synthesized for developing high performance thin film composite (TFC) forward osmosis (FO) membranes with enhanced hydrophilic support layer. Sulphonated substrate not only affects the membrane performance but also changes the membrane morphology from finger-like structure to a sponge-like morphology at higher degree of sulphonation thereby affecting the mechanical strength of the FO membrane. Non-sulphonated TFC-FO membrane with 12 wt.% polymer concentration shows a faint finger-like structure while sulphonated samples at a similar polymer concentration show a fully sponge-like structure with a much higher performance. For example, a water flux of 35 Lm-2 h-1 and 0.28 g L-1 specific reverse solute flux was achieved with sulphonated TFC-FO membrane sample (50 wt.% SPES) under the FO mode using 2 M NaCl as the draw solution and deionized water as feed. Substrate sulphonation also considerably decreased the membrane structural parameter from 1096 μm without sulphonation to 245 μm at 50 wt.% sulphonation. This study therefore shows that, besides surface morphology, the water flux of the FO membrane can also be enhanced by improving its substrate hydrophilic property.

Sahoo, M, Sahoo, S, Dhar, A & Pradhan, B 2016, 'Effectiveness evaluation of objective and subjective weighting methods for aquifer vulnerability assessment in urban context', Journal of Hydrology, vol. 541, pp. 1303-1315.
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Sameen, MI, Nahhas, FH, Buraihi, FH, Pradhan, B & Shariff, ARBM 2016, 'A refined classification approach by integrating Landsat Operational Land Imager (OLI) and RADARSAT-2 imagery for land-use and land-cover mapping in a tropical area', International Journal of Remote Sensing, vol. 37, no. 10, pp. 2358-2375.
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Sangchini, EK, Emami, SN, Tahmasebipour, N, Pourghasemi, HR, Naghibi, SA, Arami, SA & Pradhan, B 2016, 'Assessment and comparison of combined bivariate and AHP models with logistic regression for landslide susceptibility mapping in the Chaharmahal-e-Bakhtiari Province, Iran', Arabian Journal of Geosciences, vol. 9, no. 3, p. 201.
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Sanjid, A, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Zulkifli, NWBM & Abedin, MJ 2016, 'Performance and emission of multi-cylinder diesel engine using biodiesel blends obtained from mixed inedible feedstocks', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 112, pp. 4114-4122.
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Scofield, JMP, Gurr, PA, Kim, J, Fu, Q, Kentish, SE & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Blends of Fluorinated Additives with Highly Selective Thin-Film Composite Membranes to Increase CO₂ Permeability for CO₂/N₂ Gas Separation Applications', Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, vol. 55, no. 30, pp. 8364-8372.
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A highly permeable poly(ethylene glycol-b-pentafluoropropyl acrylate) diblock copolymer additive is blended with the highly selective PEBAX 1657 block copolymer and spin coated onto cross-linked poly(dimethylsiloxane) gutter layers coated onto porous polyacrylonitrile supports for use in CO2/N2 gas separation applications. Blended films containing up to 70 wt % of the fluorinated additive are successfully formed and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, revealing an average film thickness of 200 nm. Addition of the fluorinated additive results in significant enhancements to CO2 permeance, in the range of 916 to 1538 GPU while maintaining a CO2/N2 selectivity between 21 and 33 when blended at 60-65 wt %. The impact of temperature and pressure on membrane performance was determined at temperatures of 25-55 °C and pressures of 100-500 kPa. Theoretical calculations of the performance without the gutter layer resistance demonstrate that the corresponding active membrane layer could achieve CO2 permeances between 1128 and 2246 GPU and permeabilities between 226 and 449 barrer with CO2/N2 selectivities between 27 and as high as 39. The reported thin-film composite membranes represent a significant increase in performance compared with similar polymeric membranes.

Scofield, JMP, Gurr, PA, Kim, J, Fu, Q, Kentish, SE & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Development of novel fluorinated additives for high performance CO2 separation thin-film composite membranes', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 499, pp. 191-200.
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A series of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(pentafluoropropyl acrylate) diblock copolymers were synthesized by Reversible Addition Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) polymerization. These block copolymers were blended up to 60wt% with commercially available PEBAX® 2533. The resulting polymer mixtures were successfully spin coated onto cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) gutter layers which in turn had been deposited onto a porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) support, to form a thin film composite membrane. Gas testing of these membranes for carbon capture applications showed enhanced CO2 permeances up to 1830GPU, without a significant drop in CO2/N2 selectivity at 35°C and 350kPa, relative to a pure PEBAX® upper layer. The impacts of temperature and pressure on membrane performance were investigated for temperatures from 25°C to 55°C and pressures from 100kPa to 500kPa. Theoretical calculations indicated that in the absence of a gutter layer, the upper layer could achieve a CO2 permeance of over 3000GPU with a CO2/N2 selectivity of 22. These results represent a significant increase in gas permeances compared with previously published results for similar membranes.

Sebayang, AH, Masjuki, HH, Ong, HC, Dharma, S, Silitonga, AS, Mahlia, TMI & Aditiya, HB 2016, 'A perspective on bioethanol production from biomass as alternative fuel for spark ignition engine', RSC Advances, vol. 6, no. 18, pp. 14964-14992.
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The increasing fuel consumption of fossil fuels has led to the development of alternative fuels for the future.

Sebayang, AH, Masjuki, HH, Ong, HC, Dharma, S, Silitonga, AS, Mahlia, TMI & Aditiya, HB 2016, 'ChemInform Abstract: A Perspective on Bioethanol Production from Biomass as Alternative Fuel for Spark Ignition Engine', ChemInform, vol. 47, no. 13, pp. no-no.
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AbstractReview: 279 refs.

Shahid, M, El Saliby, I, McDonagh, A, Chekli, L, Tijing, LD, Kim, J-H & Shon, HK 2016, 'Adsorption and Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Using Potassium Polytitanate and Solar Simulator', JOURNAL OF NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 4342-4349.
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Copyright © 2016 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved. Solar photocatalytic degradation of organic water pollutants can be used to degrade toxic organic pollutants in water. In this study, potassium titanate nanofibres were synthesized by an aqueous peroxide route at high pH and examined as photocatalysts for photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) using a solar simulator. Initially, MB was adsorbed on the surface of potassium polytitanates to achieve adsorption equilibrium before the photocatalysts were illuminated using solar simulator. The results showed that potassium polytitanate nanofibres were effective adsorbents of MB and also facilitated its photocatalytic degradation. Sulphate ion evolution during photocatalysis confirmed that some mineralisation occurred and hence photo-oxidative degradation of MB took place. The optimum operational conditions for the photocatalytic degradation of MB were found at 0.05 g/L of photocatalyst load, 10 mg/L MB and pH 7. The stability and regeneration of the photocatalyst specimen was also studied for 3 degradation cycles using adsorption/photocatalysis model. Morphological structure analysis of potassium titanate showed nanocrystallines structure of longitudinally-oriented isolated fibre with a length up to several micrometres with diameters ranging from 10 to 20 nanometres.

Shahid, M, Tijing, LD, Saliby, IE, McDonagh, A, Kim, J-B, Kim, J-H & Shon, HK 2016, 'Adsorption Behavior of Pb(II) Onto Potassium Polytitanate Nanofibres', Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 1916-1919.
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Copyright © 2016 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved. Potassium polytitanate nanofibres prepared by a hydrothermal method were investigated for their possible application in removing toxic metals from aqueous solution. Particular attention was paid to employing the titanate as a novel effective adsorbent for the removal of Pb(II). Batch adsorption experiments demonstrated that the adsorption was influenced by various conditions such as solution pH, adsorbent dosage and initial Pb(II) concentration. The results showed that the adsorption rate was faster in the first 5 min and equilibrium was achieved after 180 min. The maximum amount of adsorption was detected at pH 5. Potassium titanate showed much higher adsorption capacity compared to P25. The kinetic studies indicated that the adsorption of Pb(II) onto titanate best fit the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. FTIR spectra revealed that the hydroxyl groups in titanate were responsible for Pb(II) adsorption. The principal mechanism of the adsorption of Pb(II) in the present study is attributed to both ion exchange and oxygen bonding. The adsorption-desorption results demonstrated that the titanate could be readily regenerated after adsorption. Therefore, the present titanate exhibits great potential for the removal of Pb(II) from wastewater.

Shancita, I, Masjuki, HH, Kalam, MA, Reham, SS & Shahir, SA 2016, 'Comparative Analysis on Property Improvement Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) (¹H and ¹³C) Spectra of Various Biodiesel Blended Fuels', Energy & Fuels, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 4790-4805.
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Sharma, RK, Ganesan, P, Tyagi, VV & Mahlia, TMI 2016, 'Accelerated thermal cycle and chemical stability testing of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 for solar thermal energy storage', Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 147, pp. 235-239.
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Accelerated thermal cycle test of polyethylene glycol (PEG) of molecular weight 6000, an organic phase change material (O-PCM), has been carried out for 1500 melt/freeze cycles. The latent heat of fusion and melting temperature is measured using differential scanning calorimeter between 0th and 1500th melt-freeze cycles to study the changes in its thermal properties. Also, the changes in the compositional/functional groups of the material during the cycle test are also measured using FT-IR spectroscopy technique. The melting temperature is found to be stable in the quoted range of 55-60 °C with a maximum deviation of 6.5% when compared to that of at 0th cycle. However, a gradual drop in the latent heat of fusion with the increasing number of thermal cycles is measured. The FT-IR spectra do not show any noticeable changes in the peaks which confirm its compositional stability even after the higher number of thermal cycles. Thermal and chemical reliability tests of PEG 6000 along with the techno-economic analysis have shown that this PCM has a significant potential to be used as a thermal energy storage system.

Shi, C, Li, Y, Zhang, J, Li, W, Chong, L & Xie, Z 2016, 'Performance enhancement of recycled concrete aggregate – A review', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 112, pp. 466-472.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Recycled concrete aggregate differ from natural aggregate as the former contains hardened cement mortar. The adhered cement mortar on recycled concrete aggregate has higher porosity and water absorption and lower strength than natural aggregate do. It has negative effects on the mechanical properties and durability of fresh and hardened concrete made with recycled concrete aggregate. Therefore, it will facilitate the applications of recycled concrete aggregate if the adhered cement mortar can be enhanced. Removing and strengthening the adhered mortar are the two main methods for enhancing the properties of recycled concrete aggregate. This paper reviews the published enhancement methods for recycled concrete aggregate, and points out their advantages and disadvantages so as to facilitate the selection and further development of suitable enhancement methods for recycled concrete aggregate. It suggests that carbonation treatment is an efficient and feasible method for improving the mechanical properties and durability of recycled concrete aggregate. Carbonation treatment of recycled concrete aggregate is not only an efficient way for enhancing the properties of recycled concrete aggregate, but also an environmental friendly approach.

Shirbin, SJ, Lam, SJ, Chan, NJ-A, Ozmen, MM, Fu, Q, O’Brien-Simpson, N, Reynolds, EC & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Polypeptide-Based Macroporous Cryogels with Inherent Antimicrobial Properties: The Importance of a Macroporous Structure', ACS Macro Letters, vol. 5, no. 5, pp. 552-557.
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Synthetic polypeptide-based macroporous cryogels with inherent antimicrobial properties were prepared for potential water purification applications. Gels were chemically cross-linked through the amine residue of a polycationic polylysine-b-polyvaline block copolymer with glutaraldehyde as cross-linker under cryogenic conditions. These cryogels exhibited excellent water swelling and highly compressible mechanical properties owing to their macroporous structure. The antibacterial performance was evaluated based on E. coli viability, with cryogels exhibiting up to 95.6% reduction in viable E. coli after a brief 1 h incubation. In comparison to the hydrogel control, the presence of macropores is shown to be vital to the antimicrobial effect of the gels. The confined environment and increased antimicrobial surface area of the macropores is believed to result in a 'trap and kill' mechanism. Mechanical strength and pore integrity of cryogels were also found to be determinants for antibacterial activity. Along with the lack of toxic leaching, these cryogels with inherent antimicrobial properties pose as potential candidates for use in biological and environmentally friendly water purification applications.

Shon, HK, Phuntsho, S & Jegatheesan, V 2016, 'Special Issue – Challenges in Environmental Science and Engineering', Process Safety and Environmental Protection, vol. 104, pp. 451-451.
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Shuhimi, FF, Abdollah, MFB, Kalam, MA, Hassan, M, Mustafa, AE & Amiruddin, H 2016, 'Tribological characteristics comparison for oil palm fibre/epoxy and kenaf fibre/epoxy composites under dry sliding conditions', Tribology International, vol. 101, pp. 247-254.
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The aim of this study is to compare the tribological characteristics of OPF/E and KF/E composites in terms of fibre composition and temperature. A pin sample with a diameter of 10 mm was made using the hot compaction technique. The dry sliding test was performed using a pin-on-disc tribometer. Increasing the temperature resulted in increased wear and decreased friction coefficient for both composites. The mild-severe wear transition of OPF/E accelerated with fibre composition although it produced a lower wear rate than KF/E at high-temperatures. In addition, the wear mode map for both OPF/E and KF/E composites has been proposed and addressed in this paper based on wear rate values. This mild-severe wear transition has been further confirmed by worn surface morphology.

Sianipar, M, Kim, SH, Min, C, Tijing, LD & Shon, HK 2016, 'Potential and performance of a polydopamine-coated multiwalled carbon nanotube/polysulfone nanocomposite membrane for ultrafiltration application', Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, vol. 34, pp. 364-373.
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© 2015 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. The addition of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) as inorganic fillers is well known to improve membrane performance for water desalination. Most MWNTs are treated by acid treatment to enhance their hydrophilicity before their applications in membranes. However, acid treatment leads to structural damages of the MWNT wall. An alternative way of improving the hydrophilicity of MWNTs is through coating of polydopamine (Pdop), where MWNT wall damage is avoided. In the present study, polydopamine-coating on MWNT is carried out at pH 8.5 and at room temperature (23-25. °C). Different concentrations (0.1-0.5 wt%) of Pdop-MWNTs were incorporated into polysulfone (Psf) membranes fabricated by phase inversion. The results showed that the incorporation of Pdop-coated MWNTs has increased the membrane permeability using BSA solution (1000 ppm) by 19-50% depending on the amount of Pdop-MWNTs in the membrane, and has maintained good rejection performances (99.88%). Moreover, the antifouling properties of the nanocomposite membranes were also improved. Here, the optimum dose was determined to be 0.1. wt% of Pdop-MWNTs. Furthermore, even though the Pdop-MWNT/Psf membranes showed lower permeability than acid-MWNT/Psf membrane, the Pdop-MWNT/Psf membrane obtained higher mechanical strength and would be potentially sustainable for a long term ultrafiltration operation.

Silitonga, AS, Masjuki, HH, Ong, HC, Kusumo, F, Mahlia, TMI & Bahar, AH 2016, 'Pilot-scale production and the physicochemical properties of palm and Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesels and their blends', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 126, pp. 654-666.
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Biodiesel production has grown rapidly in response to the escalating price of fossil fuels in the last 20 years. Biodiesels appear to be one of the solutions to fulfil the increasing energy demands of the transportation sector since it can be used as substitutes of diesel in diesel engines without the need to modify the engines. The aim of this study is to evaluate the properties of biodiesels produced from crude palm and Calophyllum inophyllum oils using a pilot plant. A 50 L stainless steel jacketed reactor pilot plant is built to convert crude palm oil into palm methyl ester using transesterification process whereas crude C. inophyllum oil is processed using acid-catalysed esterification followed by alkaline-catalysed transesterification. The properties of the palm and C. inophyllum methyl esters are characterized according to the American society for testing and materials (ASTM) D6751 and European standard (EN) 14214 standards. In a latter section of this study, the palm and C. inophyllum methyl esters are blended with diesel fuel using different volume ratios. The oxidation stability of these blends is evaluated for two storage conditions for 90 days: (1) vacuum chamber and (2) room temperature. The oxidation stability of these blends is maintained for more than 12 h for 90 days when the fuels are stored in the vacuum chamber, which fulfils the biodiesel standards. Based on the results, both crude palm and C. inophyllum oils are potential feedstocks for industrial-scale biodiesel production and the biodiesels can likely replace diesel fuel in the future.

Silitonga, AS, Masjuki, HH, Ong, HC, Yusaf, T, Kusumo, F & Mahlia, TMI 2016, 'Synthesis and optimization of Hevea brasiliensis and Ricinus communis as feedstock for biodiesel production: A comparative study', Industrial Crops and Products, vol. 85, pp. 274-286.
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Biodiesel from non-edible seeds has attracted the attention of the authors to investigate Hevea brasiliensis (HB) and Ricinus communis (RC) as potential feedstocks. Biodiesel production was carried out using esterification-neutralization-transesterification (ENT) process. The transesterification process was carried out under variation methanol to oil molar ratio, catalyst concentration, reaction temperature, reaction time and speed agitation. On top of that, optimization was evaluated using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and a quadratic polynomial model for ENT method. The optimization results show that production biodiesel from HBME and RCME with ENT method were 99.32% and 99.07% respectively. All the properties measured for produced methyl ester met in ASTMD 6751. Moreover, the presence of ricinoleic (α-elaeostearic) in RCME can improve the cold point, pour point and cold filter plugging point, which resulted in −40.4°C, −27.8°C and −35.0°C respectively. The results of the cold flow properties are better due to higher unsaturated fatty acid concentration. It is indicates that RCME has good performance during cold weather engine operation. It short, biodiesel production using ENT method can produce high methyl ester yield and good biodiesel properties.

Sivagurunathan, P, Kumar, G, Kim, S-H, Kobayashi, T, Xu, K-Q, Guo, W & Hao Ngo, H 2016, 'Enhancement Strategies for Hydrogen Production from Wastewater: A Review', Current Organic Chemistry, vol. 20, no. 26, pp. 2744-2752.
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Siyahghalati, S, Saraf, AK, Pradhan, B, Jebur, MN & tehrany, MS 2016, 'Rule-based semi-automated approach for the detection of landslides induced by 18 September 2011 Sikkim, Himalaya, earthquake using IRS LISS3 satellite images', Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 326-344.
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Landslide is considered as one of the most devastating and most costly natural hazards in highlands, which is triggered mainly by rainfalls or earthquakes. In comparison with other methods, landslide mapping and monitoring via remote sensing data products are considered as the least expensive method of data collection. The current research attempts to detect landslides which occurred due to a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in Sikkim Himalaya, India, on 18 September 2011 and also to establish the spatial relationship between landslides and the slope of the terrain. To detect the landslides, decision tree method was applied on two Indian remote sensing satellites linear imaging self-scanning sensor (LISS III) images acquired from 2007 and 2011 which were taken before and after the earthquake. As the study area was relatively huge for identifying the landslides, the region was separated into two parts: “tested study area” and “real study area”. The overall accuracy of landslide detection was 76%, and 75% for tested and real study area, respectively. Then, the spatial relationship between the landslides and the slope of the terrain was conducted using the digital elevation model. The results revealed that most of the landslides occurred between the slope of 25° and 45° covering 2.3 km2 and no landslide recorded in the slope of 65°–90° in the real study area. The results obtained in this study may be useful for decision-making and policy support towards reconstruction effort after the landslide occurrence. In addition, the information can be useful for reducing the risk of potential damages to substructures and properties by developing new and efficient strategies.

Song, K, Zhou, X, Liu, Y, Gong, Y, Zhou, B, Wang, D & Wang, Q 2016, 'Role of oxidants in enhancing dewaterability of anaerobically digested sludge through Fe (II) activated oxidation processes: hydrogen peroxide versus persulfate', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 24800.
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AbstractImproving dewaterability of sludge is important for the disposal of sludge in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This study, for the first time, investigated the Fe(II) activated oxidization processes in improving anaerobically digested sludge (ADS) dewaterability. The combination of Fe(II) (0–100 mg/g total solids (TS)) and persulfate (0–1,000 mg/g TS) under neutral pH as well as the combination of Fe(II) (0–100 mg/g TS) and hydrogen peroxide (HP) (0–1,000 mg/g TS) under pH 3.0 were used to examine and compare their effect on the ADS dewaterability enhancement. The highest ADS dewaterability enhancement was attained at 25 mg Fe(II)/g TS and 50 mg HP/g TS, when the CST (CST: the capillary suction time, a sludge dewaterability indicator) was reduced by 95%. In contrast, the highest CST reduction in Fe(II)-persulfate conditioning was 90%, which was obtained at 50 mg Fe(II)/g TS and 250 mg persulfate/g TS. The results showed that Fe(II)-HP conditioning was comparable with Fe(II)-persulfate conditioning in terms of highest CST reduction. Economic analysis suggested that the Fe(II)-HP conditioning was more promising for improving ADS dewaterability compared with Fe(II)-persulfate conditioning, with the saving being up to $65,000 per year in a WWTP with a population equivalent of 100,000.

Song, K, Zhou, X, Liu, Y, Xie, G-J, Wang, D, Zhang, T, Liu, C, Liu, P, Zhou, B & Wang, Q 2016, 'Improving dewaterability of anaerobically digested sludge by combination of persulfate and zero valent iron', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 295, pp. 436-442.
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Biological wastewater treatment process generates large amounts of sludge, the treatment and disposal of which incur substantial costs. Enhancement of sludge dewaterability is of great importance for decreasing the sludge disposal cost in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). This study proposes an innovative conditioning approach to improve the dewaterability of the anaerobically digested sludge (ADS) collected from a full-scale WWTP for the first time. The ADS dewaterability was significantly improved in the presence of persulfate (0-1.0 g/g TS; TS: total solids) and zero valent iron (ZVI) (0-4.0 g/g TS) at neutral pH. The largest improvement of ADS dewaterability was obtained at 2.0 g ZVI/g TS and 0.5 g persulfate/g TS, under which the capillary suction time (an indicator of sludge dewaterability) was decreased by approximately 90%. Compared with the traditional Fenton process (Fe2+ + H2O2 at pH 2.0), economic analysis indicated that the ZVI-persulfate conditioning process is more economically attractive for enhancing ADS dewaterability.

Song, X, McDonald, J, Price, WE, Khan, SJ, Hai, FI, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Effects of salinity build-up on the performance of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor regarding basic water quality parameters and removal of trace organic contaminants', Bioresource Technology, vol. 216, pp. 399-405.
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Sornalingam, K, McDonagh, A & Zhou, JL 2016, 'Photodegradation of estrogenic endocrine disrupting steroidal hormones in aqueous systems: Progress and future challenges', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 550, pp. 209-224.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. This article reviews different photodegradation technologies used for the removal of four endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs): estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). The degradation efficiency is greater under UV than visible light; and increases with light intensity up to when mass transfer becomes the rate limiting step. Substantial rates are observed in the environmentally relevant range of pH7-8, though higher rates are obtained for pH above the pKa (~10.4) of the EDCs. The effects of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on EDC photodegradation are complex with both positive and negative impacts being reported. TiO2 remains the best catalyst due to its superior activity, chemical and photo stability, cheap commercial availability, capacity to function at ambient conditions and low toxicity. The optimum TiO2 loading is 0.05-1gl-1, while higher loadings have negative impact on EDC removal. The suspended catalysts prove to be more efficient in photocatalysis compared to the immobilised catalysts, while the latter are considered more suitable for commercial scale applications. Photodegradation mostly follows 1st or pseudo 1st order kinetics. Photodegradation typically eradicates or moderates estrogenic activity, though some intermediates are found to exhibit higher estrogenicity than the parent EDCs; the persistence of estrogenic activity is mainly attributed to the presence of the phenolic moiety in intermediates.

Sorourian, S, Keshavarzi, A & Ball, JE 2016, 'Scour at partially blocked box-culverts under steady flow', Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Water Management, vol. 169, no. 6, pp. 247-259.
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Culverts are built at locations where a waterway crosses a road or railway and creates a limitation to flow passage. Furthermore, blockage commonly occurs during flood events with accumulation of debris at the culvert inlet. The inlet blockage changes the flow structure at the outlet and may result in culvert failure. Despite this, the impacts of blockage on culvert hydraulics and downstream waterways have not received consideration in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to mitigate this deficiency by reporting on an investigation into scouring at the outlet of partially blocked culverts. Experimental tests were conducted under steady flow to investigate a relationship between the maximum scour depth, blockage ratio of the culvert and the flow characteristics. Both non-blocked and partially blocked conditions were considered. Consideration of the results obtained showed that the scoured area and maximum scour depth increased with partially blocked culverts conditions compared with equivalent non-blocked culverts.

Sounthararajah, DP, Loganathan, P, Kandasamy, J & Vigneswaran, S 2016, 'Column studies on the removal of dissolved organic carbon, turbidity and heavy metals from stormwater using granular activated carbon', DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT, vol. 57, no. 11, pp. 5045-5055.
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© 2014 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. Stormwater pollutants have the capacity to damage aquatic environments if they are discharged untreated. Suspended solids (turbidity), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and heavy metals removal from stormwater were investigated in batch and fixed-bed column experiments. Field studies revealed that turbidity and DOC in stormwater were effectively removed at filtration velocities of 5, 10 and 11.5 m/h using a 100 cm high granular activated carbon (GAC) filter column. At the higher filtration velocities of 10 and 11.5 m/h, adding a pre-treatment 100 cm high anthracite filter column further improved DOC and turbidity removal. Batch and column laboratory adsorption experiments at pH 6.5–7.2 using GAC showed that the order of removal efficiency for solutions containing single and mixed metals was Pb, Cu > Zn > Ni, Cd. This order was related to the solubility product and first hydrolysis constants of these metals’ hydroxides. This study confirmed that GAC filter is effective in removing turbidity, DOC and heavy metals from stormwater.

Spérandio, M, Pocquet, M, Guo, L, Ni, B-J, Vanrolleghem, PA & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Evaluation of different nitrous oxide production models with four continuous long-term wastewater treatment process data series', Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 493-510.
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Five activated sludge models describing N2O production by ammonium oxidising bacteria (AOB) were compared to four different long-term process data sets. Each model considers one of the two known N2O production pathways by AOB, namely the AOB denitrification pathway and the hydroxylamine oxidation pathway, with specific kinetic expressions. Satisfactory calibration could be obtained in most cases, but none of the models was able to describe all the N2O data obtained in the different systems with a similar parameter set. Variability of the parameters can be related to difficulties related to undescribed local concentration heterogeneities, physiological adaptation of micro-organisms, a microbial population switch, or regulation between multiple AOB pathways. This variability could be due to a dependence of the N2O production pathways on the nitrite (or free nitrous acid-FNA) concentrations and other operational conditions in different systems. This work gives an overview of the potentialities and limits of single AOB pathway models. Indicating in which condition each single pathway model is likely to explain the experimental observations, this work will also facilitate future work on models in which the two main N2O pathways active in AOB are represented together.

Stewart, MG 2016, 'Climate change impact assessment of metal-clad buildings subject to extreme wind loading in non-cyclonic regions', Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure, vol. 1, no. 1-2, pp. 32-45.
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A risk assessment is conducted to assess the risks and economic impact of roof cladding wind damage for low rise metal-clad industrial and commercial buildings located in non-cyclonic regions of Australia. Roof cover loss includes structural, interior, contents and business interruption losses. The economic risks are calculated as the product of hazard likelihood, fragility, and loss, over the 50-year design life of metal-clad buildings representative of new construction and designed to be nominally sealed. The analysis includes time-dependent changes in wind patterns due to a changing climate. The climate adaptation (or risk mitigation) strategy examined is a change to the Australian National Construction Code requiring that all roller, sectional or large access doors for metal-clad buildings in non-cyclonic regions of Australia be wind-rated according to Australian Standards. It was found that a wind-rated door reduces damage risk by 15–35%. Specifying wind-rated doors for all new construction in non-cyclonic regions enhances resilience and is cost-effective if the additional cost per building is less than $10,000. Climate change has a minor effect on the cost-effectiveness of wind-rated doors.

