Civil and Environmental Engineering

Project

Sewer and stormwater systems play critical roles in preventing diseases and reducing health risks in towns and cities across the world. Due to their hidden nature, the condition of these assets can't be frequently assessed to ensure optimal operation and maintenance practices. The can result in sewer blockages and overflows that release contaminated water into the environment. Currently, monitoring sewer and stormwater condition is very costly and time-consuming through the application of CCTV inspections.

The aim of this project will be to advance the development of a smart sensor system to provide low-cost monitoring of sewer and stormwater pipes. This include the refinement of a cheap floating pod housing accellerometers, gathering data by deploying the sensor in an existing test pipe setup, and innovative data analaysis to characterise pipe features and identify anomalies such as sedimentation, blockages, and tree roots.

A self-driven and entrepeneurial student with strong skills in microcontrolers, instrumentation and data analysis is sought to assist with the development of this concept. Feel free to contact me for more information.

Project

January 2023 saw the wetest January in 300 years for Auckland and Northland. Adaptive strategies to climate change are increasingly becoming a focus in infrastructure. Changes in temperature and rainfall resulting from climate change will have a wide range of impacts on existing roads in both urban and rural environments. To understand the requirement of effective climate adaptation design options, there needs to be a good understanding of typical vulnerabilities in the current infrastructure. This research will analyse available flood event data to determine the most affected infrastructure and ways to improve the resilience of these pinch points.

Project

Adaptive strategies to climate change are increasingly becoming a focus in infrastructure. Changes in temperature and rainfall resulting from climate change will have a wide range of impacts on existing water services, with a particular focus on clean drinking water standards. It is well-known clean and safe water is often an issue following severe weather events. These weather events impact the water reticulation network but most often damage water treatment facilities. To understand the requirement of effective climate adaptation design options, there needs to be a good understanding of typical vulnerabilities in the current infrastructure. This research will analyse available flood event data to determine the most affected infrastructure and ways to improve the resilience of these pinch points.

Project

The use of Machine Learning has recently gained considerable momentum in the field of Civil/Structural Engineering. In this context, the aim of this project is to adopt one or more machine learning algorithms, such as Artificial Neural Networks, Random Forests, etc., and train a model to accurately classify the structural demand of a variety of rocking configurations.
From a dynamics perspective, a rocking structure does not behave like a conventionally designed fixed-base structure, as it is allowed to uplift and pivot undergoing rigid body motion/rotation when subjected to ground excitations.
To successfully complete this project, knowledge of coding in Matlab, or alternatively in Python, is necessary as all the analyses will be conducted in one of these software. Also, a considerable literature review would be beneficial to identify the machine learning algorithms that will be adopted and acquire knowledge on what has been done in the field. Finally, basic knowledge of structural dynamics would be helpful.

Project

The project student will work on part of a wider MBIE Endeavour funded Research Project that is helping transition the transportation system to a low emission futre. The project student will work within the transportation engineering materials group. The focus of the summer research work will be to undertake accelerated pavement testing on wirelessly powered IPT pad / pavement systems and its responses with a purpose built accelerated pavement 'rocker' testing device housed at Downer NZ, Great South Road. This will include pavement cosntructuon, material behaviour analysis, research instrumentation, testing of the pad / pavement system analysis and interpretation to optimise life cycle integrated system performance.

Project

The project student will work within the transportation engineering materials team to test new novel smart aggregate particles within bound and unbound transport pavement materials. The focus of the summer research work will be on conducting research in the laboratory on newly developed smart aggregate particles within bound and unbound granular pavement layers that will help develop a future more resilient transport system.

Project

Recent updates to the seismic hazard modelling for New Zealand have changed both the demands used to underpin seismic design and the approaches needed to classify the soil/rock profile at each site. This project will focus on the second aspect and the application of geotechnical and geophysical site investigation methods to better characterise the soil/rock at sites of interest by making use of best practice methods. This project will be carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Education and focus on school sites in Auckland and the wider North lsland. The research will be a combination of field data collection and office-based analysis, including exposure to methods that are increasingly being used and applied in practice.

Project

Recent extreme weather events in New Zealand have resulted in damage to a number of bridges across the country. This can be a result of erosion of the abutments, erosion and undermining of the foundations and loading from flood water and debris. Key to understanding these effects is the properties of bridge components and the flood water levels that could be expected at each site. This project will collect data from a number of New Zealand bridges and develop a database summarising these key characteristics. Simple analyses will be undertaken to understand the typical characteristics across the country and identify some of the most high risk locations.  

Project

Bridges are essential to the delivery of emergency services and relief supplies during an earthquake, but they also represent the portion of the transportation infrastructure susceptible to seismic induced damage. The New Zealand bridge stock is considered especially exposed, with over half of the structures built before current seismic design philosophies were put into practice. Using the previously developed bridge typologies and an inventory of New Zealand bridge drawings, the objective of this research is to: (1) develop a robust database of bridges in the New Zealand State Highway Network, (2) identify common structural detailing in each of the previously developed bridge typologies, (3) link individual bridges in NZ to a typological group, (4) calculate structural capacities and vulnerabilities bridges based on typology and hazard exposure.