Stewart, MG & Reid, S 2016, 'Decision-making in a changing climate', Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 431-431.
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Stewart, MG, Foster, S, Ahammed, M & Sirivivatnanon, V 2016, 'Calibration of Australian Standard AS3600 concrete structures part II: reliability indices and changes to capacity reduction factors', Australian Journal of Structural Engineering, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 254-266.
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© 2016 Engineers Australia. Capacity reduction factors (ϕ) for flexure, shear and axial loadings are derived for reinforced concrete (RC) structures based on a reliability-based calibration of the Australian Concrete Structures Standard AS3600. The structural reliability analysis considers the bias and variability of material properties, dimensions, loads and model error. The target reliabilities (βT) are selected based on consideration of past practice and Australian and international standards. The capacity reduction factors (ϕ) for the new code AS3600-2009 are selected using the most recent statistical parameters for material strengths for 20–100 MPa strength concrete using Class N (ductile) 500N reinforcement. The reliability-based calibration found that the ϕ-factor can be increased from 0.80 to 0.85 for members in bending, and increased from 0.60 to 0.65 for axial loading of short (stocky) columns where the ratio of the live load to the dead load is at least 0.25. No changes are recommended for shear or torsion, at this time, or for slender columns; further research is needed to better refine the design models for these cases and reduce the variation in their model error. The proposed increases in capacity reduction factors will result in up to an 8.3% increase in design strength that, in turn, provides efficiency in the use of materials. The proposed changes provide for modest savings in greenhouse gas emissions.

Stewart, MG, Ryan, PC, Henderson, DJ & Ginger, JD 2016, 'Fragility analysis of roof damage to industrial buildings subject to extreme wind loading in non-cyclonic regions', Engineering Structures, vol. 128, pp. 333-343.
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A fragility analysis is conducted for loss of roof cladding for low rise metal-clad industrial buildings located in non-cyclonic regions of Australia. The stochastic analysis includes possible component and connection failures, load redistribution based on progressive failure, spatial distribution of wind load, and internal pressure variation caused by roof sheeting failure. This spatial and time-dependent reliability analysis will enable fragility curves to be developed that relate likelihood and extent of roof cover damage with wind speed. Industrial buildings representative of new construction in the Australian cities of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne are considered. Fragility functions are proposed for industrial buildings designed and constructed to existing codes, and also for improperly designed or constructed buildings where a roller door or other dominant opening prematurely fails during a storm for a building designed as nominally sealed. It was found that damage risks double if a roller door or other dominant opening prematurely fails during a storm.

Su, S, NuLi, Y, Huang, Z, Miao, Q, Yang, J & Wang, J 2016, 'A High-Performance Rechargeable Mg²⁺/Li⁺ Hybrid Battery Using One-Dimensional Mesoporous TiO₂(B) Nanoflakes as the Cathode', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 8, no. 11, pp. 7111-7117.
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Mg(2+)/Li(+) hybrid batteries have recently been constructed combining a Mg anode, a Li(+)-intercalation electrode, and an electrolyte containing both Mg(2+) and Li(+). These batteries have been reported to outperform all the previously reported magnesium batteries in terms of specific capacity, cycling stability, and rate capability. Herein, we report the outstanding electrochemical performance of Mg(2+)/Li(+) hybrid batteries consisting of a one-dimensional mesoporous TiO2(B) cathode, a Mg anode, and an electrolyte consisting of 0.5 mol L(-1) Mg(BH4)2 + 1.5 mol L(-1) LiBH4 in tetraglyme. A highly synergetic interaction between Li(+) and Mg(2+) ions toward the pseudo-capacitive reaction is proposed. The hybrid batteries show superior rate performance with 130 mAh g(-1) at 1 C and 115 mAh g(-1) at 2 C, together with excellent cyclability up to 6000 cycles.

Su, Y, Li, J, Wu, C, Wu, P & Li, Z-X 2016, 'Effects of steel fibres on dynamic strength of UHPC', Construction and Building Materials, vol. 114, pp. 708-718.
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In modern civil engineering, steel fibres are widely used as reinforcement in the design of high performance concrete material. The addition of steel fibres in the concrete matrix can greatly improve the material ductility and durability as well as the impact and abrasion resistance. The performance of steel fibre reinforced concrete changes with varying concretes, fibre geometries, distribution, orientation and densities. In the recent study, an innovative ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) material with nano-material addition is developed. In the mix design of this UHPC material, steel fibre is taken as an important composite. Great improvement of static compressive strength and split tensile strength had been obtained. In the current research, Split-Hopkinson-Pressure-Bar (SHPB) tests are conducted on this UHPC material to investigate its dynamic properties. Different types of steel fibres including two kinds of micro fibres and two kinds of twisted fibres are mixed in the UHPC. In total, 80 UHPC samples were tested in Swinburne University of Technology in 2011 and 190 specimens were tested in the Central South University of China in 2013. The influence of steel fibre addition on the dynamic strength of UHPC is experimentally investigated. It is found that steel fibre additions have prominent influence on the concrete dynamic strength, however, Dynamic Increase Factors (DIF) of steel fibre reinforced UHPC are constantly lower than that of conventional concrete material.

Su, Y, Li, J, Wu, C, Wu, P & Li, Z-X 2016, 'Influences of nano-particles on dynamic strength of ultra-high performance concrete', Composites Part B: Engineering, vol. 91, pp. 595-609.
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Known for its high strength, ductility and durability, ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a topic of interest in recent years for scientists and civil engineers. Great potential application of UHPC has driven increasingly more investments and research into this industry. In recent studies, taken advantage of the nanotechnology, novel UHPC material with nano material addition was developed. Great static performance improvement was observed when compared with normal strength concrete. To obtain full understanding of material properties, especially dynamic performance, Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) tests were conducted on this new concrete material. For comparison purpose, static properties from uniaxial compression and split tensile tests are obtained and discussed. In this paper, effects of nanomaterials on behaviour of UHPC are assessed through group comparison. Dynamic increase factor (DIF) values for both the dynamic compressive strength and tensile strength are generated. It is found that the strength of UHPC increases with the rising of strain rates and dosage of nano material influences UHPC dynamic properties. However, UHPC is noted to be less rate sensitive comparing with normal strength concrete. Microscopy analysis including Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Analysis, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) Analysis and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analysis are conducted to understand the macroscopic failure phenomenon, element composition and concrete hydration process.

Subhani, M, Li, J & Samali, B 2016, 'Separation of longitudinal and flexural wave in a cylindrical structure based on sensor arrangement for non-destructive evaluation', Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 411-427.
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© 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Low strain integrity testing is commonly used to assess the in situ condition of the poles or piles. For poles, it is important to calculate the embedment length and location of damage which is highly influenced by the accurate determination of the wave velocity. In general, depending on impact location and orientation, both longitudinal and bending waves may generate inside the pole, and these two waves have very distinct characteristics and wave velocity. These differences are even more prominent in the low frequency which is usually induced in the low strain non-destructive testing. Consequently, it will be useful if these two waves can be separated for the condition assessment of the poles. In this paper, a numerical analysis is performed on a pole considering that both waves are generated, and a method is proposed to differentiate these two waves based on an appropriate sensor arrangement that includes the location and the orientation of the sensors. Continuous wavelet transform is applied on the numerical signal to calculate the phase velocity of the waves and compared with analytical phase velocity curves. From the results, it can be seen that appropriate location and orientation of the sensors can separate the longitudinal and flexural waves as they match significantly well with the corresponding analytical phase velocity curves of these two waves.

Subhani, M, Li, J, Samali, B & Crews, K 2016, 'Reducing the effect of wave dispersion in a timber pole based on transversely isotropic material modelling', Construction and Building Materials, vol. 102, pp. 985-998.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Round timbers are used for telecommunication and power distribution networks, jetties, piles, short span bridges etc. To assess the condition of these cylindrical shape timber structures, bulk and elementary wave theory are usually used. Even though guided wave can represents the actual wave behaviour, a great deal complexity exists to model stress wave propagation within an orthotropic media, such as timber. In this paper, timber is modelled as transversely isotropic material without compromising the accuracy to a great extent. Dispersion curves and mode shapes are used to propose an experimental set up in terms of the input frequency and bandwidth of the signal, the orientation of the sensor and the distance between the sensors in order to reduce the effect of the dispersion in the output signal. Some example based on the simulated signal is also discussed to evaluate the proposed experimental set up.

Sun, G, Jiang, H, Fang, J, Li, G & Li, Q 2016, 'Crashworthiness of vertex based hierarchical honeycombs in out-of-plane impact', Materials & Design, vol. 110, pp. 705-719.
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As a class of widely observed materials in nature, hierarchical micro structures maybe of superior mechanical properties. In this study, we incorporate the concept of hierarchy into honeycomb structures for enhancing their crashworthiness performance. Hierarchical honeycombs are constructed by replacing every vertex of a regular hexagonal network with a smaller hexagon topology and repeating this process for constructing fractal-appearing honeycombs with higher order of structural hierarchy. To examine the crashing characteristics the hierarchical honeycombs with the first-order and second-order structures were investigated under an out of the cross-sectional plane loading. A parametric study on structural variables (γ1, γ2) which are defined by γi = Li / L0 (L0 is the edge length of regular honeycomb cell, Li is the edge length of i-th order hexagon in hierarchical honeycombs) and oblique-wall angles θ which is defined by the angle of oblique-wall edge to the vertical direction are undertaken with three different densities. A comparison between regular honeycombs and hierarchical honeycombs was conducted. The results showed that the out-of-plane energy absorption of the first-order hierarchical honeycombs with 0.04 ≤ γ1 ≤ 0.2 and the second-order hierarchical honeycombs with 0.15 ≤ γ1 ≤ 0.2 and 0.04 ≤ γ2 ≤ 0.08, as well as the hierarchical honeycombs with oblique-wall angle θ from 30° to 50° have better overall performance. Further, it was found that the specific energy absorptions (SEA) of the first-order hierarchy with γ1 = 0.08 and the second-order hierarchy with γ1 = 0.20, γ2 = 0.06 were improved about 81.3% and 185.7%, respectively. Moreover, their corresponding peak forces (Pmax) do not increase much compared with the regular honeycomb under the same density, indicating that hierarchical honeycombs can be an ideal lightweight structure for designing crashworthy structures.

Sun, J, Dai, X, Wang, Q, Pan, Y & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Modelling Methane Production and Sulfate Reduction in Anaerobic Granular Sludge Reactor with Ethanol as Electron Donor', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 35312.
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AbstractIn this work, a mathematical model based on growth kinetics of microorganisms and substrates transportation through biofilms was developed to describe methane production and sulfate reduction with ethanol being a key electron donor. The model was calibrated and validated using experimental data from two case studies conducted in granule-based Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket reactors. The results suggest that the developed model could satisfactorily describe methane and sulfide productions as well as ethanol and sulfate removals in both systems. The modeling results reveal a stratified distribution of methanogenic archaea, sulfate-reducing bacteria and fermentative bacteria in the anaerobic granular sludge and the relative abundances of these microorganisms vary with substrate concentrations. It also indicates sulfate-reducing bacteria can successfully outcompete fermentative bacteria for ethanol utilization when COD/SO42− ratio reaches 0.5. Model simulation suggests that an optimal granule diameter for the maximum methane production efficiency can be achieved while the sulfate reduction efficiency is not significantly affected by variation in granule size. It also indicates that the methane production and sulfate reduction can be affected by ethanol and sulfate loading rates, and the microbial community development stage in the reactor, which provided comprehensive insights into the system for its practical operation.

Sun, Q, Indraratna, B & Nimbalkar, S 2016, 'An Elasto-plastic Method for Analysing the Deformation of the Railway Ballast', Procedia Engineering, vol. 143, pp. 954-960.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.In this study, a series of monotonically drained triaxial tests were conducted using the large-scale cylindrical triaxial apparatus. The effect of particle breakage and confining pressure on the mechanical behaviour of ballast were investigated. Based on the experimental findings, mathematical expressions for critical state stress ratio and specific volume are proposed to incorporate the evolution of particle breakage during monotonic shearing. An elasto-plastic constitutive model is formulated within the critical state soil mechanics framework in order to capture the stress-strain behaviour and degradation of ballast. The non-linear variation of shear strength envelope at a given range of confining pressures is taken into account. Mathematical expressions for shear hardening and stress-dilatancy relations are proposed. The constitutive model is calibrated against the results of large-scale laboratory tests and further validated using experimental results available from past independent studies. It is proved that the proposed method can promisingly predict the deformation of the ballast layer in a typical railway environment.

Sun, QD, Indraratna, B & Nimbalkar, S 2016, 'Deformation and Degradation Mechanisms of Railway Ballast under High Frequency Cyclic Loading', Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, vol. 142, no. 1, pp. 04015056-04015056.
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Surawski, NC, Sullivan, AL, Roxburgh, SH & Polglase, PJ 2016, 'Estimates of greenhouse gas and black carbon emissions from a major Australian wildfire with high spatiotemporal resolution', JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES, vol. 121, no. 16, pp. 9892-9907.
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© 2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Estimates of greenhouse gases and particulate emissions are made with a high spatiotemporal resolution from the Kilmore East fire in Victoria, Australia, which burnt approximately 100,000 ha over a 12 h period. Altogether, 10,175 Gigagrams (Gg) of CO 2 equivalent (CO 2 -e) emissions occurred, with CO 2 (~68%) being the dominant chemical species emitted followed by CH 4 (~17%) and black carbon (BC) (~15%). About 63% of total CO 2 -e emissions were estimated to be from coarse woody debris, 22% were from surface fuels, 7% from bark, 6% from elevated fuels, and less than 2% from tree crown consumption. To assess the quality of our emissions estimates, we compared our results with previous estimates which used the Global Fire Emissions Database version 3.1 (GFED v3.1 ) and the Fire INventory from the National Center for Atmospheric Research version 1.0 (FINNv1), as well as Australia’s National Inventory System (and its revision). The uncertainty in emission estimates was addressed using truncated Monte Carlo analysis, which derived a probability density function for total emissions from the uncertainties in each input. The distribution of emission estimates from Monte Carlo analysis was lognormal with a mean of 10,355 Gigagrams (Gg) and a ±1 standard deviation (σ) uncertainty range of 7260-13,450 Gg. Results were in good agreement with the global data sets (when using the same burnt area), although they predicted lower total emissions by 15-37% due to underestimating fuel consumed. Emissions estimates can be improved by obtaining better estimates of fuel consumed and BC emission factors. Overall, this study presents a methodological template for high-resolution emissions accounting and its uncertainty, enabling a step toward process-based emissions accounting to be achieved.

Surawski, NC, Sullivan, AL, Roxburgh, SH, Meyer, CPM & Polglase, PJ 2016, 'Incorrect interpretation of carbon mass balance biases global vegetation fire emission estimates', NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, vol. 7.
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© 2016, Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Vegetation fires are a complex phenomenon in the Earth system with many global impacts, including influences on global climate. Estimating carbon emissions from vegetation fires relies on a carbon mass balance technique that has evolved with two different interpretations. Databases of global vegetation fire emissions use an approach based on 'consumed biomass', which is an approximation to the biogeochemically correct 'burnt carbon' approach. Here we show that applying the 'consumed biomass' approach to global emissions from vegetation fires leads to annual overestimates of carbon emitted to the atmosphere by 4.0% or 100 Tg compared with the 'burnt carbon' approach. The required correction is significant and represents ∼9% of the net global forest carbon sink estimated annually. Vegetation fire emission studies should use the 'burnt carbon' approach to quantify and understand the role of this burnt carbon, which is not emitted to the atmosphere, as a sink enriched in carbon.

Tan, S, Cui, J, Fu, Q, Nam, E, Ladewig, K, Ren, JM, Wong, EHH, Caruso, F, Blencowe, A & Qiao, GG 2016, 'Photocontrolled Cargo Release from Dual Cross-Linked Polymer Particles', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 8, no. 9, pp. 6219-6228.
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Burst release of a payload from polymeric particles upon photoirradiation was engineered by altering the cross-linking density. This was achieved via a dual cross-linking concept whereby noncovalent cross-linking was provided by cyclodextrin host-guest interactions, and irreversible covalent cross-linking was mediated by continuous assembly of polymers (CAP). The dual cross-linked particles (DCPs) were efficiently infiltrated (∼80-93%) by the biomacromolecule dextran (molecular weight up to 500 kDa) to provide high loadings (70-75%). Upon short exposure (5 s) to UV light, the noncovalent cross-links were disrupted resulting in increased permeability and burst release of the cargo (50 mol % within 1 s) as visualized by time-lapse fluorescence microscopy. As sunlight contains UV light at low intensities, the particles can potentially be incorporated into systems used in agriculture, environmental control, and food packaging, whereby sunlight could control the release of nutrients and antimicrobial agents.

Tang, J, Huang, Y, Gong, Y, Lyu, H, Wang, Q & Ma, J 2016, 'Preparation of a novel graphene oxide/Fe-Mn composite and its application for aqueous Hg(II) removal', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 316, pp. 151-158.
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A novel graphene oxide/Fe-Mn (GO/Fe-Mn) composite was synthesized (molar ratio of Fe/Mn=3/1 and mass ratio of Fe/GO=1/7.5) and investigated for the sorption characteristics and mechanisms of aqueous mercury (Hg(2+)) as well as the biological effects to wheat and rice. Characterization tests showed that Fe-Mn oxides were impregnated onto GO sheets in an amorphous form through oxygen-containing functional groups (i.e., CO, epoxy COC, carboxyl OCO, and CO) and π-π interactions. GO/Fe-Mn possessed large surface area, surface enhanced Raman scattering with more sp(3) defects, and greater thermal stability than GO. XPS analysis revealed that Fe2O3, FeOOH, MnO2, MnOOH, and MnO were the dominant metal oxides in GO/Fe-Mn. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Sips isotherm model fitted well with the sorption kinetic and isotherm data. The maximum sorption capacity for mercury was 32.9mg/g. Ligand exchange and surface complexation were the dominant mechanisms for mercury removal. GO/Fe-Mn greatly reduced the bioavailability of mercury to wheat and rice, even promoted the seedling growth. This work suggests that GO/Fe-Mn can be used as an effective and environmental-friendly adsorbent in heavy metal remediation.

Tang, Z, Zhang, L, Wan, L, Huang, Z, Liu, H, Guo, Z & Yu, X 2016, 'Regeneration of alkaline metal amidoboranes with high purity', International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 407-412.
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In this manuscript, we report a facile and safe process for highly efficient regeneration of dehydrogenated alkaline metal amidoboranes (MNH2BH3, MAB, M = Li, K), in which CH3OH is employed as a digestion reagent; then LiAlH4 is used as a reduction reagent in the presence of NH4Cl giving ammonia borane (NH3BH3, AB) as the intermediate; finally the generated AB reacts with corresponding metal hydride to complete the whole self-contained cycle. Using this chemical process, MABs are reproduced in a high purity of 98%. The byproducts of regeneration procedure can be converted to mass commodity chemicals as recyclable auxiliary reagents utilizing the recycling pathways. More importantly, our finding of successful scission of dehydrogenated polymeric MAB residues into small molecule B species that guarantees to facilitate the following regeneration process, provides a general strategy for the efficient regeneration for other MAB compounds and a potentially viable route for the chemical recycling of metal-B-N containing hydrogen storage materials.

Thirukumaran, S & Indraratna, B 2016, 'A review of shear strength models for rock joints subjected to constant normal stiffness', Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 405-414.
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The typical shear behaviour of rough joints has been studied under constant normal load/stress (CNL) boundary conditions, but recent studies have shown that this boundary condition may not replicate true practical situations. Constant normal stiffness (CNS) is more appropriate to describe the stress-strain response of field joints since the CNS boundary condition is more realistic than CNL. The practical implications of CNS are movements of unstable blocks in the roof or walls of an underground excavation, reinforced rock wedges sliding in a rock slope or foundation, and the vertical movement of rock-socketed concrete piles. In this paper, the highlights and limitations of the existing models used to predict the shear strength/behaviour of joints under CNS conditions are discussed in depth.

Thirukumaran, S, Indraratna, B, Brown, ET & Kaiser, PK 2016, 'Stability of a Rock Block in a Tunnel Roof Under Constant Normal Stiffness Conditions', Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 1587-1593.
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Tien Bui, D, Ho, T-C, Pradhan, B, Pham, B-T, Nhu, V-H & Revhaug, I 2016, 'GIS-based modeling of rainfall-induced landslides using data mining-based functional trees classifier with AdaBoost, Bagging, and MultiBoost ensemble frameworks', Environmental Earth Sciences, vol. 75, no. 14, p. 1101.
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Tien Bui, D, Pradhan, B, Nampak, H, Bui, Q-T, Tran, Q-A & Nguyen, Q-P 2016, 'Hybrid artificial intelligence approach based on neural fuzzy inference model and metaheuristic optimization for flood susceptibilitgy modeling in a high-frequency tropical cyclone area using GIS', Journal of Hydrology, vol. 540, pp. 317-330.
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This paper proposes a new artificial intelligence approach based on neural fuzzy inference system and metaheuristic optimization for flood susceptibility modeling, namely MONF. In the new approach, the neural fuzzy inference system was used to create an initial flood susceptibility model and then the model was optimized using two metaheuristic algorithms, Evolutionary Genetic and Particle Swarm Optimization. A high-frequency tropical cyclone area of the Tuong Duong district in Central Vietnam was used as a case study. First, a GIS database for the study area was constructed. The database that includes 76 historical flood inundated areas and ten flood influencing factors was used to develop and validate the proposed model. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, and area under the ROC curve (AUC) were used to assess the model performance and its prediction capability. Experimental results showed that the proposed model has high performance on both the training (RMSE = 0.306, MAE = 0.094, AUC = 0.962) and validation dataset (RMSE = 0.362, MAE = 0.130, AUC = 0.911). The usability of the proposed model was evaluated by comparing with those obtained from state-of-the art benchmark soft computing techniques such as J48 Decision Tree, Random Forest, Multi-layer Perceptron Neural Network, Support Vector Machine, and Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System. The results show that the proposed MONF model outperforms the above benchmark models; we conclude that the MONF model is a new alternative tool that should be used in flood susceptibility mapping. The result in this study is useful for planners and decision makers for sustainable management of flood-prone areas.

Tien Bui, D, Tuan, TA, Klempe, H, Pradhan, B & Revhaug, I 2016, 'Spatial prediction models for shallow landslide hazards: a comparative assessment of the efficacy of support vector machines, artificial neural networks, kernel logistic regression, and logistic model tree', Landslides, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 361-378.
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Preparation of landslide susceptibility maps is considered as the first important step in landslide risk assessments, but these maps are accepted as an end product that can be used for land use planning. The main objective of this study is to explore some new state-of-the-art sophisticated machine learning techniques and introduce a framework for training and validation of shallow landslide susceptibility models by using the latest statistical methods. The Son La hydropower basin (Vietnam) was selected as a case study. First, a landslide inventory map was constructed using the historical landslide locations from two national projects in Vietnam. A total of 12 landslide conditioning factors were then constructed from various data sources. Landslide locations were randomly split into a ratio of 70:30 for training and validating the models. To choose the best subset of conditioning factors, predictive ability of the factors were assessed using the Information Gain Ratio with 10-fold cross-validation technique. Factors with null predictive ability were removed to optimize the models. Subsequently, five landslide models were built using support vector machines (SVM), multi-layer perceptron neural networks (MLP Neural Nets), radial basis function neural networks (RBF Neural Nets), kernel logistic regression (KLR), and logistic model trees (LMT). The resulting models were validated and compared using the receive operating characteristic (ROC), Kappa index, and several statistical evaluation measures. Additionally, Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were applied to confirm significant statistical differences among the five machine learning models employed in this study. Overall, the MLP Neural Nets model has the highest prediction capability (90.2 %), followed by the SVM model (88.7 %) and the KLR model (87.9 %), the RBF Neural Nets model (87.1 %), and the LMT model (86.1 %). Results revealed that both the KLR and the LMT models showed promising methods fo...

Tijing, LD, Woo, YC, Shim, W-G, He, T, Choi, J-S, Kim, S-H & Shon, HK 2016, 'Superhydrophobic nanofiber membrane containing carbon nanotubes for high-performance direct contact membrane distillation', JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE, vol. 502, pp. 158-170.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Tailoring the membrane to have superhydrophobicity, coupled with high porosity, adequate pore sizes and narrow pore size distribution, and thin thickness could find potential application for high-performing direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process. Electrospinning is an excellent approach in fabricating nanofiber membranes with adequate properties required of an MD membrane. In this study, superhydrophobic, robust, mixed matrix polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PcH) nanofiber membranes were fabricated incorporating different concentrations (1-5wt%) of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as nanofillers to impart additional mechanical and hydrophobic properties. The electrospun membrane has been designed to have two cohesive layers, a thin CNT/PcH top layer and a thick neat PcH bottom layer. Through different characterization techniques, CNTs were found to be widely distributed on/in the nanofibers, where more beads-on-string were formed at higher CNT content. However, the beads-on-string did not significantly affect the membrane porosity and pore size, as well as did not degrade the MD performance. Highly-porous structure was observed for all membranes and the nanofiber membrane showed comparable pore sizes with a commercial flat-sheet PVDF membrane but at a much higher porosity (>85%). The contact angle increased to superhydrophobic at 158.5° upon the incorporation of 5wt% CNTs in the nanofiber due to increased roughness and added effect of hydrophobic CNTs. The liquid entry pressure also increased when 5wt% CNT was added compared to the neat PcH nanofiber membrane. The resulting flux of the 5wt% CNT-incorporated nanofiber membrane (24-29.5L/m2h) was consistently higher than the commercial PVDF membrane (18-18.5L/m2h), with an average increase of 33-59% depending on the feed water type (35 or 70g/L NaCl solution) without compromising the salt rejection (>99.99%). The present nanofiber membranes containing CNTs with one-...

To, VHP, Nguyen, TV, Vigneswaran, S & Ngo, HH 2016, 'A review on sludge dewatering indices', Water Science and Technology, vol. 74, no. 1, pp. 1-16.
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Dewatering of sludge from sewage treatment plants is proving to be a significant challenge due to the large amounts of residual sludges generated annually. In recent years, research and development have focused on improving the dewatering process in order to reduce subsequent costs of sludge management and transport. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to establish reliable indices that reflect the efficiency of sludge dewatering. However, the evaluation of sludge dewaterability is not an easy task due to the highly complex nature of sewage sludge and variations in solid–liquid separation methods. Most traditional dewatering indices fail to predict the maximum cake solids content achievable during full-scale dewatering. This paper reviews the difficulties in assessing sludge dewatering performance, and the main techniques used to evaluate dewatering performance are compared and discussed in detail. Finally, the paper suggests a new dewatering index, namely the modified centrifugal index, which is demonstrated to be an appropriate indicator for estimating the final cake solids content as well as simulating the prototype dewatering process.

To, VHP, Nguyen, TV, Vigneswaran, S, Duc Nghiem, L, Murthy, S, Bustamante, H & Higgins, M 2016, 'Modified centrifugal technique for determining polymer demand and achievable dry solids content in the dewatering of anaerobically digested sludge', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 53, pp. 25509-25519.
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© 2016 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. This study aims to characterize anaerobically digested sludge (ADS) and correlate the sludge characteristics in terms of soluble organic compounds with polymer demand (PD) during sludge conditioning. The PD required to achieve maximum dewatering of the ADS studied is in the range of 8–10 kg polymer/dry ton. The commonly used capillary suction time parameter to evaluate the solid–liquid separation ability was not a reliable indicator for assessing dewatering. Instead, in this study, a modified centrifugal technique proposed by Higgins (Higgins MCT) was used to assess the maximum achievable dry solids content of the biosolids cake. The Higgins MCT is readily obtained using a bench-scale centrifuge equipped with a modified centrifuge bucket. Using the Higgins MCT, the maximum dry solids contents obtained from conditioned ADS was 30 wt%. These values were comparable to the dry solids content obtained from the same sludge at full-scale level. Our results suggest Higgins MCT is suitable for assessing the final dry solids content and simulating the dewatering process.

Tran, NH, Chen, H, Do, TV, Reinhard, M, Ngo, HH, He, Y & Gin, KY-H 2016, 'Simultaneous analysis of multiple classes of antimicrobials in environmental water samples using SPE coupled with UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS and isotope dilution', Talanta, vol. 159, pp. 163-173.
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Ubaidillah, Imaduddin, F, Li, Y, Mazlan, SA, Sutrisno, J, Koga, T, Yahya, I & Choi, S-B 2016, 'A new class of magnetorheological elastomers based on waste tire rubber and the characterization of their properties', Smart Materials and Structures, vol. 25, no. 11, pp. 115002-115002.
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© 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd. This paper proposes a new type of magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) using rubber from waste tires and describes its performance characteristics. In this work, scrap tires were utilized as a primary matrix for the MRE without incorporation of virgin elastomers. The synthesis of the scrap tire based MRE adopted a high-temperature high-pressure sintering technique to achieve the reclaiming of vulcanized rubber. The material properties of the MRE samples were investigated through physical and viscoelastic examinations. The physical tests confirmed several material characteristics - microstructure, magnetic, and thermal properties-while the viscoelastic examination was conducted with a laboratory-made dynamic compression apparatus. It was observed from the viscoelastic examination that the proposed MRE has magnetic-field-dependent properties of the storage modulus, loss modulus, and loss tangent at different excitation frequencies and strain amplitudes. Specifically, the synthesized MRE showed a high zero field modulus, a reasonable MR effect under maximum applied current, and remarkable damping properties.

Vakhshouri, B & Nejadi, S 2016, 'Mix design of light-weight self-compacting concrete', Case Studies in Construction Materials, vol. 4, pp. 1-14.
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© 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd. In recent decades, the utilization of mineral and chemical admixtures in concrete technology has led to changes in the formulation and mix design which has, in turn, made the concrete stronger and more durable. Light weight concrete (LWC) is an excellent solution in terms of decreasing the dead load of the structure, while self-compacting concrete (SCC) eases the pouring and removes construction problems. Combining the advantages of LWC and SCC is a new field of research. Considering its light weight of structure and ease of placement, Light-weight self-compacting concrete (LWSCC) may be the answer to the increasing construction requirements of slender and more heavily reinforced structural elements. Twenty one laboratory experimental investigations on the mix proportion, density and mechanical properties of LWSCC have been published in the last 12 years and these are analyzed in this study. The collected information is used to investigate the mix proportions including the chemical and mineral admixtures, light weight and normal weight aggregates, fillers, cement and water. Analyzed results are presented in terms of statistical expressions. It is very helpful for future research to choose the proper components with different ratios and curing conditions to attain the desired concrete grade according to the planned application.

Vakhshouri, B & Nejadi, S 2016, 'Self-compacting light-weight concrete; mix design and proportions', STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING AND MECHANICS, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 143-161.
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© 2016 Techno-Press, Ltd. Utilization of mineral and chemical admixtures in concrete technology has led to changes in the formulation and mix design in recent decades, which has, in turn, made the concrete stronger and more durable. Lightweight concrete is an excellent solution in terms of decreasing the dead load of the structure, while self-compacting concrete eases the pouring and removes the construction problems. Combining the advantages of lightweight concrete and self-compacting concrete is a new and interesting research topic. Considering its light weight of structure and ease of placement, self-compacting lightweight concrete may be the answer to the increasing construction requirements of slender and more heavily reinforced structural elements. Twenty one laboratory experimental investigations published on the mix proportion, density and mechanical properties of lightweight self-compacting concrete from the last 12 years are analyzed in this study. The collected information is used to investigate the mix proportions including the chemical and mineral admixtures, light weight and normal weight aggregates, fillers, cement and water. Analyzed results are presented in terms of statistical expressions. It is very helpful for future research to choose the proper components with different ratios and curing conditions to attain the desired concrete grade according to the planned application.

Valipour, H, Khorsandnia, N, Crews, K & Palermo, A 2016, 'Numerical modelling of timber/timber–concrete composite frames with ductile jointed connection', Advances in Structural Engineering, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 299-313.
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Due to the scarcity of experimental data, this article focuses on the application of detailed finite element models for evaluating structural behaviour of timber–concrete composite frames with post-tensioned beam-to-column joints. In the developed finite element models, nonlinear behaviour and failure mode of timber and concrete under biaxial stress state are captured by hypo-elastic constitutive laws based on the equivalent uniaxial strain concept. In addition to material nonlinearities, the effect of geometrical nonlinearities and nonlinearity of contacts at the concrete slab-to-beam, beam-to-column and slab-to-column interfaces are considered in the finite element models. The accuracy of developed finite element models is verified against available experimental data on post-tensioned timber frames, and the validated analytical tool is used to undertake a parametric study. It is shown that elastic modulus of timber and the details of concrete slab-to-column connection can significantly affect the drift response and failure mode, whereas the compressive strength of timber and stiffness of timber–concrete composite connection have only a minor influence on the drift and failure mode of the timber/timber–concrete composite frames with ductile jointed connections.

Vigneswaran, S, Kandasamy, J & Johir, MAH 2016, 'Sustainable Operation of Composting in Solid Waste Management', Procedia Environmental Sciences, vol. 35, pp. 408-415.
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Wakil, MA, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH & Rizwanul Fattah, IM 2016, 'Rice bran: A prospective resource for biodiesel production in Bangladesh', International Journal of Green Energy, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 497-504.
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The increasing demand of renewable energy sources has pressed the need to search for biofuels. The world is not only thrusting for potential sources of biofuels but also surveilling not to hamper the food supply, particularly in the Third World countries, such as Bangladesh. Rice bran oil is a prominent source of biofuels. Rice, the main cereal in Bangladesh, is cultivated all the year round. Rice hull containing bran is mostly wasted and merely used as feedstock for cattle and for cooking purposes. This study considered rice bran as a prospective source of biodiesel in Bangladesh. The properties of oil collected from rice bran were investigated to ensure the production of biodiesel by transesterification. An economic analysis relative to Bangladesh was conducted, and the production rate of biodiesel under different percentage of catalyst was investigated.

Wang, B, Zhao, F, Du, G, Porter, S, Liu, Y, Zhang, P, Cheng, Z, Liu, HK & Huang, Z 2016, 'Boron-Doped Anatase TiO₂ as a High-Performance Anode Material for Sodium-Ion Batteries', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 8, no. 25, pp. 16009-16015.
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Pristine and boron-doped anatase TiO2 were prepared via a facile sol-gel method and the hydrothermal method for application as anode materials in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). The sol-gel method leads to agglomerated TiO2, whereas the hydrothermal method is conducive to the formation of highly crystalline and discrete nanoparticles. The structure, morphology, and electrochemical properties were studied. The crystal size of TiO2 with boron doping is smaller than that of the nondoped crystals, which indicates that the addition of boron can inhibit the crystal growth. The electrochemical measurements demonstrated that the reversible capacity of the B-doped TiO2 is higher than that for the pristine sample. B-doping also effectively enhances the rate performance. The capacity of the B-doped TiO2 could reach 150 mAh/g at the high current rate of 2C and the capacity decay is only about 8 mAh/g over 400 cycles. The remarkable performance could be attributed to the lattice expansion resulting from B doping and the shortened Li(+) diffusion distance due to the nanosize. These results indicate that B-doped TiO2 can be a good candidate for SIBs.

Wang, D, Wang, Q, Laloo, A, Xu, Y, Bond, PL & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Achieving Stable Nitritation for Mainstream Deammonification by Combining Free Nitrous Acid-Based Sludge Treatment and Oxygen Limitation', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 25547.
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AbstractStable nitritation is a critical bottleneck for achieving autotrophic nitrogen removal using the energy-saving mainstream deammonification process. Herein we report a new strategy to wash out both the Nitrospira sp. and Nitrobacter sp. from the treatment of domestic-strength wastewater. The strategy combines sludge treatment using free nitrous acid (FNA) with dissolved oxygen (DO) control in the nitritation reactor. Initially, the nitrifying reactor achieved full conversion of NH4+ to NO3−. Then, nitrite accumulation at ~60% was achieved in the reactor when 1/4 of the sludge was treated daily with FNA at 1.82 mg N/L in a side-stream unit for 24 h. Fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) revealed FNA treatment substantially reduced the abundance of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) (from 23.0 ± 4.3 to 5.3 ± 1.9%), especially that of Nitrospira sp. (from 15.7 ± 3.9 to 0.4 ± 0.1%). Nitrite accumulation increased to ~80% when the DO concentration in the mainstream reactor was reduced from 2.5–3.0 to 0.3–0.8 mg/L. FISH revealed the DO limitation further reduced the abundance of NOB (to 2.1 ± 1.0%), especially that of Nitrobacter sp. (from 4.9 ± 1.2 to 1.8 ± 0.8%). The strategy developed removes a major barrier for deammonification in low-strength domestic wastewater.

Wang, D, Wang, Q, Laloo, AE & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Reducing N₂O Emission from a Domestic-Strength Nitrifying Culture by Free Nitrous Acid-Based Sludge Treatment', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 50, no. 14, pp. 7425-7433.
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An increase of nitrite in the domestic-strength range is generally recognized to stimulate nitrous oxide (N2O) production by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). It was found in this study, however, that N2O emission from a mainstream nitritation system (cyclic nitrite = 25-45 mg of N/L) that was established by free nitrous acid (FNA)-based sludge treatment was not higher but much lower than that from the initial nitrifying system with full conversion of NH4(+)-N to NO3(-)-N. Under dissolved oxygen (DO) levels of 2.5-3.0 mg/L, N2O emission from the nitritation stage was 76% lower than that from the initial stage. Even when the DO level was reduced to 0.3-0.8 mg/L, N2O emission from the nitritation stage was still 40% lower. An investigation of the mechanism showed that FNA treatment caused a shift of the stimulation threshold of nitrite on N2O emission. At the nitritation stage, the maximal N2O emission factor occurred at ∼16 mg of N/(L of nitrite). However, it increased with increasing nitrite in the range of 0-56 mg of N/L at the initial stage. FNA treatment decreased the biomass-specific N2O production rate, suggesting that the enzymes relevant to nitrifier denitrification were inhibited. Microbial analysis revealed that FNA treatment decreased the microbial community diversity but increased the abundances of AOB and denitrifiers.

Wang, J, Bi, F, Ngo, H-H, Guo, W, Jia, H, Zhang, H & Zhang, X 2016, 'Evaluation of energy-distribution of a hybrid microbial fuel cell–membrane bioreactor (MFC–MBR) for cost-effective wastewater treatment', Bioresource Technology, vol. 200, pp. 420-425.
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Wang, L 2016, 'Discussion of “Geometrical Method for Evaluating the Internal Instability of Granular Filters Based on Constriction Size Distribution” by Buddhima Indraratna, Jahanzaib Israr, and Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn', Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, vol. 142, no. 9, pp. 07016020-07016020.
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Wang, Q, Hao, X & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Towards energy positive wastewater treatment by sludge treatment using free nitrous acid', Chemosphere, vol. 144, pp. 1869-1873.
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Free nitrous acid (FNA i.e. HNO2) was revealed to be effective in enhancing biodegradability of secondary sludge. Also, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria were found to be more susceptible to FNA than ammonium-oxidizing bacteria. Based on these findings, a novel FNA-based sludge treatment technology is proposed to enhance energy recovery from wastewater/sludge. Energy analysis indicated that the FNA-based technology would make wastewater treatment become an energy generating process (yielding energy at 4 kWh/PE/y; kWh/PE/y: kilowatt hours per population equivalent per year), rather than being a large energy consumer that it is today (consuming energy at 24 kWh/PE/y). Importantly, FNA required for the sludge treatment could be produced as a by-product of wastewater treatment. This proposed FNA-based technology is economically and environmentally attractive, and can be easily implemented in any wastewater treatment plants. It only involves the installation of a simple sludge mixing tank. This article presents the concept of the FNA-based technology.

Wang, Q, Ni, B-J, Lemaire, R, Hao, X & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Modeling of Nitrous Oxide Production from Nitritation Reactors Treating Real Anaerobic Digestion Liquor', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 25336.
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AbstractIn this work, a mathematical model including both ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and heterotrophic bacteria (HB) is constructed to predict N2O production from the nitritation systems receiving the real anaerobic digestion liquor. This is for the first time that N2O production from such systems was modeled considering both AOB and HB. The model was calibrated and validated using experimental data from both lab- and pilot-scale nitritation reactors. The model predictions matched the dynamic N2O, ammonium, nitrite and chemical oxygen demand data well, supporting the capability of the model. Modeling results indicated that HB are the dominant contributor to N2O production in the above systems with the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration of 0.5–1.0 mg O2/L, accounting for approximately 75% of N2O production. The modeling results also suggested that the contribution of HB to N2O production decreased with the increasing DO concentrations, from 75% at DO = 0.5 mg O2/L to 25% at DO = 7.0 mg O2/L, with a corresponding increase of the AOB contribution (from 25% to 75%). Similar to HB, the total N2O production rate also decreased dramatically from 0.65 to 0.25 mg N/L/h when DO concentration increased from 0.5 to 7.0 mg O2/L.

Wang, Q, Sun, J, Zhang, C, Xie, G-J, Zhou, X, Qian, J, Yang, G, Zeng, G, Liu, Y & Wang, D 2016, 'Polyhydroxyalkanoates in waste activated sludge enhances anaerobic methane production through improving biochemical methane potential instead of hydrolysis rate', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 19713.
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AbstractAnaerobic sludge digestion is the main technology for sludge reduction and stabilization prior to sludge disposal. Nevertheless, methane production from anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) is often restricted by the poor biochemical methane potential and slow hydrolysis rate of WAS. This work systematically investigated the effect of PHA levels of WAS on anaerobic methane production, using both experimental and mathematical modeling approaches. Biochemical methane potential tests showed that methane production increased with increased PHA levels in WAS. Model-based analysis suggested that the PHA-based method enhanced methane production by improving biochemical methane potential of WAS, with the highest enhancement being around 40% (from 192 to 274 L CH4/kg VS added; VS: volatile solid) when the PHA levels increased from 21 to 143 mg/g VS. In contrast, the hydrolysis rate (approximately 0.10 d−1) was not significantly affected by the PHA levels. Economic analysis suggested that the PHA-based method could save $1.2/PE/y (PE: population equivalent) in a typical wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The PHA-based method can be easily integrated into the current WWTP to enhance methane production, thereby providing a strong support to the on-going paradigm shift in wastewater management from pollutant removal to resource recovery.

Wang, Q, Xie, H, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Zhang, J, Liu, C, Liang, S, Hu, Z, Yang, Z & Zhao, C 2016, 'Microbial abundance and community in subsurface flow constructed wetland microcosms: role of plant presence', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 4036-4045.
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In this research, the role of plants in improving microorganism growth conditions in subsurface flow constructed wetland (CW) microcosms was determined. In particular, microbial abundance and community were investigated during summer and winter in Phragmites australis-planted CW microcosms (PA) and unplanted CW microcosms (control, CT). Results revealed that the removal efficiencies of pollutants and microbial community structure varied in winter with variable microbial abundance. During summer, PA comprised more dominant phyla (e.g., Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes), whereas CT contained more Cyanobacteria and photosynthetic bacteria. During winter, the abundance of Proteobacteria was >40 % in PA but dramatically decreased in CT. Moreover, Cyanobacteria and photosynthetic bacterial dominance in CT decreased. In both seasons, bacteria were more abundant in root surfaces than in sand. Plant presence positively affected microbial abundance and community. The potential removal ability of CT, in which Cyanobacteria and photosynthetic bacteria were abundant during summer, was more significantly affected by temperature reduction than that of PA with plant presence.

Wang, Q, Zhou, X, Peng, L, Wang, D, Xie, G-J & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Enhancing post aerobic digestion of full-scale anaerobically digested sludge using free nitrous acid pretreatment', Chemosphere, vol. 150, pp. 152-158.
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Post aerobic digestion of anaerobically digested sludge (ADS) has been extensively applied to the wastewater treatment plants to enhance sludge reduction. However, the degradation of ADS in the post aerobic digester itself is still limited. In this work, an innovative free nitrous acid (HNO2 or FNA)-based pretreatment approach is proposed to improve full-scale ADS degradation in post aerobic digester. The post aerobic digestion was conducted by using an activated sludge to aerobically digest ADS for 4 days. Degradations of the FNA-treated (treated at 1.0 and 2.0 mg N/L for 24 h) and untreated ADSs were then determined and compared. The ADS was degraded by 26% and 32%, respectively, in the 4-day post aerobic digestion period while being pretreated at 1.0 and 2.0 mg HNO2-N/L. In comparison, only 20% of the untreated ADS was degraded. Economic analysis demonstrated that the implementation of FNA pretreatment can be economically favourable or not depending on the sludge transport and disposal cost.

Wang, S, Guo, J, Lian, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Liu, Y & Song, Y 2016, 'Rapid start-up of the anammox process by denitrifying granular sludge and the mechanism of the anammox electron transport chain', Biochemical Engineering Journal, vol. 115, pp. 101-107.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. This study investigated the rapid start-up of an anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) reactor by inoculating denitrifying granular sludge mixed anammox bacteria. The mechanism of the anammox electron transport chain (AETC) was also studied using nine different inhibitors in batch tests. This is the first study that shortened the start-up anammox reactor time to 28 days. Nitrogen removal rates (NRRs) up to 0.72 kg/(m3 d) on day 28 were achieved. Each studied inhibitor had a different binding site in the AETC. The effect of each inhibitor was determined by comparing the total nitrogen removal efficiency between the presence of an inhibitor and an appropriate control. The results confirmed that each inhibitor had various inhibition degrees that distinctly affected the AETC. Finally, the AETC mechanism was explored in detail. These findings are important for developing fast start-up processes for anammox reactors.

Wang, Y, Wang, C, Wang, Y, Liu, H & Huang, Z 2016, 'Boric Acid Assisted Reduction of Graphene Oxide: A Promising Material for Sodium-Ion Batteries', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 8, no. 29, pp. 18860-18866.
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Reduced graphene oxide, an intensively investigated material for Li-ion batteries, has shown mostly unsatisfactory performance in Na-ion batteries, since its d-spacing is believed to be too small for effective insertion/deinsertion of Na(+) ions. Herein, a facile method was developed to produce boron-functionalized reduced graphene oxide (BF-rGO), with an enlarged interlayer spacing and defect-rich structure, which effectively accommodates the sodiation/desodiation and provides more active sites. The Na/BF-rGO half cells exhibit unprecedented long cycling stability, with ∼89.4% capacity retained after 5000 cycles (0.002% capacity decay per cycle) at 1000 mA·g(-1) current density. High specific capacity (280 mAh·g(-1)) and great rate capability were also delivered in the Na/BF-rGO half cells.

Wang, Y, Wang, C, Wang, Y, Liu, H & Huang, Z 2016, 'Superior sodium-ion storage performance of Co₃O₄@nitrogen-doped carbon: derived from a metal–organic framework', Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 4, no. 15, pp. 5428-5435.
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Nitrogen-doped carbon coated Co₃O₄ nanoparticles (Co₃O₄@NC) with high Na-ion storage capacity and unprecedented long-life cycling stability are reported in this paper.

Wei, D, Dong, H, Wu, N, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Du, B & Wei, Q 2016, 'A Fluorescence Approach to Assess the Production of Soluble Microbial Products from Aerobic Granular Sludge Under the Stress of 2,4-Dichlorophenol', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1.
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AbstractIn this study, a fluorescence approach was used to evaluate the production of soluble microbial products (SMP) in aerobic granular sludge system under the stress of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP). A combined use of three-dimension excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy (3D-EEM), Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), synchronous fluorescence and two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) were explored to respect the SMP formation in the exposure of different doses of 2,4-DCP. Data implied that the presence of 2,4-DCP had an obvious inhibition on biological nitrogen removal. According to EEM-PARAFAC, two fluorescent components were derived and represented to the presence of fulvic-like substances and humic-like substances in Component 1 and protein-like substances in Component 2. It was found from synchronous fluorescence that protein-like peak presented slightly higher intensity than that of fulvic-like peak. 2D-COS further revealed that fluorescence change took place sequentially in the following order: protein-like fraction > fulvic-like fraction. The obtained results could provide a potential application of fluorescence spectra in the released SMP assessment in the exposure of toxic compound during wastewater treatment.

Wei, D, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Xu, W, Zhang, Y, Du, B & Wei, Q 2016, 'Biosorption of effluent organic matter onto magnetic biochar composite: Behavior of fluorescent components and their binding properties', Bioresource Technology, vol. 214, pp. 259-265.
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Wei, W, Wang, Q, Li, A, Yang, J, Ma, F, Pi, S & Wu, D 2016, 'Biosorption of Pb (II) from aqueous solution by extracellular polymeric substances extracted from Klebsiella sp. J1: Adsorption behavior and mechanism assessment', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 31575.
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AbstractThe adsorption performance and mechanism of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) extracted from Klebsiella sp. J1 for soluble Pb (II) were investigated. The maximum biosorption capacity of EPS for Pb (II) was found to be 99.5 mg g−1 at pH 6.0 and EPS concentration of 0.2 g/L. The data for adsorption process satisfactorily fitted to both Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order kinetic model. The mean free energy E and activation energy Ea were determined at 8.22– 8.98 kJ mol−1 and 42.46 kJ mol−1, respectively. The liquid-film diffusion step might be the rate-limiting step. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔGo, ΔHo and ΔSo) revealed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic under natural conditions. The interactions between EPS system and Pb (II) ions were investigated by qualitative analysis methods (i.e Zeta potential, FT-IR and EDAX). Based on the strong experimental evidence from the mass balance of the related elements participating in the sorption process, an ion exchange process was identified quantitatively as the major mechanism responsible for Pb (II) adsorption by EPS. Molar equivalents of both K+ and Mg2+ could be exchanged with Pb2+ molar equivalents in the process and the contribution rate of ion exchange to adsorption accounted for 85.72% (Δmequiv = −0.000541).

Wijayaratna, KP & Dixit, VV 2016, 'Impact of information on risk attitudes: Implications on valuation of reliability and information', Journal of Choice Modelling, vol. 20, pp. 16-34.
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Risk attitudes are an important behavioural characteristic that influences people's valuation of information and reliability. In a transport context, information has become widely accessible to road users through ITS systems, GPS technology and the internet justifying the importance of understanding the valuation of information by travellers. There have been a number of studies that have looked at the value of information and the value of reliability for a road user. However, to date there has not been a study that explicitly evaluates the impact of having information within a choice set on an individual's risk attitudes, which ultimately affects their valuation for information and reliability. This study conducts a controlled laboratory experiment, using methods of experimental economics, to measure the risk attitudes of users with and without the presence of information in the choice set. A model derived from Expected Utility Theory is used to infer the risk attitudes of the participants. The results of the analysis indicate that the presence of information in the choice set reduces risk aversion, which causes a reduction in people's valuation of information and reliability. It is critical to systematically incorporate these differences into behaviour models, since neglecting this fundamental difference could result in erroneous policy decisions, with respect to overpricing information, or inappropriately allocating funds for information systems.

Wijesiri Pathirana, S, Uy, B, Mirza, O & Zhu, X 2016, 'Flexural behaviour of composite steel–concrete beams utilising blind bolt shear connectors', Engineering Structures, vol. 114, pp. 181-194.
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This paper investigates the feasibility of utilising blind bolts as shear connectors to develop demountable steel-concrete beams. The flexural behaviour of composite beams with two blind bolt types and welded stud connectors were experimentally investigated using full-scale beam specimens. A set of push-test specimens was tested based on the Eurocode 4 to compare the slip response of these connectors. The ultimate design loads of the test beams were calculated based on rigid plastic analysis (RPA) using the actual material properties. The beam experiments were simulated by using three-dimensional non-linear finite element models (FEMs). The material behaviour for concrete and steel in FEMs was described using concrete damage plasticity and steel plasticity models respectively. The FEMs were validated by comparing the load-midspan deflection curves of the beam specimens obtained from the experiments and modelling. The effects of the concrete compressive strength, steel yield strength and the shear connection ratio on the flexural behaviour of the composite beams were studied by utilising the validated FEMs. The experimental and numerical results suggest that the ability of the blind bolts to achieve and maintain composite action in steel-concrete beams under flexural loading is comparable to that of the welded stud connectors.

Wilkinson, SJ & Jupp, JR 2016, 'Exploring the value of BIM for corporate real estate', Journal of Corporate Real Estate, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 254-269.
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PurposeBuilding information modelling (BIM) offers rich opportunities for property professionals to use information throughout the property life cycle. However, the benefits of BIM for property professionals are largely untapped. BIM was developed by the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector to assist in managing design and construction data. As these technologies mature and evolve, so does the opportunity for other professional groups to use data within, or linked to, BIM models. This paper aims to explore the potential for corporate real estate managers (CREM) and investment surveyors to use data contained in BIM models and building management systems, which could help these professionals with strategic planning, portfolio rationalisation and acquisitions.Design/methodology/approachThis is a scoping study to explore the potential to expand the scope of BIM to other professional activities. As such, the research adopted a Delphi approach with a series of workshops with experienced stakeholders in Australia and England. Qualitative research is inductive and hypothesis-generating. That is, as the researcher assimilates knowledge and information contained in the literature, ideas and questions are formed, which are put to research participants, and, from this process, conclusions are drawn.FindingsIt is technologically feasible for some property professionals, such as CREM, to use some data contained within BIM, and linked building management systems. The types of data used by property professionals were identified and ranked in importance. Needs are varied, both in the range of data and the points in the property life cycle when they are required. The benefi...