Project

Bridges are essential to the delivery of emergency services and relief supplies during an earthquake, but they also represent the portion of the transportation infrastructure susceptible to seismic induced damage. The New Zealand bridge stock is considered especially exposed, with over half of the structures built before current seismic design philosophies were put into practice. Using the previously developed bridge typologies and an inventory of New Zealand bridge drawings, the objective of this research is to: (1) develop a robust database of bridges in the New Zealand State Highway Network, (2) identify common foundation detailing in each of the previously developed bridge typologies, (3) link individual bridges in NZ to a typological group, (4) calculate foundation capacities and vulnerabilities bridges based on typology and hazard exposure.

Project

This project will assess the exposure and peformance of infrastructure networks when exposed to various natural hazard events. Recent events in New Zealand and globally have highlighted some of these performance aspects and extent to which these networks and the communities they serve can be disrupted in these events. Spatial analyses will be undertaken using the most up-to-date hazard and infrastructure datasets, assessing the current infrastructure networks across the country and the impact of different resilience interventions.

Project

Recent years have brought a momentum shift in climate action as we are now keenly aware of the threat of climate change to our infrastructure and communities. Rising sea levels, warming temperatures, and more frequent and severe storms are well-known impacts of climate change that have been experienced worldwide, and most significantly in coastal areas. In many of these regions, earthquake hazard is also significant. Changes in soil and hydrological conditions due to climate change will impact ground behaviour during earthquakes. Loose, saturated, sandy soils prone to flooding and erosion are also the soils most susceptible to liquefaction (loss of strength) during earthquakes. However, there are few studies examining the intersection of hydro-climatic change and earthquake hazard.
This summer project is part of a larger multi-year project that seeks to explore the impacts of hydro-climatic change on the hazards associated with earthquake ground shaking through the lens of a case study region. The Hawke’s Bay region on the East coast of Aotearoa New Zealand’s North Island has high hazard, due to its proximity to the Hikurangi Subduction Zone. The 1932 Hawke’s Bay Earthquake caused severe damage to the city of Napier, including liquefaction, and remains the deadliest natural disaster in the country's history. More recently, the unprecedented Cyclone Gabrielle moved across the North Island in Feb. 2023, through Hawke’s Bay, and caused an estimated $8 billion in storm and flooding damages. As communities in Hawke’s Bay begin to rebuild post-cyclone, it is paramount that adaptations for flooding and storm events also incorporate considerations for the ongoing and evolving seismic threat to the region. The outcomes of this proposed project will support the building of sustainable and resilient communities that can anticipate and mitigate the multi-hazard threats of the future.
The summer project is focused on collecting data at two case study sites in Hawkes Bay. The work will include field testing (for no more than a week) using a combination of conventional geotechnical and geophysical methods. Other aspects of the project may include collation of existing geotechnical data, laboratory testing on soil specimens, and analysis in collaboration with other researchers.

Project

Development and testing of modern technologies in transport, such as autonomous and electric vehicles, are often expensive. This project aims to develop a small-scale prototype of a mixed traffic network with both autonomous and human-driving vehicles using toy cars. While the equipment will be provided, this project will require testing and development of programs (in Python) to control the car, as well as possible fitting of components (e.g. battery pack) to the toy car. This project will require students with good programming and problem solving skills. The outcome of the project will be a scaled-city with a road network, some buildings with trees, and several drivable toy cars that can be both autonomously operated or driven by a human controller.

Project

In the building industry, there is an increasing emphasis on incorporating sustainability. Architects, in particular, are encouraged to adopt cradle-to-cradle approaches that consider the entire life cycle of a building. However, the behaviour change toward recycling materials should start in academia and become a common practice among Architecture students.

Recently, the Architecture Technology course students embarked on a project focused on reusing light timber-frame model materials. In its first phase, students successfully reused over 75% of materials from previous models to do their new assignments. This pilot research provided evidence that light timber-frame, with standardised dimensioning and form, can be reused for academic purposes.

Project objectives:

Students interested in this project can work in three fields:

The first objective is to investigate the feasibility of implementing this approach in the wider built environment of New Zealand. It is crucial to explore avenues for integrating this approach into the broader construction industry of New Zealand. Can this successful approach be adapted to the reality of the NZ building industry on a 1:1 scale?
By demonstrating the potential for sustainable building practices through the reuse of light-frame timber, the students have paved the way for further analysis and the development of new tasks for upcoming cohorts. The next step for future courses is to not only incorporate timber as a material but also develop strategies to recycle and reuse other building component materials such as insulation, interior lining, foundation, and cladding.
Additionally, the aim is to create a publication based on the results and knowledge gathered so far. Notably, the students involved in the project will have the opportunity to be recognized as co-authors in this publication.

One of the supervisors involved in this project is from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Auckland, adding a significant transdisciplinary aspect to it.

The project will be carried out within the Future Cities Research Hub and will benefit from the support of other members in the hub.

We are currently seeking two students for this project, one with an Architecture background and one with an Engineering background. Ferdinand Oswald is available to provide support and meet with students prior to their submissions.

Required skills:

1. Writing: The ability to convey findings and recommendations clearly and concisely
2. Creativity: Designing innovative tasks and approaches to promote sustainable reuse
3. Research: Conducting thorough investigations into best practices and potential implementation strategies.

Apply for this project in the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries form.