Woo, YC, Kim, Y, Shim, W-G, Tijing, LD, Yao, M, Nghiem, LD, Choi, J-S, Kim, S-H & Shon, HK 2016, 'Graphene/PVDF flat-sheet membrane for the treatment of RO brine from coal seam gas produced water by air gap membrane distillation', JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE, vol. 513, pp. 74-84.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Brine management of coal seam gas (CSG) produced water is a significant concern for the sustainable production of CSG in Australia. Membrane distillation (MD) has shown the potential to further reduce the volume of CSG reverse osmosis (RO) brine. However, despite its potential, the lack of appropriate MD membranes limits its industrial use. Therefore, this study was aimed on the fabrication of a robust membrane for the treatment of real RO brine from CSG produced water via an air gap MD (AGMD) process. Here, graphene/polyvinylidene fluoride (G/PVDF) membranes at various graphene loadings 0.1-2.0 wt% w.r.t. to PVDF) were prepared through a phase inversion method. Surface characterization revealed that all G/PVDF membranes exhibited favorable membrane properties having high porosity (>78%), suitable mean pore size (<0.11 μm), and high liquid entry pressure (>3.66 bar). AGMD test results (feed inlet: 60.0±1.5 °C; coolant inlet: 20.0±1.5 °C) for 24 h operation indicated a high water vapor flux and salt rejection of 20.5 L/m2h and 99.99%, respectively for the optimal graphene loading of 0.5 wt%, i.e., G/PVDF-0.5 membrane (compared to 11.6 L/m2h and 99.96% for neat PVDF membrane). Long-term AGMD operation of 10 days further revealed the robustness of G/PVDF membrane with superior performance compared to commercial PVDF membrane (85.3% final normalized flux/99.99% salt rejection against 51.4%/99.95% for commercial membrane). Incorporation of graphene has resulted to improved wetting resistance and more robust membrane that has the potential for the treatment of RO brine from CSG produced water via AGMD.

Woo, YC, Lee, JJ, Shim, W-G, Shon, HK, Tijing, LD, Yao, M & Kim, H-S 2016, 'Effect of powdered activated carbon on integrated submerged membrane bioreactor-nanofiltration process for wastewater reclamation', BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY, vol. 210, pp. 18-25.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of powdered activated carbon (PAC) on the overall performance of a submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) system integrated with nanofiltration (NF) for wastewater reclamation. It was found that the trans-membrane pressure of SMBR increased continuously while that of the SMBR with PAC was more stable, mainly because water could still pass through the PACs and membrane even though foulants adhered on the PAC surface. The presence of PAC was able to mitigate fouling in SMBR as well as in NF. SMBR-NF with PAC obtained a higher flux of 8.1 LMH compared to that without PAC (6.6 LMH). In addition, better permeate quality was obtained with SMBR-NF integrated process added with PAC. The present results suggest that the addition of PAC in integrated SMBR-NF process could possibly lead to satisfying water quality and can be operated for a long-term duration.

Woo, YC, Tijing, LD, Shim, W-G, Choi, J-S, Kim, S-H, He, T, Drioli, E & Shon, HK 2016, 'Water desalination using graphene-enhanced electrospun nanofiber membrane via air gap membrane distillation', JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE, vol. 520, pp. 99-110.
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© 2016 This study demonstrates the preparation and desalination performance via air gap membrane distillation (AGMD) of a graphene-loaded electrospun nanofiber membrane. Different concentrations of graphene (0–10 wt%) were incorporated in/on electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PH) membrane to obtain a robust, and superhydrophobic nanocomposite membrane. The results showed that graphene incorporation has significantly enhanced the membrane structure and properties with an optimal concentration of 5 wt% (i.e., G5PH). Characterization of G5PH revealed membrane porosity of >88%, contact angle of >162° (superhydrophobic), and high liquid entry pressure (LEP) of >186 kPa. These favourable properties led to a high and stable AGMD flux of 22.9 L/m2 h or LMH (compared with ~4.8 LMH for the commercial PVDF flat-sheet membrane) and excellent salt rejection (100%) for 60 h of operation using 3.5 wt% NaCl solution as feed (feed and coolant inlet temperatures of 60 and 20 °C, respectively). A two-dimensional dynamic model to investigate the flux profile of the graphene/PH membrane is also introduced. The present study suggests that exploiting the interesting properties of nanofibers and graphene nanofillers through a facile electrospinning technique provides high potential towards the fabrication of a robust and high-performance AGMD membrane.

Wu, B, Wu, D, Gao, W & Song, C 2016, 'Time-variant random interval response of concrete-filled steel tubular composite curved structures', Composites Part B: Engineering, vol. 94, pp. 122-138.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Comprehensive investigation into uncertain time-dependent structural responses of concrete-filled steel tubular composite curved structures is presented. Diverse uncertainties including variational material properties, inevitable viscoelastic effects, as well as random environmental influences are addressed simultaneously. A new hybrid probabilistic and interval computational method is proposed for robustly assessing both time-dependent serviceability and strength limit of concrete-filled steel tubular arch structures involving both random and interval variables. The proposed approach offers a unified analysis framework, which adequately delivers the time-dependent bounds of statistical characteristics (i.e., lower and upper bounds of means and standard deviations) of structural behaviours. In this non-simulative computational scheme, general formulations on the time-dependent bounds of means and standard deviations are explicitly derived. Applicability, accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method are revealed by practically motivated examples. In addition, time-dependent hybrid probabilistic interval features of structural responses of concrete-filled steel tubular composite arch structures are systematically studied.

Wu, D, Gao, W, Feng, J & Luo, K 2016, 'Structural behaviour evolution of composite steel-concrete curved structure with uncertain creep and shrinkage effects', Composites Part B: Engineering, vol. 86, pp. 261-272.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This paper presents a new computational scheme to robustly determine the structural behaviour (both serviceability and strength) of composite concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) arch with consideration of uncertain creep and shrinkage effects. The focused uncertainties in this study originate from the intrinsic viscoelastic effects of concrete, which inevitably affect the structural performance of CFST arch through its service life. Due to the diverse variations and intricate nature of creep and shrinkage observed in engineering practices, it is advisable that the two mercurial parameters are modelled as uncertain-but-bounded variables. The effects of uncertain creep and shrinkage on the long-term structural behaviour are investigated such that the worst and best scenarios of structural responses at each specific loading time can be precisely calculated. The proposed computational method competently determines the bounded structural responses at any specific loading time such that, evolutions of structural behaviours of CFST arch can be quantitatively constructed for the purpose of safety assessment. Numbers of often encountered engineering examples are investigated to illustrate the capability, credibility and efficiency of the proposed approach.

Wu, D, Gao, W, Song, C & Tangaramvong, S 2016, 'Probabilistic interval stability assessment for structures with mixed uncertainty', Structural Safety, vol. 58, pp. 105-118.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd A new hybrid probabilistic and interval computational scheme is proposed to robustly assess the stability of engineering structures involving mixture of random and interval variables. Such hybrid approach possesses noticeable flexibility by directly implementing primitive information on uncertain system parameters, thus the validity of the structural safety assessment against uncertainties can be improved. By implementing the different types of uncertainties, the presented approach is able to separately investigate the effects of random and interval variables acting upon the overall structural stability. A unified interval stochastic sampling (UISS) approach is proposed to calculate the statistical characteristics (i.e., mean and standard deviation) of the lower and upper bounds of the linear bifurcation buckling load of engineering structure involving hybrid uncertain system parameters. Consequently, the stability profile of engineering structure against various uncertainties can be parametrically established, such that the bounds on the maximum structural buckling load at any particular percentile of probability can be effectively determined. Both academic and practically motivated engineering structures have been thoroughly investigated by rigorously establishing the corresponding structural stability profiles, so the applicability and accuracy of the proposed method can be critically justified.

Wu, D, Gao, W, Tin-Loi, F & Pi, Y-L 2016, 'Probabilistic interval limit analysis for structures with hybrid uncertainty', Engineering Structures, vol. 114, pp. 195-208.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. In this study, the hybrid probabilistic interval limit analysis is introduced to assess the safety of engineering structures against plastic collapse. The presented hybrid uncertainty analysis framework can flexibly model different types of uncertain variables basing on the primitive information of uncertain system parameters. A hybrid probabilistic and interval computational scheme, namely the unified interval stochastic sampling (UISS) approach, is proposed to determine the statistical characteristics (i.e., mean and standard deviation) of the lower and upper bounds of the collapse loads of engineering structures involving mixture of random and interval uncertain system parameters. Consequently, the bounds of structural reliability against collapse failure can be efficiently estimated. The applicability and accuracy of the proposed hybrid uncertain limit analysis are critically justified through the investigations on both academic and practically motivated engineering structures.

Wu, D, Gao, W, Wang, C, Tangaramvong, S & Tin-Loi, F 2016, 'Robust fuzzy structural safety assessment using mathematical programming approach', Fuzzy Sets and Systems, vol. 293, pp. 30-49.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. This paper presents a robust safety assessment for engineering structures involving fuzzy uncertainties. Uncertain applied loads and yielding capacities of structural elements are modelled as fuzzy variables with associated membership functions representing possibility distributions. A new computation-orientated methodology, namely the α-level collapse assessment (α-level CA) approach, is developed to provide structural safety profile by constructing membership function of the structural collapse load limit accommodating fuzzy uncertainties. The proposed method firstly utilizes the α-level strategy to transform the fuzzy limit analysis into a series of interval limit analyses. By implementing the concept of robust and optimistic optimizations, a mathematical programming (MP) scheme is proposed to explicitly capture the upper and lower bounds of the collapse load limit at each α-sublevel. Subsequently, the membership function of the collapse load limit is established by using the upper and lower bounds obtained from the series of α-sublevel calculations. The proposed α-level mathematical programming scheme preserves the quality of sharpness of the bounds of collapse load limit at each α-sublevel, which consequently provides a rigorous evaluation on the fuzzy profile of the safety of engineering structures against structural collapse. Numbers of numerical examples, motivated by real-world engineering applications, have been investigated to illustrate the accuracy, efficiency and applicability of the proposed method.

Wu, H, Fan, J, Zhang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Hu, Z & Lv, J 2016, 'Optimization of organics and nitrogen removal in intermittently aerated vertical flow constructed wetlands: Effects of aeration time and aeration rate', International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, vol. 113, pp. 139-145.
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In this study, to optimize aeration for the enhancement of organics and nitrogen removal in intermittently aerated vertical flow constructed wetlands (VF CWs) for treating domestic wastewater, the experimental VF CWs were operated at different aeration time (1 h d-1, 2 h d-1, 4 h d-1, 6 h d-1, 8 h d-1 and 10 h d-1) and aeration rate (0.1 L min-1, 0.2 L min-1, 0.5 L min-1, 1.0 L min-1 and 2.0 L min-1) to investigate the effect of artificial aeration on the removal efficiency of organics and nitrogen. The results showed that the optimal aeration time and aeration rate were 4 h d-1 and 1.0 L min-1, which could create the appropriate aerobic and anoxic regions in CWs with the greater removal of COD (97.2%), NH4 +-N (98.4%) and TN (90.6%) achieved simultaneously during the experiment. The results demonstrate that the optimized intermittent aeration is reliable option to enhance the treatment performance of organics and nitrogen at a lower operating cost.

Wu, H, Fan, J, Zhang, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Liang, S, Lv, J, Lu, S, Wu, W & Wu, S 2016, 'Intensified organics and nitrogen removal in the intermittent-aerated constructed wetland using a novel sludge-ceramsite as substrate', Bioresource Technology, vol. 210, pp. 101-107.
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Wu, H, Lin, L, Zhang, J, Guo, W, Liang, S & Liu, H 2016, 'Purification ability and carbon dioxide flux from surface flow constructed wetlands treating sewage treatment plant effluent', Bioresource Technology, vol. 219, pp. 768-772.
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Wu, Y, Wang, J, Zhang, H, Ngo, HH, Guo, W & Zhang, N 2016, 'The impact of gas slug flow on microfiltration performance in an airlift external loop tubular membrane reactor', RSC Advances, vol. 6, no. 110, pp. 109067-109075.
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Under low gas-velocity, the cake layer gradually formed. Then high gas-velocity scoured the cake layer, which obstructed the cake layer's formation.

Xia, G, Tan, Y, Wu, F, Fang, F, Sun, D, Guo, Z, Huang, Z & Yu, X 2016, 'Graphene-wrapped reversible reaction for advanced hydrogen storage', Nano Energy, vol. 26, pp. 488-495.
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Here, we report the fabrication of a graphene-wrapped nanostructured reactive hydride composite, i.e., 2LiBH4-MgH2, made by adopting graphene-supported MgH2 nanoparticles (NPs) as the nanoreactor and heterogeneous nucleation sites. The porous structure, uniform distribution of MgH2 NPs, and the steric confinement by flexible graphene induced a homogeneous distribution of 2LiBH4-MgH2 nanocomposite on graphene with extremely high loading capacity (80 wt%) and energy density. The well-defined structural features, including even distribution, uniform particle size, excellent thermal stability, and robust architecture endow this composite with significant improvements in its hydrogen storage performance. For instance, at a temperature as low as 350 °C, a reversible storage capacity of up to 8.9 wt% H2, without degradation after 25 complete cycles, was achieved for the 2LiBH4-MgH2 anchored on graphene. The design of this three-dimensional architecture can offer a new concept for obtaining high performance materials in the energy storage field.

Xia, Y, Wu, C, Liu, Z-X & Yuan, Y 2016, 'Protective effect of graded density aluminium foam on RC slab under blast loading – An experimental study', Construction and Building Materials, vol. 111, pp. 209-222.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. In recent decades, bomb incidents have significantly increased due to various blast accidents and growing terrorist threats. Therefore, the protection of important infrastructures against blast loading has never been more important. Aluminium foam, which is often used as a protective layer to absorb impact energy, has demonstrated its ability to mitigate blast effect in several studies. The outstanding energy absorption capacity of aluminium foam is mainly resulted from its long-lasting plateau-stress region which allows it to only transmit a small stress (which is equal to the plateau stress) to the protected structure while absorbing the rest by self-compaction. For aluminium foam that is manufactured by the same method, the overall energy absorbing capacity per unit volume increases proportionally with mass density; however, the plateau stress also increases with mass density which means a larger stress would be transmitted to the protected structure. Therefore, there is a trade-off between the mass density and the transmitted stress. In order to increase the overall energy absorbing capacity of aluminium foam while keeping the transmitted stress at a reasonably low magnitude, the idea of density-graded foam has been proposed which is simply a foam structure with various densities along its thickness. In this paper, the effectiveness of density-graded foams has been investigated. A number of static compressive tests are conducted on different types of aluminium foams including aluminium foams with uniform density, density-graded aluminium foams with linear gradient as well as density-graded aluminium foams with unordered gradient. In addition, a blast test program is also carried out to investigate the blast mitigation effect of graded density foams on reinforced concrete (RC) slabs.

Xiao, F, Chen, Z, Casillas, G, Richardson, C, Li, H & Huang, Z 2016, 'Controllable synthesis of few-layered and hierarchically porous boron nitride nanosheets', Chemical Communications, vol. 52, no. 20, pp. 3911-3914.
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Few-layered porous boron nitride nanosheets prepared using MgB₂ as a dynamic template show good CO₂ adsorption selectivity.

Xiao, J, Qu, W, Li, W & Zhu, P 2016, 'Investigation on effect of aggregate on three non-destructive testing properties of concrete subjected to sulfuric acid attack', Construction and Building Materials, vol. 115, pp. 486-495.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. In order to investigate the effect of aggregates on the concrete sulfuric acid resistance, accelerated corrosion experiments were conducted with four types of concretes composed of coarse and fine aggregates with two different chemical compositions. All the concretes with the same water/cement ratio of 0.45, and the pH value was kept in the range of 0.93-0.97. With continuous monitoring of each concrete specimen, corrosion depth, mass loss, and dynamic modulus elasticity loss were calculated. The results showed that the dynamic modulus of elasticity loss can be regard as an acceptable indicator for evaluating the resistance of concrete to sulfuric acid attack as well as corrosion depth and mass loss. A regression model proposed in this paper could provide good predictions. Concrete with marble aggregates rich in calcium carbonate have better performances in sulfuric acid solution than that with inert aggregates. Effect of fine aggregate on concrete sulfuric acid corrosion rate is more significant than coarse aggregate in the term of corrosion depth, mass loss, and dynamic modulus of elasticity loss.

Xie, G-J, Liu, B-F, Ding, J, Wang, Q, Ma, C, Zhou, X & Ren, N-Q 2016, 'Effect of carbon sources on the aggregation of photo fermentative bacteria induced by L-cysteine for enhancing hydrogen production', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 24, pp. 25312-25322.
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Poor flocculation of photo fermentative bacteria resulting in continuous biomass washout from photobioreactor is a critical challenge to achieve rapid and stable hydrogen production. In this work, the aggregation of Rhodopseudomonas faecalis RLD-53 was successfully developed in a photobioreactor and the effects of different carbon sources on hydrogen production and aggregation ability were investigated. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production by R. faecalis RLD-53 cultivated using different carbon sources were stimulated by addition of L-cysteine. The absolute ζ potentials of R. faecalis RLD-53 were considerably decreased with addition of L-cysteine, and aggregation barriers based on DLVO dropped to 15-43 % of that in control groups. Thus, R. faecalis RLD-53 flocculated effectively, and aggregation abilities of strain RLD-53 cultivated with acetate, propionate, lactate and malate reached 29.35, 32.34, 26.07 and 24.86 %, respectively. In the continuous test, hydrogen-producing activity was also promoted and reached 2.45 mol H2/mol lactate, 3.87 mol H2/mol propionate and 5.10 mol H2/mol malate, respectively. Therefore, the aggregation of R. faecalis RLD-53 induced by L-cysteine is independent on the substrate types, which ensures the wide application of this technology to enhance hydrogen recovery from wastewater dominated by different organic substrates.

Xie, G-J, Liu, B-F, Wang, Q, Ding, J & Ren, N-Q 2016, 'Ultrasonic waste activated sludge disintegration for recovering multiple nutrients for biofuel production', Water Research, vol. 93, pp. 56-64.
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Waste activated sludge is a valuable resource containing multiple nutrients, but is currently treated and disposed of as an important source of pollution. In this work, waste activated sludge after ultrasound pretreatment was reused as multiple nutrients for biofuel production. The nutrients trapped in sludge floc were transferred into liquid medium by ultrasonic disintegration during first 30 min, while further increase of pretreatment time only resulted in slight increase of nutrients release. Hydrogen production by Ethanoligenens harbinense B49 from glucose significantly increased with the concentration of ultrasonic sludge, and reached maximum yield of 1.97 mol H2/mol glucose at sludge concentration of 7.75 g volatile suspended solids/l. Without addition of any other chemicals, waste molasses rich in carbohydrate was efficiently turned into hydrogen with yield of 189.34 ml H2/g total sugar by E. harbinense B49 using ultrasonic sludge as nutrients. The results also showed that hydrogen production using pretreated sludge as multiple nutrients was higher than those using standard nutrients. Acetic acid produced by E. harbinense B49 together with the residual nutrients in the liquid medium were further converted into hydrogen (271.36 ml H2/g total sugar) by Rhodopseudomonas faecalis RLD-53 through photo fermentation, while ethanol was the sole end product with yield of 220.26 mg/g total sugar. Thus, pretreated sludge was an efficient nutrients source for biofuel production, which could replace the standard nutrients. This research provided a novel strategy to achieve environmental friendly sludge disposal and simultaneous efficient biofuel recovery from organic waste.

Xie, M, Shon, HK, Gray, SR & Elimelech, M 2016, 'Membrane-based processes for wastewater nutrient recovery: Technology, challenges, and future direction', Water Research, vol. 89, pp. 210-221.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Wastewater nutrient recovery holds promise for more sustainable water and agricultural industries. We critically review three emerging membrane processes - forward osmosis (FO), membrane distillation (MD) and electrodialysis (ED) - that can advance wastewater nutrient recovery. Challenges associated with wastewater nutrient recovery were identified. The advantages and challenges of applying FO, MD, and ED technologies to wastewater nutrient recovery are discussed, and directions for future research and development are identified. Emphasis is given to exploration of the unique mass transfer properties of these membrane processes in the context of wastewater nutrient recovery. We highlight that hybridising these membrane processes with existing nutrient precipitation process will lead to better management of and more diverse pathways for near complete nutrient recovery in wastewater treatment facilities.

Xie, S, Hai, FI, Zhan, X, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Price, WE & Nghiem, LD 2016, 'Anaerobic co-digestion: A critical review of mathematical modelling for performance optimization', Bioresource Technology, vol. 222, pp. 498-512.
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© 2016 Anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) is a pragmatic approach to simultaneously manage organic wastes and produce renewable energy. This review demonstrates the need for improving AcoD modelling capacities to simulate the complex physicochemical and biochemical processes. Compared to mono-digestion, AcoD is more susceptible to process instability, as it operates at a higher organic loading and significant variation in substrate composition. Data corroborated here reveal that it is essential to model the transient variation in pH and inhibitory intermediates (e.g. ammonia and organic acids) for AcoD optimization. Mechanistic models (based on the ADM1 framework) have become the norm for AcoD modelling. However, key features in current AcoD models, especially relationships between system performance and co-substrates’ properties, organic loading, and inhibition mechanisms, remain underdeveloped. It is also necessary to predict biogas quantity and composition as well as biosolids quality by considering the conversion and distribution of sulfur, phosphorus, and nitrogen during AcoD.

Xie, W-M, Ni, B-J, Sheng, G-P, Seviour, T & Yu, H-Q 2016, 'Quantification and kinetic characterization of soluble microbial products from municipal wastewater treatment plants', Water Research, vol. 88, pp. 703-710.
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Soluble microbial products (SMP) formed by microorganisms in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) adversely affect final effluent quality and treatment efficiency. It is difficult to distinguish SMP from residual proteins, lipids and carbohydrates present in the influent that may persist during treatment. No method is currently available to determine quantitatively the extent to which SMP contribute to organic discharges from municipal WWTPs. In this work a modeling approach is presented which allows the SMP fraction of the effluent of a municipal WWTP to be quantified and described. The model is validated, in terms of utilization-associated products, biomass-associated products and extracellular polymeric substances, using influent from a municipal WWTP. SMP was found to account for, on average, 27 mg/L of chemical oxygen demand (COD), or 61% of the total COD in the WWTP effluent. Over 90% of the SMP was comprised of biomass-associated products. Five main factors influencing SMP formation in WWTP were evaluated. Neither wastewater composition nor mixed liquor suspended solids concentration was found to affect SMP production. On the other hand, a positive correlation was observed for SMP formation with both solids retention time and influent COD concentration, and a negative correlation with hydraulic retention time. Thus, operating or designing WWTPs with short solids retention and long hydraulic retention times could be considered as solutions for minimizing SMP production.

Xu, J, Cao, Z, Liu, X, Zhao, H, Xiao, X, Wu, J, Xu, X & Zhou, JL 2016, 'Preparation of functionalized Pd/Fe-Fe3O4@MWCNTs nanomaterials for aqueous 2,4-dichlorophenol removal: Interactions, influence factors, and kinetics', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 317, pp. 656-666.
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© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared to support Pd/Fe nanoparticles, inhibit the aggregation and passivation, and achieve magnetic separation to avoid the environmental risk of nanoparticles. Rapid adsorption of initial contaminant, steady dechlorination, and gradual desorption of final product was observed. The micromorphology, chemical structure, and components of the nanohybrids were comprehensively characterized by a series of analysis technologies, such as EDX, XRD, SEM, TEM, and XPS. The interactions between the nanohybrids compositions were discussed according to the characterization and experimental data. The whole insight of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) adsorption- dechlorination-desorption was studied in detail, including the pathways, influence factors, dechlorination kinetics and selectivity. Weak acidity (pH = 5.0 and 6.5) favored the 2,4-DCP removal. Satisfactory reactivity of the Pd/Fe-Fe3O4@MWCNTs nanohybrids was observed in five consecutive runs, and 99.2%, 89.6%, 92.1%, 99.8%, and 99.9% of 2,4-DCP was removed, respectively. Most of the final product (phenol) was steadily desorbed to the liquid phase, resulted in the re-exposure of active sites on the nanohybrids and maintained a longer activity.

Xu, J, Liu, X, Lowry, GV, Cao, Z, Zhao, H, Zhou, JL & Xu, X 2016, 'Dechlorination Mechanism of 2,4-Dichlorophenol by Magnetic MWCNTs Supported Pd/Fe Nanohybrids: Rapid Adsorption, Gradual Dechlorination, and Desorption of Phenol', ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 8, no. 11, pp. 7333-7342.
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© 2016 American Chemical Society. 2,4-dichlorophenol was effectively removed from water using magnetic Pd/Fe nanoparticles supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and energy for 2,4-dichlorophenol and its partially (4-chlorophenol, 2-chlorophenol) and completely (phenol) dechlorinated products are presented and discussed. The adsorption capacity was 2,4-dichlorophenol > 4-chlorophenol > 2-chlorophenol > phenol for MWCNTs. MWCNTs-Fe3O4-Pd/Fe nanohybrids provided rapid adsorption, gradual dechlorination, and final desorption of phenol, which is attractive as a remediation technology. Over 82.7% of the phenol was desorbed and released to the aqueous phase after 72 h due to its low adsorption capacity, leaving the majority of active sites available on the surface of MWCNTs-Fe3O4-Pd/Fe. The nanohybrids maintained high activity in five consecutive in situ experiments, and they were retrievable using magnetic separation. MWCNTs-Fe3O4-Pd/Fe nanohybrids outperform unsupported Pd/Fe nanoparticles, which were difficult to retrieve, and were easily passivated and aggregated.

Xu, J, Wu, C, Xiang, H, Su, Y, Li, Z-X, Fang, Q, Hao, H, Liu, Z, Zhang, Y & Li, J 2016, 'Behaviour of ultra high performance fibre reinforced concrete columns subjected to blast loading', Engineering Structures, vol. 118, pp. 97-107.
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Ultra high performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) is a cement-based composite material mixing with reactive powder and steel fibres. It is characterized by its high strength, high ductility and high toughness and such characteristics enable its great potential in protective engineering against extreme loads such as impact or explosion. In the present study, a series of field tests were conducted to investigate the behaviour of UHPFRC columns subjected to blast loading. In total four 0.2 m × 0.2 m × 2.5 m UHPFRC columns were tested under different designed explosions but all at a standoff distance of 1.5 m. Blast tests were also performed on four high strength reinforced concrete (HSRC) columns with the same size and reinforcement as UHPFRC columns to evaluate their behaviour under the same loading conditions. The data collected from each specimen included reflected overpressures, column deflections at centre and near the supports. Three major damage modes, including flexural, shear and concrete spalling failure modes, were observed. The post blast crack patterns, permanent deflections and different levels of damage observations showed that UHPFRC columns performed superior in blast loading resistance as compared with HSRC columns.

Xu, T & Castel, A 2016, 'Modeling the dynamic stiffness of cracked reinforced concrete beams under low-amplitude vibration loads', Journal of Sound and Vibration, vol. 368, pp. 135-147.
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In this paper, a model, initially developed to calculate the stiffness of cracked reinforced concrete beams under static loading, is used to assess the dynamic stiffness. The model allows calculating the average inertia of cracked beams by taking into account the effect of bending cracks (primary cracks) and steel-concrete bond damage (i.e. interfacial microcracks). Free and forced vibration experiments are used to assess the performance of the model. The respective influence of bending cracks and steel-concrete bond damage on both static and dynamic responses is analyzed. The comparison between experimental and simulated deflections confirms that the effects of both bending cracks and steel-concrete bond loss should be taken into account to assess reinforced concrete stiffness under service static loading. On the contrary, comparison of experimental and calculated dynamic responses reveals that localized steel-concrete bond damages do not influence significantly the dynamic stiffness and the fundamental frequency.

Xu, T, Castel, A, Gilbert, RI & Murray, A 2016, 'Modeling the tensile steel reinforcement strain in RC-beams subjected to cycles of loading and unloading', Engineering Structures, vol. 126, pp. 92-105.
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Xu, Y, Yuan, Z & Ni, B-J 2016, 'Biotransformation of pharmaceuticals by ammonia oxidizing bacteria in wastewater treatment processes', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 566-567, pp. 796-805.
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Pharmaceutical residues could potentially pose detrimental effects on aquatic ecosystems and human health, with wastewater treatment being one of the major pathways for pharmaceuticals to enter into the environment. Enhanced removal of pharmaceuticals by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) has been widely observed in wastewater treatment processes. This article reviews the current knowledge on the biotransformation of pharmaceuticals by AOB. The relationship between the pharmaceuticals removal and nitrification process was revealed. The important role of AOB-induced cometabolism on the biotransformation of pharmaceuticals as well as their transformation products and pathways was elucidated. Kinetics and mathematical models describing the biotransformation of pharmaceuticals by AOB were also reviewed. The results highlighted the high degradation capabilities of AOB toward some refractory pharmaceuticals, with their degradations being clearly related to the nitrification rate and their transformation products being identified, which may exhibit similar or higher ecotoxicological impacts compared to the parent compound.

Yang, J, Wu, D, Li, A, Guo, H, Chen, H, Pi, S, Wei, W & Ma, F 2016, 'The Addition of N-Hexanoyl-Homoserine Lactone to Improve the Microbial Flocculant Production of Agrobacterium tumefaciens Strain F2, an Exopolysaccharide Bioflocculant-Producing Bacterium', Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, vol. 179, no. 5, pp. 728-739.
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Yao, M, Woo, YC, Tijing, LD, Shim, W-G, Choi, J-S, Kim, S-H & Shon, HK 2016, 'Effect of heat-press conditions on electrospun membranes for desalination by direct contact membrane distillation', DESALINATION, vol. 378, pp. 80-91.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Membrane distillation (MD) is considered as a promising next-generation technology for desalination. However, there is no specific membrane designed and engineered for this application yet. Recently, electrospun polymeric membranes have been widely investigated due to their relatively high porosity, high hydrophobicity and controllable pore size. However, the robustness of such membranes is not guaranteed as they are susceptible to wetting in long-term operation. Heat-press treatment is a simple and effective procedure to improve both morphological and mechanical characteristics of the electrospun membrane. Nevertheless, the heat-press technique is not fully investigated although some conditions are applied to the electrospun membrane in previous researches. In this paper, a comprehensive investigation of the effect of heat-press temperature, pressure and duration on the morphological and mechanical characteristics of electrospun membrane is accomplished. Impressive improvement of mechanical strength and liquid entry pressure (LEP) can be achieved after heat-press treatment on the electrospun membranes. It is also found that temperature and duration play more important roles than pressure in heat-press treatment. In addition, it is ascertained that optimal treatment conditions for heat-press includes temperature at 150. °C, pressure at 6.5. kPa, and duration for 8. h for the present electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene membrane. A decent DCMD permeation flux of 29 LMH and salt rejection of 99.99% can be achieved with the optimally heat-pressed electrospun membranes for desalination at feed and permeate temperatures of 60 and 20. °C, respectively.

Ye, Y, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Liu, Y, Zhang, X, Guo, J, Ni, B-J, Chang, SW & Nguyen, DD 2016, 'Insight into biological phosphate recovery from sewage', Bioresource Technology, vol. 218, pp. 874-881.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd The world's increasing population means that more food production is required. A more sustainable supply of fertilizers mainly consisting of phosphate is needed. Due to the rising consumption of scarce resources and limited natural supply of phosphate, the recovery of phosphate and their re-use has potentially high market value. Sewage has high potential to recover a large amount of phosphate in a circular economy approach. This paper focuses on utilization of biological process integrated with various subsequent processes to concentrate and recycle phosphate which are derived from liquid and sludge phases. The phosphate accumulation and recovery are discussed in terms of mechanism and governing parameters, recovery efficiency, application at plant-scale and economy.

Yin, X, Zhang, J, Hu, Z, Xie, H, Guo, W, Wang, Q, Ngo, HH, Liang, S, Lu, S & Wu, W 2016, 'Effect of photosynthetically elevated pH on performance of surface flow-constructed wetland planted with Phragmites australis', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 15, pp. 15524-15531.
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Ying, X-Y, Ding, G, Hu, X-J & Zhang, Y-Q 2016, 'Developing planning indicators for outdoor wind environments of high-rise residential buildings', Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE A, vol. 17, no. 5, pp. 378-388.
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© 2016, Zhejiang University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. The construction of a building may change the microclimate in the vicinity, and planning indicators in a master plan may directly affect the outdoor physical environmental quality in residential areas. An inappropriate plan for a site may accelerate wind and intensify vortexes over places on the pedestrian levels, which leads to an adverse outdoor environment. Therefore, the design of a cluster of buildings should not focus only on the buildings but also provide a good outdoor environment around the buildings. To tackle the problem of inadequate wind environment, the relationship between the building’s floor area ratio and height was identified in this study as the main planning indicator to be examined on its effects on the outdoor wind environment. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was hence developed to simulate the wind conditions generated by some typical site layouts with different values for planning indicators under relevant weather conditions, which were typical of those in Hangzhou, China. The simulated wind conditions are assessed using the wind speed ratio over the whole area of the building cluster at the pedestrian level. The effects on the local wind condition due to the varying of the planning indicators are discussed whilst considering the potential construction costs. The indicators resulting in better external conditions are highlighted in the conclusion as the recommendation which could be used as a rule of thumb by architects and planners at the master planning stage. The study disproves the common belief in the practice that a lower floor area ratio means fewer buildings and therefore greater external comfort. In fact, the higher the building, the greater the outdoor comfort wind zone for pedestrians. However, the increment in comfort area is limited to buildings extending from 25 to 30 levels.

Youssef, AM, Al-kathery, M, Pradhan, B & El-sahly, T 2016, 'Debris flow impact assessment along the Al-Raith Road, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, using remote sensing data and field investigations', Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 620-638.
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Youssef, AM, Pradhan, B & Sefry, SA 2016, 'Flash flood susceptibility assessment in Jeddah city (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) using bivariate and multivariate statistical models', Environmental Earth Sciences, vol. 75, no. 1, p. 12.
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The city of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) has experienced two catastrophic flash flood events in 2009 and 2011. These flood events had catastrophic effect on human lives and livelihoods around the wadi Muraikh, wadi Qus, wadi Methweb, and wadi Ghulail in which 113 people were dead and with 10,000 houses and 17,000 vehicles were damaged. Thus, a comprehensive flood management is required. The flood management requires information on different aspects such as the hydrological, geotechnical, environmental, social, and economic aspects of flooding. Flood susceptibility mapping for any area helps the decision makers to understand the flood trends and can aid in appropriate planning and flood prevention. In this study, two models were used for the generation of flood susceptibility maps for the Jeddah region. The first model includes bivariate probability analysis (frequency ratio), and the second model uses the multivariate analysis. For the multivariate model, the acquired weights of the FR model were entered into the logistic regression model to evaluate the correlation between flood occurrence and each related factor. This integration will overcome some of the weakness of the logistic regression, and the performance the LR will be enhanced. A flood inventory map was prepared with a total of 127 flood locations. These flood locations were extracted from different sources including field investigation and high-resolution satellite image (IKONOS 1 m). These flood locations were randomly split into two groups, one dataset representing 70 % was used for training the models, and the remaining 30 % was used for models validation. Various independent flood-related factors such as slope, elevation, curvature, geology, landuse, soil drain, and distance from streams were included. The impact of each independent flood-related factors on flooding was evaluated by analyzing each independent factor with the historical flood inventory data. The training and validation datasets w...

Youssef, AM, Sefry, SA, Pradhan, B & Alfadail, EA 2016, 'Analysis on causes of flash flood in Jeddah city (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) of 2009 and 2011 using multi-sensor remote sensing data and GIS', Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 1018-1042.
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The Jeddah city is located in a coastal plain area, in the middle of the western side of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bounded by the Red Sea to the west and mountains to the east. Jeddah city receives rainfall runoff from the foothills through different drainage pathways (wadis). During intense rainfall events, runoff flows westward from the hills and mountains towards the Red Sea, causing flash floods in the urban areas along the pathways of these wadis. Two major flash flood events occurred in Jeddah city during 20 November 2009 - January 2011. These events were characterized by rainfall precipitation values of 70 and 111 mm, respectively. Each flash flood event has duration of three hours. The impact of these two flood events have been disastrous causing extensive flooding that killed 113 people in 2009 and damaged infrastructure and property (more than 10,000 homes and 17,000 vehicles). This study deals with the analysis of the different factors that caused these flash flood events. The results indicate that the causes of these floods are related to a number of factors which play as a major contribution to the worsening of the flood disaster. These factors were classified into the following: geomorphological features, anthropogenic activities (urban changes), network and catchment factors, and rainfall and climatic changes factors. The climatic changes have a major impact on the rainfall intensity and will appear more in the future. Other factors related to the wadis tributaries are narrow passes, and high slope of the wadi has additional impacts in the flash floods in the area. The anthropogenic activities include the proliferation of slums and construction in the valleys coupled with the lack of suitable water streams to accommodate the amount of water flowing and the presence of dirt led to the direction of flow.

Yu, Y, Dackermann, U, Li, J & Subhani, M 2016, 'Condition Assessment of Timber Utility Poles Based on a Hierarchical Data Fusion Model', JOURNAL OF COMPUTING IN CIVIL ENGINEERING, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 04016010-1-04016010-13.
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© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers. This paper proposes a novel hierarchical data fusion technique for the non-destructive testing (NDT) and condition assessment of timber utility poles. The new method analyzes stress wave data from multisensor and multiexcitation guided wave testing using a hierarchical data fusion model consisting of feature extraction, data compression, pattern recognition, and decision fusion algorithms. The researchers validate the proposed technique using guided wave tests of a sample of in situ timber poles. The actual health states of these poles are known from autopsies conducted after the testing, forming a ground-truth for supervised classification. In the proposed method, a data fusion level extracts the main features from the sampled stress wave signals using power spectrum density (PSD) estimation, wavelet packet transform (WPT), and empirical mode decomposition (EMD). These features are then compiled to a feature vector via real-number encoding and sent to the next level for further processing. Principal component analysis (PCA) is also adopted for feature compression and to minimize information redundancy and noise interference. In the feature fusion level, two classifiers based on support vector machine (SVM) are applied to sensor separated data of the two excitation types and the pole condition is identified. In the decision making fusion level, the Dempster-Shafer (D-S) evidence theory is employed to integrate the results from the individual sensors obtaining a final decision. The results of the in situ timber pole testing show that the proposed hierarchical data fusion model was able to distinguish between healthy and faulty poles, demonstrating the effectiveness of the new method.

Yu, Y, Li, J, Yan, N, Dackermann, U & Samali, B 2016, 'Load capacity prediction of in-service timber utility poles considering wind load', Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 385-394.
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© 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. This paper presents a numerical investigation on the influence of different types of damage to the load capacity of in-service timber utility poles. Current design codes do not highlight a pole’s strength performance due to different types of damage. However, damages typically found in ageing timber poles, such as damage due to fungus or termite attack, have very different characteristics and result in various effects on the strength properties of timber poles. Hence, the presented study investigates the influence of typical common types of damage to the strength properties and load capacities of timber utility poles. The study considers the damage type, location and severity. Wind load is considered as critical load due to the practical issue. The research shows that external damages at ground level significantly affect the load capacity of a timber pole. While internal damage, such as termite nests, has less influence on the load capacity regardless of the damage location and severity.

Yu, Y, Li, Y, Li, J & Gu, X 2016, 'A hysteresis model for dynamic behaviour of magnetorheological elastomer base isolator', Smart Materials and Structures, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 055029-055029.
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© 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd. In recent years, an adaptively tuned magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) isolator for a base isolation system has been designed and tested with the benefits of low power cost, fail safe manner and fast responses. To make full use of this striking device for design of smart structures, a highly precise model should be developed to effectively and accurately forecast the shear force of the device in real-time so as to adopt a proper control strategy to improve the responses of the protected structures. In this work, a novel mechanical model is presented to characterize this nonlinear hysteresis for its implementation in structural vibration control. This model employs the displacement and velocity of the device as well as the applied current as the inputs and just has the limited constant parameters to be identified compared with some classical hysteretic models such as Bouc-Wen, improved Dahl and LuGre models. Performance evaluation of this novel hysteresis model has been conducted based on the testing data from an MRE base isolator. The results show that the proposed model has high modelling accuracy and is able to perfectly portray the unique and complicated behaviours of the device with various excitations.

Zahid, R, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Abul Kalam, M, Mufti, RA, Zulkifli, NWBM, Gulzar, M & Azman, SSBN 2016, 'Influence of intrinsic and extrinsic conditions on the tribological characteristics of diamond-like carbon coatings: A review (vol 31, pg 1814, 2016)', JOURNAL OF MATERIALS RESEARCH, vol. 31, no. 13, pp. 1983-1983.

Zahid, R, Masjuki, HH, Varman, M, Kalam, MA, Mufti, RA, Mohd Zulkifli, NWB, Gulzar, M & Nor Azman, SSB 2016, 'Influence of intrinsic and extrinsic conditions on the tribological characteristics of diamond-like carbon coatings: A review', Journal of Materials Research, vol. 31, no. 13, pp. 1814-1836.
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Abstract

Zhang, F, Wu, C, Zhao, X-L, Xiang, H, Li, Z-X, Fang, Q, Liu, Z, Zhang, Y, Heidarpour, A & Packer, JA 2016, 'Experimental study of CFDST columns infilled with UHPC under close-range blast loading', International Journal of Impact Engineering, vol. 93, pp. 184-195.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Concrete-filled double-skin tubes (CFDST) have been increasingly popular in the field of engineering in recent years. A lot of research has been carried out to investigate the behaviour of CFDST members under a variety of loading conditions. This paper presents an experimental investigation on ultra-high performance concrete infilled double-skin tube columns subjected to close-in blast loading. Two types of CFDST columns were investigated in the experiments - one with both inner and outer tubes circular and the other one with both square. The main test parameters included the explosive charge weight and the magnitude of axial load. After the blast tests, there was no visible buckling nor ruptures found on the steel tubes and only minor cracks, of no more than 1mm width, were observed in the core concrete when the outer steel tube was removed. Based on the findings of the experiments, it is evident that CFDST column has excellent blast resistance. This feature has the potential to be used in high-value structures which may be the targets of terrorist attacks, such as embassies, government buildings and critical infrastructures.

Zhang, J, Jia, W, Wang, R, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Xie, H & Liang, S 2016, 'Microbial community characteristics during simultaneous nitrification-denitrification process: effect of COD/TP ratio', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 2557-2565.
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Zhang, M, Liu, R, Wang, Z, Zhao, B, Song, J, Park, MJ, Shon, HK, Li, X-M & He, T 2016, 'Dehydration of forward osmosis membranes in treating high salinity wastewaters: Performance and implications', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 498, pp. 365-373.
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Zhang, QH, Jin, PK, Ngo, HH, Shi, X, Guo, WS, Yang, SJ, Wang, XC, Wang, X, Dzakpasu, M, Yang, WN & Yang, L 2016, 'Transformation and utilization of slowly biodegradable organic matters in biological sewage treatment of anaerobic anoxic oxic systems', Bioresource Technology, vol. 218, pp. 53-61.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. This study examined the distribution of carbon sources in two anaerobic anoxic oxic (AAO) sewage treatment plants in Xi'an and investigated the transformation characteristics and utilization potential of slowly biodegradable organic matters (SBOM). Results indicated under anaerobic and aerobic conditions, SBOM could be transformed at a rate of 65% in 8 h into more readily biologically utilizable substrates such as volatile fatty acids (VFAs), polysaccharides and proteins. Additionally, non-biodegradable humus-type substances which are difficult to biodegrade and readily accumulate, were also generated. These products could be further hydrolyzed to aldehyde and ketone compounds and then transformed into substances with significant oxygen-containing functional groups and utilized subsequently. The molecular weights of proteinoid substances had a wide distribution and tended to decrease over time. Long hours of microbial reaction increased the proportion of micromolecular substances. This particular increase generated significant bioavailability, which can greatly improve the efficiency of nitrogen removal.

Zhang, QH, Yang, WN, Ngo, HH, Guo, WS, Jin, PK, Dzakpasu, M, Yang, SJ, Wang, Q, Wang, XC & Ao, D 2016, 'Current status of urban wastewater treatment plants in China', Environment International, vol. 92-93, pp. 11-22.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. The study reported and analyzed the current state of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in urban China from the perspective of treatment technologies, pollutant removals, operating load and effluent discharge standards. By the end of 2013, 3508 WWTPs have been built in 31 provinces and cities in China with a total treatment capacity of 1.48 × 108 m3/d. The uneven population distribution between China's east and west regions has resulted in notably different economic development outcomes. The technologies mostly used in WWTPs are AAO and oxidation ditch, which account for over 50% of the existing WWTPs. According to statistics, the efficiencies of COD and NH3-N removal are good in 656 WWTPs in 70 cities. The overall average COD removal is over 88% with few regional differences. The average removal efficiency of NH3-N is up to 80%. Large differences exist between the operating loads applied in different WWTPs. The average operating loading rate is approximately 83%, and 52% of WWTPs operate at loadings of <80%, treating up to 40% of the wastewater generated. The implementation of discharge standards has been low. Approximately 28% of WWTPs that achieved the Grade I-A Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (GB 18918-2002) were constructed after 2010. The sludge treatment and recycling rates are only 25%, and approximately 15% of wastewater is inefficiently treated. Approximately 60% of WWTPs have capacities of 1 × 104 m3/d-5 × 104 m3/d. Relatively high energy consumption is required for small-scale processing, and the utilization rate of recycled wastewater is low. The challenges of WWTPs are discussed with the aim of developing rational criteria and appropriate technologies for water recycling. Suggestions regarding potential technical and administrative measures are provided.

Zhang, QY, Ma, XY, Wang, XC & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Assessment of multiple hormone activities of a UV-filter (octocrylene) in zebrafish (Danio rerio)', Chemosphere, vol. 159, pp. 433-441.
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Zhang, T, Wang, Q, Ye, L & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Effect of free nitrous acid pre-treatment on primary sludge biodegradability and its implications', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 290, pp. 31-36.
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Free nitrous acid (FNA i.e. HNO2) pre-treatment has been demonstrated to be effective in enhancing methane production from waste activated sludge (WAS). In some wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), primary sludge (PS) and WAS are commonly mixed and digested simultaneously in the anaerobic digester. In order to reveal whether and how the PS and WAS should be jointly treated by FNA in WWTPs, this study presents the effects and mechanisms of FNA pre-treatment on methane production from PS. Full-scale derived PS was pre-treated with FNA at concentrations of 0-3.85mgN/L followed by biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests. FNA treated PS was centrifuged to separate the supernatant from the solid phase for BMP tests on both fractions. FNA pre-treatment resulted in the methane potential reduction of 1-7%. The methane production from both supernatant and solid phases also decreased. PS solubilisation in combination with the molecular weight distribution and chemical structure analysis of the soluble phase showed very limited release of readily biodegradable substances from PS with FNA pre-treatment. The fact that FNA pre-treatment compromised the methane production from PS indicates that FNA-based sludge pre-treatment technology should implemented solely on WAS to maximise the methane production from the two sludge streams.

Zhang, T, Wang, Q, Ye, L & Yuan, Z 2016, 'Enhancing post anaerobic digestion of full-scale anaerobically digested sludge using free nitrous acid treatment', Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, vol. 43, no. 5, pp. 713-717.
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Abstract In some wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), the ever increasing production of sludge with the expanding population overloaded the anaerobic digestion which compromises the sludge reduction efficiency. Post anaerobic digestion of anaerobically digested sludge (ADS) has been applied to enhance sludge reduction, however, to a very limited extent. This study verified the effectiveness of free nitrous acid (FNA i.e. HNO2) pre-treatment on enhancing full-scale ADS degradation in post anaerobic digestion. The ADS collected from a full-scale WWTP was subject to FNA treatment at concentrations of 0.77, 1.54, 2.31, 3.08, and 3.85 mg N/L for 24 h followed by biochemical methane potential tests. The FNA treatment at all concentrations resulted in an increase (from 1.5–3.1 % compared to the control) in sludge reduction with the highest improvement achieved at 0.77 mg HNO2-N/L. The FNA treatment at this concentration also resulted in the highest increase in methane production (40 %) compared to the control. The economic analysis indicates that FNA treatment is economically attractive for enhancing post anaerobic digestion of full-scale ADS.

Zhang, X, Chen, X, Zhang, C, Wen, H, Guo, W & Ngo, HH 2016, 'Effect of filling fraction on the performance of sponge-based moving bed biofilm reactor', Bioresource Technology, vol. 219, pp. 762-767.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Cubic-shaped polyurethane sponges (15 × 15 × 15 mm) in the form of biofilm carriers were used in a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) for treating synthetic domestic wastewater. Results indicated there was no significant difference in total organic carbon (TOC) and ammonia (NH4+-N) removal at different filling fractions. Three reactors exhibited high removal efficiencies of over 93% TOC and 95% NH4+-N on average at an HRT of 12 h and aeration flow of 0.09 m3/h. However, total nitrogen (TN) removal and simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) increased with increasing the filling fraction. TN removal averaged at 77.2, 85.5% and 86.7% in 10%, 20% and 30% filling fraction reactor, respectively. Correspondingly, SND were 85.5 ± 8.7%, 91.3 ± 9.4% and 93.3 ± 10.2%. Moreover, it was observed that sponge carriers in the 20% filling fraction reactor achieved the maximum biomass amount per gram sponge, followed by the 10% and 30% filling fraction reactors.

Zhang, X, Guo, W, Ngo, HH, Wen, H, Li, N & Wu, W 2016, 'Performance evaluation of powdered activated carbon for removing 28 types of antibiotics from water', Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 172, pp. 193-200.
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Zhao, C, Xie, H, Xu, J, Zhang, J, Liang, S, Hao, J, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Xu, X, Wang, Q & Wang, J 2016, 'Removal mechanisms and plant species selection by bioaccumulative factors in surface flow constructed wetlands (CWs): In the case of triclosan', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 547, pp. 9-16.
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Zhao, H, Liu, X, Cao, Z, Zhan, Y, Shi, X, Yang, Y, Zhou, J & Xu, J 2016, 'Adsorption behavior and mechanism of chloramphenicols, sulfonamides, and non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals on multi-walled carbon nanotubes', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 310, pp. 235-245.
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The adsorption behavior of different emerging contaminants (3 chloramphenicols, 7 sulfonamides, and 3 non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals) on five types of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and the underlying factors were studied. Adsorption equilibriums were reached within 12h for all compounds, and well fitted by the Freundlich isotherm model. The adsorption affinity of pharmaceuticals was positively related to the specific surface area of MWCNTs. The solution pH was an important parameter of pharmaceutical adsorption on MWCNTs, due to its impacts on the chemical speciation of pharmaceuticals and the surface electrical property of MWCNTs. The adsorption of ionizable pharmaceuticals decreased in varying degrees with the increased ionic strength. MWCNT-10 was found to be the strongest adsorbent in this study, and the Freundlich constant (KF) values were 353-2814mmol(1-n)L(n)/kg, 571-618mmol(1-n)L(n)/kg, and 317-1522mmol(1-n)L(n)/kg for sulfonamides, chloramphenicols, and non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals, respectively. The different adsorption affinity of sulfonamides might contribute to the different hydrophobic of heterocyclic substituents, while chloramphenicols adsorption was affected by the charge distribution in aromatic rings via substituent effects.

Zhao, J, Liu, Y, Ni, B, Wang, Q, Wang, D, Yang, Q, Sun, Y, Zeng, G & Li, X 2016, 'Combined Effect of Free Nitrous Acid Pretreatment and Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate on Short-Chain Fatty Acid Production from Waste Activated Sludge', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 21622.
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AbstractFree nitrous acid (FNA) serving as a pretreatment is an effective approach to accelerate sludge disintegration. Also, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS), a type of surfactants, has been determined at significant levels in sewage sludge, which thereby affects the characteristics of sludge. Both FNA pretreatment and sludge SDBS levels can affect short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) generation from sludge anaerobic fermentation. To date, however, the combined effect of FNA pretreatment and SDBS presence on SCFA production as well as the corresponding mechanisms have never been documented. This work therefore aims to provide such support. Experimental results showed that the combination of FNA and SDBS treatment not only improved SCFA accumulation but also shortened the fermentation time. The maximal SCFA accumulation of 334.5 mg chemical oxygen demand (COD)/g volatile suspended solids (VSS) was achieved at 1.54 mg FNA/L treatment and 0.02 g/g dry sludge, which was respectively 1.79-fold and 1.41-fold of that from FNA treatment and sludge containing SDBS alone. Mechanism investigations revealed that the combined FNA pretreatment and SDBS accelerated solubilization, hydrolysis, and acidification steps but inhibited the methanogenesis. All those observations were in agreement with SCFA enhancement.

Zhao, L-S, Zhou, W-H, Fatahi, B, Li, X-B & Yuen, K-V 2016, 'A dual beam model for geosynthetic-reinforced granular fill on an elastic foundation', Applied Mathematical Modelling, vol. 40, no. 21-22, pp. 9254-9268.
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In this study, a new dual beam model was proposed for a geosynthetic-reinforced granular fill with an upper pavement. This dual beam model was subjected to a uniform surcharge loading and resting on an elastic foundation which was simulated by a Pasternak model. The upper pavement was modeled by an Euler-Bernoulli beam while the geosynthetic reinforced granular fill was simulated by a reinforced Timoshenko beam. The explicit derivation process for the behavior of this dual beam-foundation system was presented and an exact solution was obtained. A two-dimensional finite element analysis and a Pasternak model for simulating the granular fill were carried out to validate the reliability of the proposed dual beam model. A parametric analysis was put forward to investigate the behavior of this dual beam-foundation system. It was found that the length of the pavement structure and vertical uniform loading, the stiffness and shear modulus of the foundation soil had significant influences on the behavior of the dual beam-foundation system.

Zhao, P, Gao, B, Yue, Q, Liu, P & Shon, HK 2016, 'Fatty acid fouling of forward osmosis membrane: Effects of pH, calcium, membrane orientation, initial permeate flux and foulant composition', Journal of Environmental Sciences, vol. 46, pp. 55-62.
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© 2016 Octanoic acid (OA) was selected to represent fatty acids in effluent organic matter (EOM). The effects of feed solution (FS) properties, membrane orientation and initial permeate flux on OA fouling in forward osmosis (FO) were investigated. The undissociated OA formed a cake layer quickly and caused the water flux to decline significantly in the initial 0.5 hr at unadjusted pH 3.56; while the fully dissociated OA behaved as an anionic surfactant and promoted the water permeation at an elevated pH of 9.00. Moreover, except at the initial stage, the sudden decline of water flux (meaning the occurrence of severe membrane fouling) occurred in two conditions: 1. 0.5 mmol/L Ca2 +, active layer facing draw solution (AL-DS) and 1.5 mol/L NaCl (DS); 2. No Ca2 +, active layer-facing FS (AL-FS) and 4 mol/L NaCl (DS). This demonstrated that cake layer compaction or pore blocking occurred only when enough foulants were absorbed into the membrane surface, and the water permeation was high enough to compact the deposit inside the porous substrate. Furthermore, bovine serum albumin (BSA) was selected as a co-foulant. The water flux of both co-foulants was between the fluxes obtained separately for the two foulants at pH 3.56, and larger than the two values at pH 9.00. This manifested that, at pH 3.56, BSA alleviated the effect of the cake layer caused by OA, and OA enhanced BSA fouling simultaneously; while at pH 9.00, the mutual effects of OA and BSA eased the membrane fouling.

Zhao, P, Gao, B, Yue, Q, Liu, S & Shon, HK 2016, 'The performance of forward osmosis in treating high-salinity wastewater containing heavy metal Ni2+', Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 288, pp. 569-576.
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© 2015 Elsevier B.V. In this study, the performance of forward osmosis (FO) in treating the high-salinity feed waters containing heavy metal Ni2+ with different salinities was investigated using two different FO membranes (cellulose triacetate (CTA) and polyamide-based thin-film composite (TFC) membrane). Moreover, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were selected to analyze the used membrane. The result showed that, heavy metals Ni2+ stimulated the formation of CP, and then decreased the water flux. However, this effect decreased with the increase of FS salinity and membrane hydrophilicity. Due to the amphiprotic characteristics, SDBS promoted the water permeation by increasing the hydrophilicity of the membrane surface. The effect of SDBS on CTA-FO membrane was greater than TFC-FO membrane for that CTA-FO membrane was weakly hydrophilic. However, the role decreased with the salinity increasing. Ni2+ removal efficiencies were more than 93%. Specifically, TFC-FO membrane was higher than CTA-FO membrane in high-salinity wastewater, and the FO mode maintained an advantage over the PRO mode. SDBS enhanced Ni2+ removal efficiency greatly at low salinity, and decreased it instead at high salinity. The SEM-EDS analysis supplied the technique support and reflected the role of Ni2+ and SDBS in the membrane directly.

Zhao, P, Gao, B, Yue, Q, Shon, HK & Li, Q 2016, 'Fouling of forward osmosis membrane by protein (BSA): effects of pH, calcium, ionic strength, initial permeate flux, membrane orientation and foulant composition', Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 57, no. 29, pp. 13415-13424.
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© 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. In this study, bovine serum albumin (BSA) was selected to represent proteins of secondary wastewater effluent. The role of various physical and chemical interactions, such as calcium concentration, ionic strength, solution pH, feed foulant composition, initial permeate flux, and membrane orientation, in BSA fouling of forward osmosis (FO) membranes was investigated. Fouling experiments showed that membrane fouling by BSA was enhanced with increasing calcium concentration and ionic strength. The former was mainly due to the complexes formed by the interaction of Ca²⁺ and carboxylic functional groups of BSA, and the latter resulted from the decreasing electrostatic repulsion among BSA molecules and between BSA molecules and membrane. Moreover, FO membrane fouling became much more significant at solution pH 4.7 (the BSA isoelectric point), where BSA molecules were neutrally charged and had no electrostatic repulsion among themselves. It was also demonstrated that the presence of alginate (a model polysaccharide) as co-foulant aggravated the BSA fouling of FO membrane, which could be attributed to the remarkable contribution of the alginateBSACa²⁺ complexes within the fouling layer to the total membrane resistance. The fouled membranes were examined by scanning electron microscopy to further sustain the conclusion. In addition, the size distribution of foulant molecules in various FS was measured and used as a reference to judge and control the behavior of BSA fouling. The present paper is contributed to better understanding of FO membrane fouling caused by protein (BSA) and has instructive significance for the future development.

Zheng, J, Ouyang, Q, Li, Z, Li, Y & Wang, J 2016, 'Experimental analysis of separately controlled multi-coils on the performance of magnetorheological absorber under impact loading', Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, vol. 27, no. 7, pp. 887-897.
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A magnetorheological absorber is capable of actively adapting any gun recoil condition by means of controlled Coulomb force. The objective of multi-coil magnetorheological absorber with individual input currents is to mitigate the peak force transferred to the buffer structure during bullet firing, and thus to increase the structural fatigue life. This article investigates various cases by applying random combinations of input currents to the magnetic coils. The impact tests were conducted by obtaining and analyzing the force, displacement, and velocity. As a reference, input currents with equivalent magnitude are considered statistically, in terms of average peak force and occurrence time. The experimental results show that separately controlled multi-coils contribute to the magnitude and occurrence time of peak force significantly. Furthermore, to reduce peak forces, a simple open-loop control strategy was proposed and validated effectively by the experimental results.

Zheng, X, Yang, Y, Liu, M, Yu, Y, Zhou, JL & Li, D 2016, 'PAH determination based on a rapid and novel gas purge-microsyringe extraction (GP-MSE) technique in road dust of Shanghai, China: Characterization, source apportionment, and health risk assessment', Science of The Total Environment, vol. 557-558, pp. 688-696.
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A novel cleanup technique termed as gas purge-microsyringe extraction (GP-MSE) was evaluated and applied for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) determination in road dust samples. A total of 68 road dust samples covering almost the entire Shanghai area were analyzed for 16 priority PAHs using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results indicate that the total PAH concentrations over the investigated sites ranged from 1.04μg/g to 134.02μg/g dw with an average of 13.84μg/g. High-molecular-weight compounds (4-6 rings PAHs) were significantly dominant in the total mass of PAHs, and accounted for 77.85% to 93.62%. Diagnostic ratio analysis showed that the road dust PAHs were mainly from the mixture of petroleum and biomass/coal combustions. Principal component analysis in conjunction with multiple linear regression indicated that the two major origins of road dust PAHs were vehicular emissions and biomass/fossil fuel combustions, which contributed 66.7% and 18.8% to the total road dust PAH burden, respectively. The concentration of benzo[a]pyrene equivalent (BaPeq) varied from 0.16μg/g to 24.47μg/g. The six highly carcinogenic PAH species (benz(a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, dibenz(a,h)anthracene, and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene) accounted for 98.57% of the total BaPeq concentration. Thus, the toxicity of PAHs in road dust was highly associated with high-molecular-weight compounds.

Zheng, Y, Wang, X, Dzakpasu, M, Zhao, Y, Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Ge, Y & Xiong, J 2016, 'Effects of interspecific competition on the growth of macrophytes and nutrient removal in constructed wetlands: A comparative assessment of free water surface and horizontal subsurface flow systems', Bioresource Technology, vol. 207, pp. 134-141.
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Zheng, Z, Wei, W, Liu, C, Cao, W, Cao, L & Bhatia, M 2016, 'An effective contrast sequential pattern mining approach to taxpayer behavior analysis', World Wide Web, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 633-651.
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© 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Data mining for client behavior analysis has become increasingly important in business, however further analysis on transactions and sequential behaviors would be of even greater value, especially in the financial service industry, such as banking and insurance, government and so on. In a real-world business application of taxation debt collection, in order to understand the internal relationship between taxpayers’ sequential behaviors (payment, lodgment and actions) and compliance to their debt, we need to find the contrast sequential behavior patterns between compliant and non-compliant taxpayers. Contrast Patterns (CP) are defined as the itemsets showing the difference/discrimination between two classes/datasets (Dong and Li, 1999). However, the existing CP mining methods which can only mine itemset patterns, are not suitable for mining sequential patterns, such as time-ordered transactions in taxpayer sequential behaviors. Little work has been conducted on Contrast Sequential Pattern (CSP) mining so far. Therefore, to address this issue, we develop a CSP mining approach, eCSP, by using an effective CSP-tree structure, which improves the PrefixSpan tree (Pei et al., 2001) for mining contrast patterns. We propose some heuristics and interestingness filtering criteria, and integrate them into the CSP-tree seamlessly to reduce the search space and to find business-interesting patterns as well. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated on three real-world datasets. In addition, we use a case study to show how to implement the approach to analyse taxpayer behaviour. The results show a very promising performance and convincing business value.

Zhou, S, Huang, T, Ngo, HH, Zhang, H, Liu, F, Zeng, M, Shi, J & Qiu, X 2016, 'Nitrogen removal characteristics of indigenous aerobic denitrifiers and changes in the microbial community of a reservoir enclosure system via in situ oxygen enhancement using water lifting and aeration technology', Bioresource Technology, vol. 214, pp. 63-73.
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© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Indigenous aerobic denitrifiers of a reservoir system were enhanced in situ by water lifting and aeration technology. Nitrogen removal characteristics and changes in the bacterial community were investigated. Results from a 30-day experiment showed that the TN in the enhanced water system decreased from 1.08-2.02 to 0.75-0.91 mg/L and that TN removal rates varied between 21.74% and 52.54% without nitrite accumulation, and TN removal rate of surface sediments reached 41.37 ± 1.55%. The densities of aerobic denitrifiers in the enhanced system increased. Furthermore, the enhanced system showed a clear inhibition of Fe, Mn, and P performances. Community analysis using Miseq showed that diversity was higher in the in situ oxygen enhanced system than in the control system. In addition, the microbial composition was significantly different between systems. It can be concluded that in situ enhancement of indigenous aerobic denitrifiers is very effective in removing nitrogen from water reservoir systems.

Zhu, XQ & Law, SS 2016, 'Recent developments in inverse problems of vehicle–bridge interaction dynamics', Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 107-128.
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This paper presents an overview on inverse problems in vehicle–bridge interaction dynamics. Dynamic interaction force exists between a vehicle and a bridge deck when the vehicle moves on top. A thorough understanding of this moving load problem is crucial for the design of bridge and its condition assessment as well as control of overweight vehicle. The identification of moving load is a typical inverse problem with many approaches developed for a solution in recent years. These approaches can be categorized into those based on the analytical model and those formulated with a finite element model with a focus on the solution technique. Structural parameter identification with the moving load as excitation is another kind of inverse problem in the vehicle–bridge dynamics. The moving vehicle is a moving excitation on the bridge structure, and the bridge and/or the vehicle responses can be taken to identify the parameters of the structure as part of the structural condition assessment. These two topics will be reviewed with typical examples and experimental studies to illustrate their performances and limitations, and to highlight future directions in these research areas.

Zi, SC, Chandren, S, Yuan, LS, Razali, R, Ho, CS, Hartanto, D, Indra Mahlia, TM & Nur, H 2016, 'New method to synthesize mesoporous titania by photodegradation of surfactant template', Solid State Sciences, vol. 52, pp. 83-91.
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Mesoporous titania has been successfully synthesized by photodegradation removal of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the surfactant, after slow hydrolyzation of titanium(IV) isopropoxide. Fourier transform infrared spectra proved that photodegradation has successfully decreased the peak areas of the alkyl groups from the template. The nitrogen adsorption analysis showed that the pore size and the specific surface area of the mesoporous titania were 3.7 nm and 203 m2 g-1, respectively, proving the mesoporosity of the titania obtained with the existence of the interparticle mesoporosity which was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Based on X-ray diffraction results, the mesoporous titania obtained was in the form of crystalline anatase phase. Furthermore, results from the diffuse reflectance ultra violet-visible spectra showed that the composition of tetrahedral titanium(IV) was more than the octahedral titanium(IV). When the mesoporous titania obtained was used as a catalyst in the oxidation of styrene, an improvement in the conversion of styrene (38%) was observed when compared to those obtained using Degussa P25 TiO2 (14%) as the catalyst.

Zulkifli, NWM, Azman, SSN, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Yunus, R & Gulzar, M 2016, 'Lubricity of bio-based lubricant derived from different chemically modified fatty acid methyl ester', Tribology International, vol. 93, pp. 555-562.
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Abdulle, A, Tan, AA, Pradhan, B & Abdullahi, S 1970, 'Temporal assessment on land use land cover of Somalia after the effect of the civil war using remote sensing', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, IOP Publishing, pp. 012063-012063.
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Alamdari, MM, Khoa, NLD, Runcie, P, Li, J & Mustapha, S 1970, 'Characterization of gradually evolving structural deterioration in jack arch bridges using support vector machine', Maintenance, Monitoring, Safety, Risk and Resilience of Bridges and Bridge Networks - Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management, IABMAS 2016, pp. 2322-2327.
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The main objective of structural health monitoring is to provide reliable information about the health state of the critical structures by implementing a damage characterization strategy to detect the presence of damage, location, severity as possibly failure prediction as soon as the damage occurs. This paper presents a robust approach to detect and characterize a gradually evolving damage based on time responses data captured from a steel reinforced concrete structure. The presented method is in the context of unsupervised and nonmodel-based approaches, hence, there is no need for any representative numerical/finite element model of the structure to be built. In this work, we propose one-class support vector machine as an anomaly detection method. One-class support vector machine fits well for damage diagnosis in structural health monitoring since there may exist many damaged patterns and one-class support vector machine can detect all of them as anomalies. To demonstrate the feasibility of the method in the detection and assessment of a gradually evolving deterioration, a test bed was established to replicate a concrete jack arch which is a main structural component on the Sydney Harbour Bridge – one of Australia’s iconic structures. The structure is a concrete cantilever beam with an arch section which is located on the eastern side of the bridge underneath the bus lane. It is assumed that the structure is subjected to Gaussian white noise excitation. A crack is introduced in the structure using a cutting saw and its length is progressively increased in four stages while the depth was constant; these four damage cases correspond to less than 0.5% reduction in the first three modes of the structure. The damage identification results using the presented approach demonstrated the feasibility of applying support vector machine as a learning technique for damage characterization in structural health monitoring. The method accurately separated two states ...

Awadallah, M, Tawadros, P, Walker, P & Zhang, N 1970, 'Comparative system dynamic modeling of a conventional and hybrid electric powertrain', Power Transmissions - Proceedings of the International Conference on Power Transmissions, ICPT 2016, The International conference on Power Transmissions (ICPT), CRC Press, Chongqing, China, pp. 231-238.
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© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, London. Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) provide many known benefits over conventional vehicles, including reduced emissions, increased fuel economy, and performance. The high cost of HEVs has somewhat limited their widespread adoption, especially in developing countries. Conversely, it is these countries that would benefit most from the environmental benefits of HEV technology. As part of our ongoing project to develop a cost-effective and viable mild HEV for these markets, dynamic simulations are required to ensure that the proposed designs are to achieve their desired targets. In this paper, mathematical models of the powertrain are used to analyze and compare the dynamics of both a conventional power train and one with the addition of components required for the Mild Hybrid system. Using Matlab and Simulink, simulations of both powertrains under particular driving conditions are performed to observe the advantages of the MHEV over conventional drivetrains. These benefits include torque-hole filling between gear changes, increased fuel efficiency and performance.

Awadallah, M, Tawadros, P, Walker, P & Zhang, N 1970, 'Eliminating the torque hole: Using a mild hybrid EV architecture to deliver better driveability', 2016 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference and Expo, Asia-Pacific (ITEC Asia-Pacific), 2016 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference and Expo, Asia-Pacific (ITEC Asia-Pacific), IEEE, Busan, South Korea, pp. 173-179.
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© 2016 IEEE. Hybrid vehicle engineering has traditionally and dominantly focused on fuel economy benefits and emissions reductions. Although the transient power delivery benefits of hybrid powertrains are well-understood, these are not a primary focus of the majority of research and development efforts, with some exceptions. Our approach to this problem is to deliver a low-cost, low-tech mild-hybrid powertrain, with unique power delivery features designed to appeal to price-sensitive, but aspirational consumers. The powertrain is a simple post-transmission parallel hybrid configuration. It utilizes a low-powered four-cylinder engine coupled to a four-speed manual transmission through a robotically-actuated clutch. A low-voltage BLDC motor is directly connected to the transmission output shaft, before the final drive. Our research focuses on bringing the benefits of HEV architecture to the world's developing cities, where, it can be confidently argued, local emissions reductions are needed the most. Crucial to the success of this research is the understanding that compared to an equivalent ICE-powered vehicle, an HEV competes at a price disadvantage, no matter how cost-effective the solution is. This disadvantage is amplified in regions of low-middle income, where price sensitivity is greatest. It must, therefore, present better value than an equivalent conventional vehicle if it is to be commercially successful in these particularly price-sensitive markets. We discuss the extent to which control can be used to deliver transient power delivery gains in such a setup, and offer an example powertrain for simulation. To validate the concept, simulation of this research is performed in MATLAB and Simulink. The prototype is based on a generic engine and a BLDC motor. The results mainly focus on the electric drive and comparison of the transient response of drivetrains.

Awadallah, M, Tawadros, P, Walker, P & Zhang, N 1970, 'Selection and characterisation of PMSM motor for mild HEV applications', EVS 2016 - 29th International Electric Vehicle Symposium, Electric Vehicle Symposium, Electric Drive Transportation Association, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
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This paper presents a theoretical background and real-time validation procedure for an electric propulsion system for a mild-hybrid vehicle configuration, based on a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) on the output shaft of a manual transmission. The validation technique uses the rapid prototyping technique of hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) in order to validate the characteristics of an off-the-shelf PMSM and controller by implementing them in a HIL model of the mild hybrid vehicle. The results obtained suggest that whilst the motor did not meet the manufacturer-rated specifications, it would nevertheless function acceptably for the purposes of the proposed mild hybrid vehicle architecture.

Bakar, SBA, Pradhan, B, Lay, US & Abdullahi, S 1970, 'Spatial assessment of land surface temperature and land use/land cover in Langkawi Island', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, IOP Publishing, pp. 012064-012064.
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Ball, JE 1970, 'Uncertainty Of Gauged Data And Its Impact On The Prediction Of Design Flood Flows', 20th Congress of the Asia Pacific Division of the International Association for Hydro Environment Engineering & Research (IAHR APD 2016), 20th Congress of the Asia Pacific Division of the International Association for Hydro Environment Engineering & Research (IAHR APD 2016), Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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Design flood estimation remains a problem for many professionals involved in the management of rural and urban catchments. An essential aspect of this problem is prediction of the magnitude of the hazard and the exceedance probability of the hazard from suitable data. This suitable data can be obtained from either monitoring of the floods in the catchment or from catchment modelling aimed at replicating floods that would have been monitored were monitoring systems in place. If the suitable data is obtained from monitored data, then the predictions are obtained from a frequency analysis of the monitored data. If the suitable data is generated by catchment modelling, then monitored data is needed to ensure application of the catchment modelling system results in flood predictions that are suitable replications of the data that could have been recorded at the site of interest. In both cases, there is a need to ensure the reliability of the gauged data in terms of flood flows. A typical gauging station, however, monitors river stages and requires a stage-discharge relationship to convert the recorded levels to an equivalent flow. For design flood systems, extrapolation of the stage-discharge usually is required. There is a need to consider the impact of this extrapolation of the stage-discharge on the predicted flood. Presented herein will be the results of an investigation into stage-discharge relationships and design flood estimation.

Ball, JE & Brady, PDM 1970, 'Digital Signal Processing for Fast Computation of Hydrologic Variables', 37th Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium - Water, Infrastructure and the Environment, 37th Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium - Water, Infrastructure and the Environment, Queenstown, NZ.

Ball, JE, Kerr, A, Rocha, GC & Islam, A 1970, 'A review of stream gauge records for design flood estimation', 37th Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium 2016: Water, Infrastructure and the Environment, HWRS 2016, Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium and the International Conference on Water Resources and Environment Research, Engineers Australia, Queenstown, NZ.
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Design flood estimation remains a problem for many professionals involved in the management of rural and urban catchments. Recorded flood data provides the basis for most design flood estimation; the recorded flood data is used in application of the design flood estimation technique (FFA) or in the development of the technique (RFFE). In general, data used for design flood estimation is the peak flow of the flood hydrograph. However, the data recorded at most gauging stations is the water level in the channel (the channel stage). To convert these stages to an equivalent flood flow, a rating curve or a stage-discharge relationship is used. For most design flood problems, extrapolation of the stage-discharge relationship is usually required to obtain flood peak flows. There is a need to consider the magnitude of this extrapolation of the stage-discharge relationship. Furthermore, there is a need to consider the data used for development of the stage-discharge relationship and the impact of these data on the subsequent extrapolation. Presented herein will be the results of an investigation into stage-discharge relationships and their basis.

Banihashemi Namini, SS, Ding, GKC & Wang, J 1970, 'Identification of BIM-Compatible Variables for Energy Optimization of Residential Buildings: A Delphi Study', AUBEA 2016 The 40th Australasian Universities Building Education Association Conference, Australian Universities Building Education Association Annual Conference, Central Queensland University, Cairns, Australia, pp. 281-291.
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It is believed that drawing an applicable, relevant and coherent batch of variables is a fundamental tenet in the success of having an integrated BIM-based energy optimisation but in order to achieve a high level of usefulness, these variables need to be refined and prioritised. Thus, this paper is to investigate BIM compatible variables which are of top priorities for energy optimisation of residential buildings in the design stage. A sequential exploratory research was conducted to find out the most relevant and significant variables that have a high impact on the energy consumption of residential buildings. A pool including more than 30 variables was established and refined through running Delphi approach with energy and BIM experts to reach the final list of prioritized variables. Conducting a three-round Delphi enabled authors to obtain more meticulous results via a consensus agreement among the respondents on the top 13 variables through lenses of BIM compatibility, applicability to optimization and design stage.

Booth, N, Imperia, P, Davidson, G, Lee, S, Stuart, B, Thomas, P, Komatsu, K, Yamane, R, Prescott, S, Maynard-Casely, H & Nelson, A 1970, 'Three impossible things before lunch or that sounds challenging, you want it when?', 9th International Workshop on Sample Environment at Scattering Facilities, Gettysburg.

Boton, C, Rivest, L, Forgues, D & Jupp, J 1970, 'Comparing PLM and BIM from the Product Structure Standpoint', IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, IFIP WG . International Conference on Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Springer International Publishing, Columbia, South Carolina, USA, pp. 443-453.
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The increasing use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) across the construction industry highlights the potential for a common endpoint with manufacturing industries. Previous research work has shown that it is possible to improve BIM with the features and the best practices from Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) approach. This article provides a comparison between the PLM and BIM approaches from the standpoint of the Product Structure (PS) and the Bill Of Material (BOM). It discusses the need to explicit a structuring concept in the BIM approach in order be able to switch to an informationcentric management approach in construction projects instead of the current activity-based approach.

Chakraborty, S, Debnath, T, Paul, M, Podder, PK, Gururajan, R & Hafeez-Baig, A 1970, 'An experimental analysis of assessor specific bias in a programming assessment in multi-assessor scenarios utilizing an eye tracker', London International Conference on Education, Infonomics Society, UK, pp. 135-141.
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It has been experienced and reported byacademic institutions around the globe that markingof most subject’s assessment scripts vary whendifferent assessors are utilized for a given subject.To understand the difference, we capture andanalysis cognitive response of assessors through thevisual pattern while they are marking the scripts. Forthis, a Java programming assessment from a real lifeuniversity examination is marked by independentassessors. The assessors marked the scannedassessment scripts on a computer screen in front ofan Eye tracker machine and their eye gaze data wererecorded real time. Data indicate that differentassessors marked the same answer script differentlyand their visual pattern are also varied althoughthey were given the exact same instructions whichdemonstrates bias to a degree. For quality marking,several findings including the number of assessorsneeded are also presented in this manuscript.

Chakraborty, S, Zhou, X, Hafeez-Baig, A, Gururajan, R, Paul, M, Mandal, A, Chacko, AE & Barua, PD 1970, 'Objective analysis of marker bias in higher education', 2016 IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE), 2016 IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE), IEEE, Bangkok, THAILAND, pp. 453-457.
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Dang, J, Shen, X, Castel, A & Aldred, J 1970, 'Monitoring Apparent pH Value in Geopolymer Concrete Using Glass Electrode', Proceedings of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC), 33th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC), pp. 547-554.
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Geopolymer concrete (GPC) is estimated to reduce 80% carbon footprint in construction projects compared with ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Previous studies on GPC have been focusing on assessment of paste or mortar while the long-term durability of GPC has not been extensively investigated yet. This research aims to monitor carbonation process of GPC by measuring in-situ apparent pH value under accelerated carbonation test in laboratory environment. Glass pH electrode is typically applied for liquid medium and considered to be unsuitable for OPC due to high alkaline condition. We have endeavoured to test the glass electrode in GPC assuming the alkalinity in GPC would be much lower than OPC. Two pH probe sensors were embedded into GPC specimens with different depth and seal condition. After 18 hours heat cures and 7 days curing in ambient environment, one of GPC specimens was then relocated to a carbonation chamber with 1% carbon dioxide concentration. The glass electrodes were found to survive the GPC environment with realtime apparent pH value registered since the GPC specimens were poured. It is also observed that the apparent pH values were affected significantly by the level of humidity inside the concrete. Saturation experiments were then conducted to provide valid pH readings. As a result, we successfully monitored pH decreasing from 11.1 to 10.76 after three months carbonation experiment. The results are also validated by comparing against the data acquired by traditional concrete grinding test. The research features the first trial of its kind and has contributed to comprehensive understanding about corrosion mechanism of the new GPC material.

Dang, LC, Dang, CC, Khabbaz, H & Fatahi, B 1970, 'Numerical Assessment of Fibre Inclusion in a Load Transfer Platform for Pile-Supported Embankments over Soft Soil', Geo-China 2016, Fourth Geo-China International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Shandong, China, pp. 148-155.
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© 2016 ASCE. This study presents the results of a numerical investigation in the performance of natural fibre reinforced load transfer platform (NFRLTP) for pile supported embankment construction over soft soil. A numerical analysis based on finite element method (FEM) was carried out on an NFRLTP pile-supported embankment in a two-dimensional plane strain condition. The effects of natural fibre inclusion in the load transfer platform on the stress transfer mechanism, generation and dissipation of excess pore water pressure have been analyzed and discussed in detail. The findings indicate that natural fibre reinforced soil as a load transfer platform facilitated the load transfer process from the embankment to piles, while decreases the intensity of load transferred to soft soil, the excess pore water pressure and the overall settlement.

Gardner, AP, Goldsmith, R & Vessalas, K 1970, 'Using practice architectures theory to compare consecutive offerings of the same subject', Proceedings of the 27th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE2016), Australasian Association of Engineering Education annual conference, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour.
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CONTEXTTwo consecutive offerings (2015 and 2016) of the same subject, Concrete Technology and Practice, prompted opposite reactions from students. The academics involved in 2015 and/or 2016 sought to explore the similarities and differences between these consecutive offerings in reflecting on the learning and teaching practices in their classroom. PURPOSEPractice architectures theory provides a framework for examining and understanding the differences between these consecutive offerings of ostensibly the same subject. This paper also provides an example of how a theoretical framework can be used to examine teaching practices – even our own by practitioners who are also acting as researchers in this context. APPROACHEvidence used in comparing the 2015 and 2016 offerings of this subject is drawn from focus group discussions with students and observations of each of the researcher/practitioners involved. Additional data includes the end of semester Student Feedback Survey results including written responses to open-ended questions. RESULTSDifferences in aspects of the cultural-discursive, material-economic and socio-political arrangements of the 2015 and 2016 offerings of Concrete Technology and Practice became apparent from the analysis. CONCLUSIONSUsing the theory of practice architectures gave us insights into the inter-relationships between the different arrangements inherent in teaching and learning practices. It also highlighted the resilience of ‘taken for granted’ practices.

Ghazali, KA, Salleh, SF, Riayatsyah, TMI, Aditiya, HB & Mahlia, TMI 1970, 'The effect of dilute acid pre-treatment process in bioethanol production from durian (Durio zibethinus) seeds waste', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2nd International Conference on Advances in Renewable Energy and Technologies (ICARET), IOP Publishing, Putrajaya, MALAYSIA, pp. 012058-012058.
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Ghobadi, Y, Pradhan, B & Kabiri, K 1970, 'Spatio-Temporal Relationship Between Surface Temperature and NDVI Using Remotely Sensed data', 41st COSPAR Scientific Assembly, abstracts from the meeting that was to be held 30 July-7 August at the Istanbul Congress Center (ICC), Turkey, but was cancelled. See http://cospar2016. tubitak. gov. tr/en/, Abstract A3. 1-39-16..

Ghosh, B, Fatahi, B, Khabbaz, H & Hsi, J 1970, 'Reinforced Timoshenko Beam Theory to Simulate Load Transfer Mechanism in CMC Supported Embankments', Proceedings of 12th Australia New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics, Australia New Zealand Geomechanics conference, Australian Geomechanics Society, Wellington, New Zealand, pp. 1099-1106.
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Controlled modulus column (CMC) supported embankments are increasingly being used for construction of major highway embankments on soft ground particularly near waterways or coastal regions. CMCs are sustainable and cost-effective ground improvement technology that transmit the load from the traffic and the embankment to a lower bearing stratum through a composite CMC/soil matrix. The key influencing components of the load transfer mechanism include embankment fill, load transfer platform (LTP) with one or more layers of geosynthetics, CMC and the foundation soils. Rapid growth of the application of geosynthetics between two granular layers in the column supported embankment has been observed in the last two decades. The use of LTP enhances the load transfer mechanism in the CMC improved soft ground and minimises the post construction settlement of the ground. In this paper, reinforced Timoshenko beam theory is adopted to simulate the LTP with one layer of geosynthetics that is resting on elastic foundation with columns. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the importance of the LTP on the load transfer mechanism for the CMC supported embankment. Special attentions are given to the thickness of the LTP, the use of geosynthetics and its influence on deflection of the LTP, the shear force developed in the LTP and the tension developed in geosynthetics. The parametric study reveals that the thickness of the LTP has a significant effect on the behaviour of LTP up to a certain limit.

Ghosh, B, Fatahi, B, Khabbaz, H & Kamruzzaman, AHM 1970, 'Analysis of CMC-Supported Embankments Considering Soil Arching', IN SITU AND LABORATORY TEST METHODS FOR SITE CHARACTERIZATION, DESIGN, AND QUALITY CONTROL, GeoChina International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Jinan, Shandong, China, pp. 286-293.
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© ASCE. In this paper, the behaviour of geosynthetic-reinforced controlled modulus column-supported embankments is studied for different distributions of loadings induced by arching on the load transfer platform (LTP). This study proposes a mechanical model for idealising the response of LTP-soft soil-column system, by representing each sub-system using commonly used mechanical elements such as rough-elastic membrane, beam, and spring. The soil arching effect is incorporated in the model to determine the deflection of the soft soil as well as mobilised tension in the geosynthetics more accurately. The effects of the column stiffness and consolidation of saturated soft soils are also incorporated in the model. Moment and shear force in the LTP, tension developed in the geosynthetics, and settlements of the improved soft ground are predicted using the proposed model. To evaluate the proposed model, a parametric study is conducted to investigate the influence of different pressure distribution due to different arching theories. It is observed that the pattern of distribution of the arching loads affect the performance of controlled modulus column-supported embankments significantly.

Hafeez-Baig, A, Gururajan, R & Chakraborty, S 1970, 'Assuring reliability in qualitative studies: A health informatics perspective', Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems, PACIS 2016 - Proceedings.
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Assuring the validity and reliability of data is an essential component of data collection. While quantitative studies use certain statistical techniques such as 'Cronbach Alpha' values for a reliability index, in qualitative studies these type of measures are not widely available, and appear to be predominantly subjective. So, many studies, if at all probe this aspect, highlight what is normally termed as 'saturation' and use this as a measure of reliability. While this serves the purpose to some extent, whether researchers can use this as a concrete evidence is questionable. We propose a new approach to assure reliability in qualitative studies, and provide a case study to demonstrate our approach and its benefits. We hope that this serves as a model to many PhD students and other Early Career Researchers who pursue their studies using qualitative approaches.

Hailu, M, Shrestha, R & Crews, K 1970, 'Long-Term Deflection of Timber-Concrete Composite Beams in Cyclic Humidity Conditions in Bending', Composite Construction in Steel and Concrete VII, International Conference on Composite Construction in Steel and Concrete 2013, American Society of Civil Engineers, North Queensland, Australia, pp. 146-157.
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© ASCE. A laboratory investigation to determine the long-term behaviour of timber-concrete composite (TCC) beams was started from August 2010 at the University of Technology, Sydney. The test was conducted on four six-meter-span TCC beams; this paper reports the results to-date for only two beams. The materials used are laminated veneer lumber (LVL) for the joists and 32 MPa concrete for the flanges. From the start of the test (August 2010), the specimens have been under sustained loads of (1.7kPa) whilst the environmental conditions have been cyclically alternated between normal and very humid conditions (typical cycle duration is six to eight weeks) and the temperature remains quasi constant (22 °C). During the test, the mid-span deflection, moisture content of the timber beams and relative humidity of the air are continuously monitored. The investigation is still continuing and this paper reports the results of the experimental investigation for the last two and half years.

Hasan, H, Khabbaz, H & Fatahi, B 1970, 'Impact of Quicklime and Fly Ash on the Geotechnical Properties of Expansive Clay', Geo-China 2016, Fourth Geo-China International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Shandong, China, pp. 93-100.
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© ASCE. Severe damages can occur on civil engineering structures and infrastructure including roads, channels, houses, sidewalks, and driveways if built on expansive soils. In this study to limit the expansive soil impacts on roads, quicklime and class F fly ash were employed as potential stabilisers in enhancing the engineering properties of expansive soils. The samples were prepared by integrating artificial soils combined with a mixture of quicklime-fly ash at a ratio of 1:3. Various contents of quicklime-fly ash were applied on soil samples, composed of 40% bentonite (B) and 60% kaolin (K). Sample properties were measured at 3, 7, and 28 days of curing time. Moreover, another set of soil samples were prepared containing 20% B and 80% K to study the effect of bentonite content on the soil mechanical properties of the stabilised soil.

Hashim, MS, Saip, SN, Hani, N, Pradhan, B & Abdullahi, S 1970, 'Accuracy assessment of NOGGIN Plus and MALÅ RAMAC X3M single channel ground penetrating RADAR (GPR) for underground utility mapping', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, IOP Publishing, pp. 012025-012025.
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Henderson, IEJ, Uy, B, Zhu, XQ & Mirza, O 1970, 'Environmental Factors Affecting the Dynamic Response of Composite Steel-Concrete Beams', Composite Construction in Steel and Concrete VII, International Conference on Composite Construction in Steel and Concrete 2013, American Society of Civil Engineers, North Queensland, AUSTRALIA, pp. 173-184.
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Hidayata, MHM, Salleh, SF, Riayatsyahb, TMI, Aditiyac, HB, Mahliaa, TMI & Shamsuddina, AH 1970, 'Techno-economic analysis of bioethanol production from rice straw by liquid-state fermentation', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2nd International Conference on Advances in Renewable Energy and Technologies (ICARET), IOP Publishing, Putrajaya, MALAYSIA, pp. 012048-012048.
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Hoque, MA, Phinn, S, Roelfsema, C & Childs, I 1970, 'Modelling tropical cyclone hazards under climate change scenario using geospatial techniques', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2nd International Conference of Indonesian-Society-for-Remote-Sensing (ICOIRS), IOP Publishing, Univ Gadjah Mada, Fac Geog, PUSPICS, Yogyakarta, INDONESIA, pp. 012024-012024.
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Indraratna, B, Rujikiatkamjorn, C & Zhong, R 1970, 'Recent Developments of Vacuum-Assisted Consolidation of Soft Estuarine Clays', Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress 2016, Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress 2016, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 950-959.
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© ASCE. For vacuum-Assisted ground improvement on highly compressible alluvial or marine deposits, the application of suction pressure accelerates consolidation and controls lateral deformation by isotropically increasing the effective stress. Analytical, numerical, and experimental research on vacuum-Assisted prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) has been conducted at University of Wollongong in past 15 years. Key factors such as vacuum distribution, extent of smear, occurrence of non-Darcian flow, and large-strain effects have been studied and their implications are presented in the paper. Some practical approaches have been proposed to facilitate industrial design schemes for vacuum consolidation. 2D plane strain conversion approach has been proposed for numerical modeling of large soft area treated with multiple PVDs. The behavior of vacuum stabilized soil in the field has been predicted by the numerical models applied to selected case studies through fully-instrumented field trials, by measuring settlement, lateral movement and excess pore water pressure data. A good agreement between the predicted and field data was achieved. Some key theoretical and numerical approaches are presented in this paper, together with the case study involving the Ballina Bypass in Australia.

Indraratna, B, Rujikiatkamjorn, C, Zhong, R & Nguyen, T 1970, 'Drain and vacuum for soft soil stabilisation- Recent advances in experimental and numerical modelling', Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference GEOTEC on 'Geotechnics for Sustainable Infrastructure Development', Hanoi.

Israr, J, Indraratna, B & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 1970, 'Experimental Investigation into Internal Erosion Potential for Granular Filters', Proceedings of 13th Baltic Sea Geotechnical Conference, The 13th Baltic Sea Region Geotechnical Conference, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Vilnius, LITHUANIA, pp. 248-253.
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Internal erosion is a phenomenon whereby the filtrates under the influence of significant seepage forces accompany the finer fraction from potential internally unstable filters (e.g. broadly- and gap-graded soil), occasionally rendering them ineffective. The filter assessment for internal erosion or instability potential is emphasized through particle size distribution based geometrical criteria ignoring the effect of compaction. In this study, the results of hydraulic gradient controlled internal erosion tests conducted over a wide range of compacted sand-gravel mixtures were used to analyse some of the available geometrical criteria, which interestingly showed partial success in assessing the filter’s internal erosion potential. It was revealed that the occurrence of internal erosion is a combined function of particle size distribution and the relative density of soils that had been ignored in many of the existing criteria. A comparison between the assessments obtained from some of the particle size based criteria and that from a constriction size based technique was reported for a large body of published data. It was observed that the latter criterion, which incorporates the effects of both particle size distribution and relative density of soils in tandem, could assess the reported test results with higher accuracy.

Jurado, C 1970, 'Micropiling Two Bridges in Construction in the Motorway M-410 in Madrid (Spain)', Life-Cycle of Engineering Systems: Emphasis on Sustainable Civil Infrastructure - 5th International Symposium on Life-Cycle Engineering, IALCCE 2016, International Symposium on Life-Cycle Engineering, CRC Press, Delft, The Netherlands, pp. 2338-2342.
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© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, London. Steel tubular T-joints are one of the simplest and widely used connections used in connecting structural members. Stress concentration usually exists at the vicinity of the joint. In this paper, variation of the maximum Stress Concentration Factor (SCF) with non-dimensional geometric parameters β, τ, γ and α in concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) T-joints under axial tension has been investigated. Graphs showing variation of the maximum SCF, in CFST T-joints, with non-dimensional geometric parameters have been developed and compared with those for non-filled empty T-joints. The graphs showed that parameter has the most influence. The graphs also showed that the variation pattern in the CFST is different to that in the empty T-joints except the variation of parameter.

Khallaf, M & Jupp, J 1970, 'Designing for Urban Microclimates: Towards A Generative Performance-based Approach to Wind Flow Optimization', Proceedings of the International Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe, pp. 95-106.
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This paper presents the foundations of a multidisciplinary design optimisation method that addresses the problem of competing wind flow profiles within urban microclimates. The simultaneous integration of architectural and urban design parameters and their aerodynamic constraints are investigated. Differences in the height of tall buildings, which define the urban canopy layer are accounted for. The formulation that supports the simulation of aerodynamic forces at the architectural and urban scales includes multidisciplinary parameter specification of 2D and 3D building geometry, spatial morphology, spatial topology, wind flow settings, and wind flow compliance. The MDO framework and its development are discussed relative to their generative performance-based capacity and innovative approach to multidisciplinary wind flow optimization

Krishnan, D, Zhou, X, Chakraborty, S, Gururajan, R & Gururajan, R 1970, 'Software development for managing nutrition intake for Type II diabetes mellitus', 2016 10th International Conference on Software, Knowledge, Information Management & Applications (SKIMA), 2016 10th International Conference on Software, Knowledge, Information Management & Applications (SKIMA), IEEE, Chengdu, PEOPLES R CHINA, pp. 215-219.
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Lewis, K, Basaglia, B, Shrestha, R & Crews, K 1970, 'The use of cross laminated timber for Long span flooring in commercial buildings', WCTE 2016 - World Conference on Timber Engineering.
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Long span timber floor solutions have demonstrated their potential to compete with concrete and steel construction for multi-storey commercial buildings. Due to the high strength-to-weight ratio of timber, serviceable vibration performance is a critical structural design issue for long spans. This project investigates the vibration performance of cross laminated timber for long span floors in the Australian and New Zealand building sector. Laboratory experiments and computer analysis are used to study the effect of the increased transverse stiffness, inherent to a cross laminated timber, on the vibration performance of the floor. The effect of boundary conditions, connection and support type, are investigated and quantified where possible. A timber joist floor with a plywood sheath is analysed and tested to validate the methods used in this study.

Li, J, Masia, MJ & Stewart, MG 1970, 'Stochastic spatial modelling of material properties and structural strength of unreinforced masonry in two-way bending', Brick and Block Masonry: Trends, Innovations and Challenges - Proceedings of the 16th International Brick and Block Masonry Conference, IBMAC 2016, CRC Press, pp. 217-226.
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The paper describes the development of a computational method to predict the strength for non-load bearing unreinforced masonry (URM) walls subject to two-way bending considering unit-tounit spatial variability of the material properties of mortar joints and bricks. The study involves conducting numerical simulation of full sized walls subject to two-way bending using stochastic analysis in the form of Monte Carlo simulations and comparing the results with experimental work. A 3-D nonlinear Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is used to study how the spatial variability of material properties affects the wall failure progression. The numerical results are compared to literature experimental results in terms of the wall failure progression and wall capacity. It is shown that the model which considers the spatial variability of brickwork can capture the failure patterns and predict the cracking and ultimate loads for walls with two-way bending.

Li, J, Wu, C & Hao, H 1970, 'Experimental and numerical study of a new composite slab under blast loads', 4th International Conference on Protective Structures, Tianjin Chengjian University & Tianjin University, China, Beijing.

Li, J, Wu, C & Hao, H 1970, 'Spallation of reinforced concrete slabs under contact explosion', 2016 Second Asian Conference on Defence Technology (ACDT), 2016 Second Asian Conference on Defence Technology (ACDT), IEEE, Changmai, Thailand, pp. 42-45.
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© 2016 IEEE. Structures and their occupants are imposed to great threat under blast loading environment. The current design and research practices mainly focus on structural responses and damages under far field or close-in detonations. The blast scenarios involving contact explosions are not extensively investigated. Under contact explosions, highly localized damage caused by severe stress wave propagation is commonly seen, and this damage mode is significantly different from other dynamic loading types in which structural members usually respond in flexural or shear mode. In recent decades, the necessity of gaining in-depth knowledge about this extreme loading event is highlighted as threat from terrorism activities is rising. In the present study, contact test results on reinforced concrete members are presented. Performances of slabs made of normal strength concrete and steel wire mesh reinforced concrete are compared and discussed.

Mahdavi, H, Fatahi, B, Khabbaz, H, Krzeminski, M, Santos, R & Marix-Evans, M 1970, 'Three-Dimensional Simulation of a Load Transfer Mechanism for Frictional and End Bearing CMC Supported Embankments on Soft Soil', Geo-China 2016, Fourth Geo-China International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Shandong, China, pp. 60-67.
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© ASCE. Recently, the use of controlled modulus columns (CMC) has gained popularity in the support of rail and road bridge approach embankments on soft soils. If the columns are extended into a competent firm soil, and designed to take nearly all the vertical loads, they become rigid inclusions. The advantage of this design approach is that settlement will be controlled, but the drawback is that the columns will attract greater load, including bending moment and shear force in situations where non-uniform loading or ground conditions exist. The load on the composite soil-CMC is uniformly distributed by the upper layer of granular load transfer platform (LTP). In this paper, the effect of CMC length on the load transfer mechanism is numerically investigated. Coupled flow-deformation analysis has been performed for a long period to understand the system response in the long term, while interface elements capable of simulating gapping and sliding between CMC and the surrounding soil are considered. A geosynthetic reinforcement layer has been simulated using the inbuilt FLAC3D geogrid element. The force in the reinforcement layer has been evaluated, and in particular, a clear comparison is made between the stresses in CMC and the ground settlement with floating and end-bearing columns.

Makki Alamdari, M, Khoa, NLD, Runcie, P, Li, J & Mustapha, S 1970, 'Characterization of gradually evolving structural deterioration in jack arch bridges using support vector machine', MAINTENANCE, MONITORING, SAFETY, RISK AND RESILIENCE OF BRIDGES AND BRIDGE NETWORKS, 8th International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management (IABMAS), CRC Press, Foz do Iguacu, BRAZIL, pp. 555-555.
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Manafizad, AN, Pradhan, B & Abdullahi, S 1970, 'Estimation of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) for Peninsular Malaysia using geospatial approach', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, IOP Publishing, pp. 012069-012069.
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Moshiri, F, Shrestha, R & Crews, K 1970, 'Predictive Models for the Stiffness of Vertical Screws as Shear Connection in Timber-Concrete Composite Floors', Composite Construction in Steel and Concrete VII, International Conference on Composite Construction in Steel and Concrete 2013, American Society of Civil Engineers, Palm Cove, Australia, pp. 661-675.
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© ASCE. The stiffness, strength, and arrangement of the shear connection play a crucial role in the design of timber-concrete composite (TCC). This paper reviews the available analytical models for prediction of the stiffness of TCC shear connections. The methodology of different analytical models for stiffness of the mechanical fastener TCC connection is discussed and the accuracy of these models is examined based on push out test results for shear connectors. The simplified stiffness models underestimated the experimental data of normal wood screw with an error ranging approximately 10-40%, whereas the models based on Winkler's theory were inaccurate and calculated a much lower stiffness compared to that of experimental test with an error of approximately 60%. The reasons attributed to inaccuracy of the stiffness models are described. This paper recommends further investigation on the prediction of foundation moduli of timber and concrete as the main input parameters of the models based on the Winkler's theory.

Nampak, H & Pradhan, B 1970, 'Use of multi-temporal SPOT-5 satellite images for land degradation assessment in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia using Geospatial techniques', 41st COSPAR Scientific Assembly, abstracts from the meeting that was to be held 30 July-7 August at the Istanbul Congress Center (ICC), Turkey, but was cancelled. See http://cospar2016. tubitak. gov. tr/en/, Abstract A3. 1-13-16..

Ngo, NT & Tung, TM 1970, 'Coupled Discrete-Continuum Method for Studying Load-Deformation of a Stone Column Reinforces Rail Track Embankments', Procedia Engineering, International Conference on Sustainable Development of Civil, Urban and Transportation Engineering (CUTE), Elsevier BV, Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM, pp. 139-145.
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Stone columns are being increasingly used as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly method for reinforcing soft soils of rail track embankments. Deformation behavior of stone columns reinforced soft clay has been the subject of an extensive number of experimental and modelling studies during last decades. A continuum-based numerical method provides valuable insights into the settlement, lateral deformation, stress and strain-rate dependent behavior of stone column at macroscopic scale. However, due to the discrete nature of stone columns, which are comprised of granular aggregates, they cannot be properly modelled by the continuum methods. This paper presents a novel coupling model of discrete element method (DEM) and finite difference method (FDM) to investigate the load-deformation behavior of stone columns considering micromechanical analysis. In the coupled discrete-continuum model, the soft soil domain under track embankment is modelled by the continuum method using FLAC and stone column is modelled by the discrete element method using PFC2D. A force-displacement transmission mechanism is introduced to achieve the interaction of both domains in which the DEM transfers forces and moment to the FDM and then the FDM updates displacements back to the DEM. The predicted load-deformation results are in good agreement with the data measured experimentally; indicating that the proposed coupling discrete-continuum model could capture the deformation behavior of stone column reinforced soft soils.

Ngo, NT, Indraratna, B & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 1970, 'Load-Deformation Behavior of a Stone Column Using the Coupled DEM-FDM Method', Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress 2016, Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress 2016, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 1618-1626.
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This paper presents a novel coupled model of discrete element method (DEM) and finite difference method (FDM) to investigate the load-deformation of stone columns reinforced soft clay. In the proposed model, the soft clay domain was modelled by the continuum method using FLAC and stone column was modelled by the discrete element method using PFC2D. Algorithms and mathematical framework to assist coupling between the two domains were introduced, in which the DEM transfers forces and moment to the FDM and then the FDM provides an update of displacements to the DEM. The predicted load-deformation responses obtained from the coupling model reasonably agreed well with data measured experimentally, indicating that the proposed coupling discrete-continuum model could capture the deformation behavior of stone column stabilized soft clay. Evolutions of contact force distributions developed in stone column at varying levels of settlement were presented. Shear stress-strain contours induced in the surrounding soft soils were also investigated.

Ngo, NT, Indraratna, B & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 1970, 'Study on the Interface Behavior of a Geosynthetics-Reinforced Fouled Ballast Using the Discrete Element Method', Geo-Chicago 2016, Geo-Chicago 2016, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 730-738.
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Railways offer an efficient and economic transport mode in many parts of the developed countries including Australia, China and USA. Ballast layer is designed as a load bearing layer for rail tracks and to be free draining, but when the ballast voids are wholly or partially impeded due to the intrusion of fine particles, the ballast can be considered to be fouled. Fouling causes a reduction in the drainage capacity of ballast, thereby reducing the track resiliency and triggering high maintenance costs. Geosynthetics are commonly used in railway construction for reinforcement and stabilization purposes. When railway ballast becomes fouled the beneficial effect of the geosynthetics could decrease significantly. This paper presents a study of how the interface behavior of geosynthetics-ballast copes with fouling using discrete element modelling (DEM) of large-scale direct shear tests. A series of large-scale direct shear tests for coal fouled ballast were carried out in the laboratory and were then simulated in the DEM. Shear stress-strain and volumetric dilation responses obtained from the DEM simulations were in reasonable agreement with those measured experimentally. The contact force distributions of fresh and fouled ballast were captured and shown that the fouled ballast exhibited higher number of contact forces compared to the fresh ballast assembly. This is due to coal fines accumulated in voids among large particles then partially carry and transmit contact forces across the assembly. Strains developed horizontally across the geogrid were also analyzed in this study.

Nguyen, HH, Khabbaz, H, Fatahi, B, Santos, R, Marix-Evans, M & Vincent, P 1970, 'Installation Effect of Controlled Modulus Columns on Nearby Existing Structures', Geo-China 2016, Fourth Geo-China International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Shandong, China, pp. 125-133.
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© 2016 ASCE. Controlled modulus columns (CMC) ground improvement technique is a novel approach to reduce ground settlement. To install CMC, a rotary displacement auger is used to form a vertical cylindrical cavity, by displacing the surrounding soils laterally, followed by grout injection. While the method reduces spoil generation, excessive lateral soil displacement may damage the adjacent structures and freshly-grouted CMCs. Although there has been growing interest in quantifying such effects, only a handful of studies have been attempted. This paper presents results of a numerical investigation on the CMC installation effect on an existing bridge pile using the three-dimensional finite difference software package FLAC3D. The bridge pile response to the lateral soil movement induced by the CMC installation are presented and discussed.

Nguyen, L, Fatahi, B & Khabbaz, H 1970, 'A Novel Model to Simulate the Behaviour of Cement-Treated Clay under Compression and Shear', Geo-China 2016, Fourth Geo-China International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Shandong, China, pp. 152-158.
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© ASCE. Soft clay treated with cement shows an improvement on strength due to the chemical interaction between cement and clay particles. Laboratory results showed that the peak strength of the cement treated clay reduces as the mean effective stress increases due to the effect of cementation degradation. Therefore, in this paper, a constitutive model was developed to simulate the behaviour of cement treated clay. Based on the critical state soil mechanics, the model proposed the non-linear failure envelope for the cement treated clay to merge with the critical state line (CSL) of the un-reinforced clay when the reinforced samples reach a sufficiently high stress levels. Moreover, a modified mean effective stress was proposed to include the contribution of cementation and its cementation degradation. Furthermore, the proposed model was evaluated by comparing the proposed model predictions against the Singapore clay treated with 10% cement available from the literature. The validation suggested that the proposed model can be used to predict the behaviour of cement treated clay very well.

Nguyen, QV, Fatahi, B & Hokmabadi, AS 1970, 'Influence of Shallow Foundation Characteristics on the Seismic Response of Mid-Rise Buildings Subjected to Strong Earthquakes', Geotechnical Special Publication, GeoChina International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Shandong, China, pp. 117-124.
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Performance based seismic design is a modern approach to earthquake-resistant design shifting emphasis from 'strength' to 'performance'. In this study, the influence of the shallow foundation (footing) size on the seismic performance of the buildings subjected to strong earthquakes is investigated considering soil-structure interaction (SSI). A fifteen storey moment resisting frame sitting on shallow foundation over soft soil with different foundation size is simulated numerically using ABAQUS software. The developed three dimensional numerical simulation accounts for nonlinear behaviour of the soil medium by considering the variation of soil stiffness and damping as a function of developed shear strain in the soil elements during earthquake. Elastic-perfectly plastic model is adopted to simulate foundations and structural elements. Four strong earthquake records, including El Centro 1940, Hachinohe 1968, Northridge 1994, and Kobe 1995 have been taken as input accelerations for time history analysis in time domain. Due to natural period lengthening, there was a significant reduction in the base shears when the size of the foundation was reduced. It can be concluded that the foundation size can influence the dynamic characteristics and seismic response of the building due to SSI and should therefore be given careful consideration in order to ensure a safe and cost effective seismic design.

Nguyen, T, Indraratna, B & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 1970, 'Natural prefabricated vertical drain-Structure and Geohydraulic properties', In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on 'Geotechnics for Sustainable Infrastructure Development (GEOTEC), Hanoi.

Nguyen, TT, Indraratna, B & Rujikiatkamjorn, C 1970, 'An analytical evaluation of radial consolidation with respect to drain degradation', International Conference on Geotechnique, Construction Materials and Environment, Bangkok, Thailand, pp. 156-161.
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The use of synthetic prefabricated vertical drains over the past decades for soil improvement has had a negative ecological effect on the natural environment due to their long-term existence in soil. The emergence in recent years of Natural Fibre Drains (NFDs) made from biodegradable materials such as jute, coir, and straw isbelieved to be an environmentally friendly approach to treating soft soil. However, when subjected to adverseconditions such as pyritic acidic and/or biologically active soil, natural fibres can decay rapidly, and that resultsin a significant deterioration of the engineering characteristics of drains during consolidation. This deterioration can particularly reduce the discharge capacity of the drains, which retards the dissipation of excess pore pressure and delays consolidation. This paper represents an analytical method which can capture the effect that drain degradation has on the radial consolidation of soil over time, and then applies this method to an exponential reduction of drain discharge capacity. This analytical method, with supporting evidence from experimental data, reveals that there is a significant retardation in excess pore pressure dissipation due to drain degradation. The study indicates there is a potential risk when using NFDs in adverse soils and suggests that caution is needed in practice.

Nimbalkar, S & Indraratna, B 1970, 'In-situ performance assessment of ballasted railway track stabilised using geosynthetics and shock mats', Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterisation, ISC 2016, International Conference on Geotechnical and Geophysical Site Characterisation, Australian Geomachanics Society, Gold Coast, pp. 1411-1416.
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In Australia, ballasted railway tracks are one of major modes of transportation. The main objectives of Australian railways are to cater for the demands of the supply chain in the mining and agriculture sectors, as well as to provide quicker and cost effective commuter transport in urban areas. However several geotechnical problems in the populated coastal areas pose significant issues. Ballasted tracks are conventionally constructed on compacted granular embankments overlying the natural subsoil. The granular embankments comprises of ballast and capping layers which undergo substantial deformations and degradation under the heavy cyclic loading of passenger and freight trains. This in turn, may lead to a loss of track geometry, and require costly frequent maintenance. In order to rectify these issues, appropriate stabilization techniques for ballast and capping are necessary, the extent of which depends also on the type of subgrade. When appropriately designed and installed, synthetic inclusions such as geosynthetics and/or shock mats can provide a cost effective alternatives to traditional techniques of ground improvement. Comprehensive field trials were carried out on two railway networks in Bulli and Singleton in New South Wales, Australia. In these studies, several track sections were instrumented with precise sensors for real-time monitoring of stress-deformation response of granular embankments. Different types of geosynthetics were placed beneath the ballast embankment. Recoverable and irrecoverable components of vertical deformations of the track substructure were routinely monitored. The amount of ballast breakage was evaluated by collecting samples from the field and by performing sieve analysis in the laboratory. It was evident that geosynthetics in the form of geogrids can decrease the vertical strains of the ballast layer, resulting in reduced maintenance costs. This paper describes the comprehensive field instrumentation, site geology, co...

Nimbalkar, S, Indraratna, B & Mahdi Biabani, M 1970, 'Deformation and Degradation of Railroad Granular Layers under High Frequency Cyclic Loading and the Benefits of Using Geosynthetics', Geo-Chicago 2016, Geo-Chicago 2016, American Society of Civil Engineers, Chicago, Illinois, United States, pp. 222-232.
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The granular media (i.e., ballast and sub-ballast) used in ballasted rail tracks undergo large deformations along with particle breakage when subjected to cyclic loads exerted by heavy and fast trains. The deformation and degradation of such granular layers severely affects track geometry and results into increased maintenance costs. The use of artificial inclusions in planar (geogrid, geotextile, and geocomposite) as well as three-dimensional form (geocell) is essential to curtail such costs and improve track stability. A series of cyclic drained triaxial tests were conducted using large-scale prismoidal process simulation apparatus designed and built at the University of Wollongong. Effects of external confining pressure, frequency, and number of load cycles were investigated. The test results showed that large deformation and degradation of ballast was imminent under high frequency cyclic loading. It was also shown that settlement of the ballast and sub-ballast can be reduced significantly employing geocomposites and geocells, respectively. The results revealed the effectiveness of the geocell, when they are used at low confinement and higher frequencies. This paper provides an insight to cyclic behavior of railroad granular substructure and demonstrates the role of confinement induced through the use of artificial inclusions.

Panahian, M, Ding, G & Ghosh, S 1970, 'Measuring Sustainability Performance For A Multiunit Residential Development Case Study In Sydney', Conference Proceedings AUBEA 2016, Australian Universities Building Education Association Annual Conference, Central Queensland University, Cairns, Australia, pp. 647-659.
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Multiunit residential development numbers are on the rise close to SydneyCentral Business District (CBD) as more people are choosing to live inapartments. Energy efficiency and water savings in these developmentsare significantly important to develop sustainable communities of future.This paper selects and examines a large multi-dwelling residential estatecase study in an eastern suburb of Sydney, located approximately withineight kilometres radial distance from Sydney’s CBD. Based on theelectricity and water usage data, current electricity consumption forcommon areas and water usage for gardens are estimated. Three keysustainable options examined are: potential onsite renewable electricitygeneration from roof solar PV installation; techniques for reducingswimming pool heat loss and to maintain year wide adequate watertemperature and roof rainwater harvesting potential. Associated costs areexamined to comprehend useful energy and water efficient solutions.Recommendations suggest that solar PV installation, using an appropriateswimming pool cover and rain rainwater collection from the roof couldmeaningfully improve overall sustainability performance of the selectedcase study.

Pathirage, U & Indraratna, B 1970, 'A Permeable Reactive Barrier Installed in Acid Sulfate Soil Terrain', Geo-Chicago 2016, Geo-Chicago 2016, American Society of Civil Engineers, Chicago, IL, pp. 319-328.
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Pradhan, B 1970, 'A novel flood detection mapping using multi-temporal RADARSAT-2 and TerraSAR-X images through an optimized Taguchi based classification technique', 41st COSPAR Scientific Assembly, abstracts from the meeting that was to be held 30 July-7 August at the Istanbul Congress Center (ICC), Turkey, but was cancelled. See http://cospar2016. tubitak. gov. tr/en/, Abstract A3. 1-33-16..

Pradhan, B & Jena, R 1970, 'Spatial relationship between earthquakes, hot-springs and faults in Odisha, India', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, IOP Publishing, pp. 012070-012070.
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Punetha, P, Mohanty, P & Samanta, M 1970, 'Study on interface shear strength of soil -geosynthetics in large direct shear box', GA 2016 - 6th Asian Regional Conference on Geosynthetics: Geosynthetics for Infrastructure Development, Proceedings, pp. 345-356.
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Geosynthetics are widely used in the area of geotechnical engineering for soil-reinforcement, drainage, filtration, slope-stabilization, soil-foundation isolation etc. For the design of structures using geosynthetics, interface friction between soil and geosynthetic is the most important property because all other mechanical properties like tensile strength, thickness, modulus of elasticity etc. can be controlled during geosynthetic manufacturing process. Interface friction between soil-geosynthetic involves soil, which is a heterogeneous material and its behaviour depends on several factors. This paper presents and discusses the findings on interface shear strength of sand-geotextile and sand-geomembrane in direct sliding through a large direct shear box. The direct shear test results reveal that the interface frictional angle for sand-geomembrane interface is 22.5°while for the sand-geotextile interface, it is 32°. The microstructural study using FESEM helps in understanding the shearing mechanism at the interface to some extent.

Rahman, MM, Rahman, HY, Mahlia, TMI & Sheng, JLY 1970, 'Liquid cooled plate heat exchanger for battery cooling of an electric vehicle (EV)', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2nd International Conference on Advances in Renewable Energy and Technologies (ICARET), IOP Publishing, Putrajaya, MALAYSIA, pp. 012053-012053.
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Rujikiatkamjorn, C, Perera, D & Indraratna, B 1970, 'Assessing Soil Disturbance while Installing Vertical Drains', Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress 2016, Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress 2016, American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 971-981.
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© ASCE. Soil disturbance (smear zone) can be created while installing vertical drains, within which changes in horizontal permeability and the compressibility of in-situ soil can be observed. Previous studies on different aspects of soil disturbance due to driving vertical drains are limited, so extensive soil characterisation was carried out while installing drains at Ballina, NSW to obtain a more realistic smear zone. Soil disturbance was evaluated by determining the change in the coefficient of permeability, the water content, and volume compressibility away from the drain. The characteristics of the smear zone were compared to the data available from past literatures and indicated that the radius of the smear zone was about 6.3 times the equivalent mandrel radius, which was larger than that observed in the laboratory using reconstituted specimens.

Sameen, MI & Pradhan, B 1970, 'A novel built-up spectral index developed by using multiobjective particle-swarm-optimization technique', IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, IOP Publishing, pp. 012006-012006.
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Shanmuganathan, S, Johir, MAH, Listowski, A, Vigneswaran, S & Kandasamy, J 1970, 'Sustainable Processes for Treatment of Waste Water Reverse Osmosis Concentrate to achieve Zero Waste Discharge: A Detailed Study in Water Reclamation Plant', WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR RESOURCE UTILISATION, International Conference on Solid Waste Management, Elsevier, Bengaluru, India, pp. 930-937.
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Water reclamation systems based on dense membrane treatment such as reverse osmosis (RO) are being progressively applied to meet water quantity and quality requirements for a range of urban and environmental applications. The RO concentrate usually represents 25% of the feed water flow and contains the organic and inorganic contaminants at higher concentrations. The amount of RO concentrate waste water requiring disposal must be as minimal as possible (near zero-discharge); the recovery of high quality water should be as high as possible. Management issues related to proper treatment and disposal of RO concentrate are an important aspect of sustainable water reclamation practice. The RO concentrate is a significant component of water treatment process and poorly managed treatment and disposal of RO concentrate causes significant consequences. Even in a small to medium size water reclamation plant in Sydney, 2000 kL of water is treated by RO and around 300 kL of RO concentrate is produced daily. This RO concentrate consists of a high level of organics (25-30mg/L of DOC which is mainly refractory organics) and inorganic salts (Cl− = 400-650mg/L, Na+ = 400-500mg/L, Ca2+ = 93-200mg/L, K+ = 63-100mg/L). The RO concentrate waste disposal cost can be minimized and made valuable by reclaiming the RO concentrate with the aim of producing salts from the solutes and recycling the water to the treatment system. Technologies for recovery of high salt concentration from the RO concentrate such as forward osmosis (FO) and membrane distillation (MD) are either energy intensive or not developed in large scale. In this study, we highlight a sustainable membrane adsorption hybrid system in treating this RO concentrate.

Shuhimi, FF, Abdollah, MFB, Kalam, MA, Masjuki, HH, Mustafa, A & Amiruddin, H 1970, 'Surface durability of oil palm fiber/epoxy composite at various temperatures', PROCEEDINGS OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH DAY 2016, Mechanical Engineering Research Day (MERD), CENTRE ADVANCED RESEARCH ENERGY-CARE, Univ Teknikal Malaysia Melaka. Kampus Teknologi, Melaka, MALAYSIA, pp. 108-109.

Silvrano Adonias Dantas Neto, Buddhima Indraratna & David Americo Oliveira 1970, 'Prediction of the Shear Behaviour of Clean Joints in Soft Rocks using Perceptron', VII Simpósio Brasileiro de Mecânica das Rochas, VII Simpósio Brasileiro de Mecânica das Rochas, Associação Brasileira de Mecânica dos Solos e Engenharia Geotécnica - ABMS.
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One of the factors that most affects the safety of structures in or on rock masses is the shear behaviour of rock discontinuities. Some analytical models predicting the shear behavior of rock joints have been developed on the basis of experimental data obtained from direct shear tests performed under different boundary stiffness conditions. However, the use of these analytical models sometimes become difficult due to lack of laboratory test results, or even the difficulty of obtaining some of their parameters. The objective of this paper is to present a model that can be used to predict the shear behaviour of soft clean joints using the artificial neural network (ANN) known as perceptron. Results from direct shear tests conducted on idealized saw-tooth synthetic rock joints under different boundary conditions were considered in the development of the proposed ANN model. The following parameters were considered as input for the ANN model training: boundary normal stiffness, asperity height, initial asperity angle, initial normal stress and the horizontal displacement The output of the ANN model is the shear stress at a particular horizontal displacement. The developed ANN model has an A:5-15-5-1 architecture, where each number represents the number of neurons per layer. The coefficients of correlation between the actual test results and the model output values used to evaluate the behaviour of the neural model during training and validation were 0.999 and 0.997, respectively. The shear strength obtained by applying this kind of model can be considered more advantageous for use in practice than that obtained from the analytical models. One of the advantages of this tool is that, once the synaptic weights and bias of the model are known, the prediction of the shear behaviour of the clean joints of soft rocks can be made using a simple spreadsheet with only parameters which represent the initial roughness of the joint and the boundary conditions (CNL or CNS), rather ...

Stuart, B, Thomas, P, Maynard-Casely, H, Booth, N & Leung, A 1970, 'A neutron diffraction investigation of shear forces on a model lipid for forensic application', ANZFSS 23rd International Symposium on the Forensic Sciences, Auckland.

Sun, QD, Indraratna, B & Nimbalkar, S 1970, 'The Deformation and Degradation of Granular Material under High-Frequency Cyclic Loading', Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress 2016, Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress 2016, American Society of Civil Engineers, Pheonix, Arizona, United States, pp. 1700-1707.
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© ASCE.In order to understand the permanent deformation and degradation of railway ballast under high speed train loading, a series of cyclic triaxial tests were conducted using large-scale cylindrical apparatus. The frequency was used from 5 Hz to 60 Hz corresponding to the train speeds from about 40 km/h to 400 km/h. Three types of permanent deformation mechanisms were observed in response to the applied cyclic loads, namely, plastic shakedown at relatively lower frequency, ratcheting at an increased frequency, and plastic collapse at higher frequencies. Correspondingly, four types of particle degradation were observed. The magnitudes of ballast deformation and degradation were found to increase with the frequency and number of load cycles. A critical train speed was identified. Moreover, a good correlation was obtained between particle breakage and volumetric strain under cyclic loading.

Sun, W-J, Chen, C, Liu, S-Q, Sun, D-A, Liang, X-H, Tan, Y-Z & Fatahi, B 1970, 'Study on GMZ bentonite-sand mixture by undrained triaxial tests', E3S Web of Conferences, European Conference on Unsaturated Soils, EDP Sciences, Paris, France, pp. 18006-18006.
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© 2016 The Authors.It is particularly necessary to study the deformation, strength and the changes of pore water pressure of bentonite-based buffer/backfill materials under the undrained condition. A series of isotropic compression tests and triaxial shear tests under undrained conditions were conducted on the compacted saturated/unsaturated GMZ bentonite-sand mixtures with dry mass ratio of bentonite/sand of 30:70. During the tests, the images of the sample were collected by photographic equipment and subsequently were cropped, binarized and centroids marked by image processing technique. Based on identification of the variation of the position of marked centroids, the deformation of the sample can be determined automatically in real-time. Finally, the hydro-mechanical behaviour of saturated and unsaturated bentonite-sand mixtures under the undrained condition can be obtained. From results of triaxial shear tests on unsaturated samples under constant water content, inflated volumetric deformation transforms to contractive volumetric deformation due to the increase of the confining pressure and lateral expansion deformation are observed due to the increase in the shearing stress. Moreover, the net mean stress affects the initial stiffness, undrained shear strength and deformation of the sample during the undrained shear tests.

Vahedian, A, Shrestha, R & Crews, K 1970, 'Modelling the bond slip behaviour of FRP externally bonded to timber', WCTE 2016 - World Conference on Timber Engineering.
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Recent studies and applications have demonstrated that Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) has become a mainstream technology for the strengthening and/ or rehabilitation of ageing and deteriorated structures. However, one of the main problems which limit the full utilisation of the FRP material strength is the premature failure due to debonding. This research study presents 1) a review of available FRP-to-timber and FRP-to-concrete bonded interface models, and 2) investigates factors affecting bond strength. A stepwise regression method has then been employed to evaluate the influence of potential factors on the bond strength. The proposed stepwise regression model is based on 195 experimental results of FRP-to-timber bonded interfaces. Results of this stepwise regression analysis are then assessed with results of pull-out tests and satisfactory comparisons are achieved between measured failure loads (R2=0.59) and the predicted loads (R2=0.71, P<0.0001).

Vakhshouri, B & Nejadi, S 1970, 'ANFIS application to predict the compressive strength of lightweight self-compacting concrete', 2016 Future Technologies Conference (FTC), 2016 Future Technologies Conference (FTC), IEEE, San Francisco, CA, USA, pp. 28-35.
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© 2016 IEEE. Light-weight Self-Compacting Concrete (LWSCC) might be the answer to the increasing construction requirements of slenderer and more heavily reinforced structural elements. However there are limited studies to prove its ability in real construction projects. In conjunction with the traditional methods, artificial intelligent based modeling methods have been applied to simulate the non-linear and complex behavior of concrete in the recent years. Twenty one laboratory experimental investigations on the mechanical properties of LWSCC; published in recent 12 years have been analyzed in this study. The collected information is used to investigate the relationship between compressive strength, elasticity modulus and splitting tensile strength in LWSCC. Analytically proposed model in ANFIS is verified by multi factor linear regression analysis. Comparing the estimated results, ANFIS analysis gives more compatible results and is preferred to estimate the properties of LWSCC.

Vizcarra, GC, Nimbalkar, S & Casagrande, M 1970, 'Modeling Behaviour of Railway Ballast in Prismoidal Apparatus Using Discrete Element Method', Procedia Engineering, International Conference on Transportation Geotechnics (ITGC), Elsevier BV, Advances in Transportation Geotechnics 3, pp. 1177-1184.
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.This article presents the results of numerical simulations of loading tests conducted on coarse particles that simulate railroad ballast. The objective of this study was to evaluate the deformation of ballast under vertical loading and to study the influence of the two different particle size distributions. One of them was according to particle size distribution recommended by Indraratna and co-workers in the past as an improvement to Australian Standard and the other was prepared in accordance with Brazilian standard. The discrete element method offers a new means of studying the response characteristics of railway ballast. The basic idea of discrete element method (DEM) is that arbitrary discontinuities are divided into a set of rigid elements, making each rigid element satisfy the equations of motion, use time step iteration method for solving the equations of motion of rigid elements, and then obtain the overall movement patterns of arbitrary discontinuities. In this study, the discrete element method of analysis has been used to simulate the geotechnical behaviour of railway ballast observed during the triaxial testing. Three-dimensional numerical simulations were performed using discrete element modeling approach.

Vongphachanh, S, Milne-Home, W & Ball, J 1970, 'Groundwater Recharge Estimation in Sukhuma District, Champasak Province, Southern Laos: A Preliminary Assessment', 37th Hydrology & Water Resources Symposium 2016: Water, Infrastructure and the Environment, Water Infrastructure and the Environment Conference, Engineers Australia, Millennium Hotel, Queenstown, New Zealand, pp. 508-587.
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Southern Laos is undergoing economic and agricultural development, resulting in a large increase in groundwater and surface water use. However, these water resources are not known in detail. This study aims to investigate the groundwater and surface water interactions in the Sukhuma District of Champasak Province using a network of sixteen rain gauges and groundwater levels measurement points. Groundwater levels are measured weekly in eleven domestic wells, which are pumped irregularly, and also in five observation bores. Aquifer recharge occurs from direct infiltration of rainfall and also is derived using baseflow calculated from daily streamflow measurements at the re-established gauging station on the Khamouan River in Sukhuma District. The Khamouan River is connected to the groundwater in its lower reaches in both dry and wet seasons. Baseflow proportion to the total streamflow in the wet season 2015 has been estimated at 46%. The distribution of direct recharge has been mapped with ArcGIS and is spatially variable. Preliminary estimates of rainfall recharge have been calculated by the water table fluctuation method for 2015 but show a high degree of uncertainty related to the specific yield estimates. Time series analysis has confirmed the observed lag of some three to four weeks between the wet season start and rise in groundwater levels. These preliminary results indicate that there is close interaction between groundwater and surface water in the Sukhuma District. Further analysis will refine these results and extend them through remote sensing across southern Laos for application to integrated water resources management.

Vongphachanh, S, Milne-Home, W & Ball, JE 1970, 'Water infrastructure and the environment conference, 28 Nov – 2 Dec 2016, millennium hotel, queenstown, New Zealand groundwater recharge estimation in sukhuma district, champasak province, southern Laos: A preliminary assessment', 37th Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium 2016: Water, Infrastructure and the Environment, HWRS 2016.
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Southern Laos is undergoing economic and agricultural development, resulting in a large increase in groundwater and surface water use. However, these water resources are not known in detail. This study aims to investigate the groundwater and surface water interactions in the Sukhuma District of Champasak Province using a network of sixteen rain gauges and groundwater levels measurement points. Groundwater levels are measured weekly in eleven domestic wells, which are pumped irregularly, and also in five observation bores. Aquifer recharge occurs from direct infiltration of rainfall and also is derived using baseflow calculated from daily streamflow measurements at the re-established gauging station on the Khamouan River in Sukhuma District. The Khamouan River is connected to the groundwater in its lower reaches in both dry and wet seasons. Baseflow proportion to the total streamflow in the wet season 2015 has been estimated at 46%. The distribution of direct recharge has been mapped with ArcGIS and is spatially variable. Preliminary estimates of rainfall recharge have been calculated by the water table fluctuation method for 2015 but show a high degree of uncertainty related to the specific yield estimates. Time series analysis has confirmed the observed lag of some three to four weeks between the wet season start and rise in groundwater levels. These preliminary results indicate that there is close interaction between groundwater and surface water in the Sukhuma District. Further analysis will refine these results and extend them through remote sensing across southern Laos for application to integrated water resources management.

Wijesiri Pathirana, IS, Uy, B, Mirza, O & Zhu, XQ 1970, 'Numerical Study on the Behaviour of Composite Steel-Concrete Beams Utilising Innovative Blind Bolts', Composite Construction in Steel and Concrete VII, International Conference on Composite Construction in Steel and Concrete 2013, American Society of Civil Engineers, North Queensland, AUSTRALIA, pp. 676-686.
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Woo, Y, Tijing, L & Shon, H 1970, 'Omniphobic membrane using layer-by-layer technique to treat RO brine from CSG produced water by AGMD', The 9th International Desalination Workshop (IDW 2016), The 9th International Desalination Workshop (IDW 2016), Abu Dhabi, UAE.
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The worldwide problem on water scarcity has led to innovations in desalination technologies. The main desalination technologies used nowadays are multi-stage flash distillation and reverse osmosis; however both require large amounts of energy for pure water production. Scarcities in energy and water are considered as two of the top challenges in the world, thus there is a necessity to provide desalination technologies that can address both of these issues. Membrane distillation (MD) is gaining momentum as a potential alternative for water purification and desalination because it can possibly utilize low grade/waste heat, and solar energy with very high recovery (100% theoretical). MD is a thermally-driven membrane separation process utilizing low operating temperature (below 90oC) that allows only water vapor to pass through a hydrophobic, porous membrane, and is operated at ambient pressure or at vacuum pressure. MD is driven by the difference in partial vapor pressure between the hot feed and cold permeate streams.

Wu, C, Hao, H & Li, J 1970, 'Post-Blast Residual Loading Capacity of Ultra-High Performance Concrete Columns', First International Interactive Symposium on UHPC, First International Interactive Symposium on UHPC, Iowa State University Digital Press.
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Xu, B, Zhou, Y, Jiang, Y, He, B, Shen, X & Guan, Y 1970, 'Experimental study of distributed optical fiber sensor in measuring the deformation of large filling bag with dredged soil', 2016 10th International Conference on Sensing Technology (ICST), 2016 10th International Conference on Sensing Technology (ICST), IEEE.
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Xu, R, Fatahi, B & Hokmabadi, AS 1970, 'Influence of Soft Soil Shear Strength on the Seismic Response of Concrete Buildings Considering Soil-Structure Interaction', Geo-China 2016, Fourth Geo-China International Conference, American Society of Civil Engineers, Jinan, Shandong, China, pp. 17-24.
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© ASCE. Influences of undrained shear strength on seismic response of moment resisting concrete building considering soil-structure interaction (SSI) have been studied. A 15-storey building model resting on class Ee soil with different values of undrained shear strength has been simulated through FLAC3D. Fully nonlinear dynamic analysis under four different earthquakes including two far-field and two near-field recordings has been conducted by direct method and results in terms of base shear, maximum lateral displacement, inter-storey drift and spectral acceleration have been compared and discussed. Results indicate that by increasing the undrained shear strength of the subsoil, the superstructure experiences extra base shear under earthquake excitations due to SSI. Furthermore, the maximum lateral displacements and inter-storey drifts of the superstructure increase by adopting higher values for the undraied shear strength of the subsoil. It is concluded that practicing engineers should treat soil properties gained from field or laboratory tests with extreme care when dealing with numerical based seismic design of the soil-structure systems.

Zhu, X & Law, S 1970, 'RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN STRUCTRUAL HEALTH MONITORING BASED ON VEHICLE-BRIDGE INTERACTION', FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH IN STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING: RETROSPECTIVE AND PROSPECTIVE, VOLS 1 AND 2, 14th International Symposium on Structural Engineering (ISSE-14), SCIENCE PRESS BEIJING, Beijing, PEOPLES R CHINA, pp. 283-288.

Zhu, X, Uy, B, Mirza, O, Henderson, I & Pathirana, S 1970, 'SMART REHABILITATION OF COMPOSITE STRUCTURES USING INNOVATIVE BOLTED SHEAR CONNECTORS', Fundamental Research in Structural Engineering: Retrospective and Prospective, Vols 1 and 2, 14th International Symposium on Structural Engineering (ISSE-14), SCIENCE PRESS BEIJING, Beijing, PEOPLES R CHINA, pp. 360-365.

Fatahi, B 2016, 'Geo-China 2016', American Society of Civil Engineers, USA, pp. 1-240.
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Lee, DJ, Hallenbeck, PC, Ngo, HH, Jegatheesan, V & Pandey, A 2016, 'Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering: Biological Treatment of Industrial Effluents', pp. 1-501.
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Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering: Biological Treatment of Industrial Effluents provides extensive coverage of new developments, state-of-the-art technologies, and potential future trends in data-based scientific knowledge and advanced information on the role and application of environmental biotechnology and engineering in the treatment of industrial effluents. These treatment processes have been broadly classified under aerobic and anaerobic processes which determines the scope and level of pollutant removal. Chapters in this volume review the most recent developments and perspectives at different environmental cleanup operation scales. Outlines available biochemical processes for the treatment of solid industrial waste Covers aerobic and anaerobic treatments, their mechanisms, and selection criteria Highlights specific industrial applications, such as anammox processes.

Ngo, HH, Guo, W, Surampalli, RY & Zhang, TC 2016, 'Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management', American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 1-1083.
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Sponsored by the Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Engineering Committee of the Environmental Council of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management describes science-based principles and technological advances behind green technologies that can be effective solutions to pressing environmental problems. Today’s challenge for sustainable water management is to develop environmentally friendly, economically viable, and energy-efficient processes for treating and preserving the world’s limited water resources. Successful approaches will provide a high removal-efficiency of pollutants and nutrient recovery while also reducing the carbon footprint, minimizing waste, and protecting human health and the environment. Following an overview of water as a valuable resource, this 28-chapter book provides in-depth information on current various green technologies associated with sustainable water and wastewater management. It considers various aspects of pollution prevention, control, remediation, and restoration. The applications of these technologies toward a sustainable society are considered, and needs for future research and development are identified. Researchers, students, scientists, engineers, government officials, and process managers will find this book an excellent source of comprehensive, state-of-the-art material on green technologies for sustainable water management.