| Monash home | About Monash | Faculties | Campuses | Contact Monash |
| Staff directory | A-Z index | Site map |
| Monash home | About Monash | Faculties | Campuses | Contact Monash |
| Staff directory | A-Z index | Site map |
|
Research success storiesEcodriving
Currently popular in Europe, ecodriving is a driving style that emphasises smooth driving that results from “flowing” the vehicle and looking further down the traffic stream to anticipate traffic conditions. Drivers are advised to also skip gears when changing up, change at lower engine revolutions, and brake less forcefully and less often. Associate Professor Geoff Rose (Institute of Transport Studies) and Dr Mark Symmons (Psychological Studies) have been assessing the potential benefits of an ecodriving training program for heavy vehicle drivers. Their research, funded by Sustainability Victoria and the Cement Industry Federation, measured the impact of EcoDriving on fuel consumption and driver behaviour. The research involved 68 tonne B-double trucks which are used to transport powered cement. During testing, the drivers were accompanied by an assessor as they drove a 30 km open circuit in the northern suburbs of Melbourne . The circuit incorporated a mixture of traffic and driving conditions, including freeway and arterial (urban and rural) driving, and residential and strip shopping areas. Speed limits ranged from 60 km/h to 100 km/h. Following the EcoDriver training, the drivers reduced their fuel consumption by 27%, the number of gear changes by 29%, and the number of brake applications by 41%. Importantly, the benefits do not seem to have lost any strength 12 weeks after the training, at which point the pilot trial concluded. The small number of drivers involved and within-driver variability are both limitations of the pilot that can be addressed by a future trial involving more participants. Encouraged by the initial results, the Cement Industry Federation is keen to roll out a training program nationally and is eager to share the knowledge gained with other heavy vehicle fleet owners. With an ever-increasing national freight task and upwardly spiralling fuel prices, even small fuel savings are potentially very valuable, though the results here suggest the benefits may be significant rather than small. For further information please contact: Associate Professor Geoff Rose The impact of transport problems on well beingUrban sprawl and sparse rural living are trends in Australia which are impacting heavily on travel. Rising fuel costs, an aging population and ongoing fringe/coastal migration are also having a significant effect. Monash researchers, Professor Graham Currie and Dr Janet Stanley, have been awarded an ARC Linkage Grant to investigate transport disadvantage, social exclusion and well being in metropolitan, regional and rural Victoria. Total funding for the project is in excess of $1 million and industry partners include the Department of Industry, the Bus Association of Victoria and the Brotherhood of St Laurence. The project has been established in response to the need for Australia to better understand how transport problems impact on life opportunities and community well being. Knowledge gained will help focus Australia's approach to this significant and growing problem. Professor Currie and Dr Stanley have established the SORT (Social Research in Transport) Clearing House which aims to increase awareness of social issues in transport by making it easier to access research in this area. For more information contact Professor Currie by email: graham.currie@eng.monash.edu.au or call +61 3 9905 5574 International aviation and Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) policyProfessor Peter Forsyth of the Department of Economics at Monash University has undertaken a study which examines international aviation greenhouse gas emissions and considers whether there could be a case for exempting international aviation from climate change mitigation policies. Aviation and tourism are "footloose export" industries and the imposition of climate change policies may induce them to relocate offshore, to countries which do not have these policies. If that happens, the planned reduction in greenhouse gases will not be achieved. Emission Trading Schemes (ETS) are being introduced in several areas of the world as the preferred climate change mitigation policy and Australia will introduce its own scheme in the near future. When developing their ETS, countries must determine whether, and how, international aviation is to be included. Including it in an ETS poses a range of problems, some of which are practical, for example to what extent should the ETS cover flights and segments beyond the countries' borders? International routes are under the jurisdiction of more than one country, at least 2 countries are involved and the policies of one country need not be the same as those of its partners. In addition to the practical problems there are economic and environmental aspects. For example, if Australia includes aviation in its ETS, passengers would pay more reflecting the additional costs associated with the emissions. Under that scenario, Australia becomes a more expensive tourist destination, than another country, for example, Thailand, which does not include international aviation in their ETS. It therefore makes Thailand a cheaper tourism destination, and that could come at the expense of Australia and other countries which are doing the "right thing". International agreements are therefore be essential to achieve a level playing field. In Professor Forsyth's research, several options have been analysed with two key results of particular interest. First, it is possible for a country to gain higher economic benefits by excluding international aviation from its ETS, while still achieving the same global GHG emissions reduction target as would apply if aviation were included. Secondly, the gain to the country from excluding international aviation will be greater if the relevant alternative country is including it in the ETS but issuing permits free to airlines. This could be a realistic choice for countries since partner countries may well only accept a country's ETS being applied to their airlines if the country provides free permits. For further information please contact: Professor Peter Forsyth Rescuing ageing bridges with carbon fibre polymerToday, bridges throughout Australia carrying loads their designers never envisaged. These ageing structures need strengthening, and a Monash University research team lead by Assoc Prof Riadh Al-Mahaidi, from the Civil Engineering Department, are using carbon fibre polymer to resolve the problem. Carbon fibre polymers have six times the strength of steel, but less than a quarter of the weight, making them far easier and cheaper to install. They are also much more durable than steel, and, unlike their 'heavyweight friend', suffer from neither rust nor corrosion. Furthermore, while steel is rigid and fixed in shape, carbon fibre polymers are extremely flexible and can be applied to an existing structure in much the same way as wallpaper. If however a rigid material is needed, the versatile carbon fibre polymer can be combined with epoxy resin to form solid strips. Carbon fibre polymer technology is now being used reinforce a number of bridges in Melbourne , including the iconic Westgate Bridge . Related research by Assoc Prof Al-Mahaidi and his team, has developed non-contact measurement techniques and numerical simulations to accurately determine how and when structures will fail. That research has had a significant impact on the way bridges are assessed for strength by road authorities across Australia. This research is being funded by the Australian Research Council, the Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering and Industry. For further information contact: Associate Professor Riadh Al-Mahaidi Rebuilding the road network: pavement engineeringManagement of the Australian road network is a significant challenge that requires high level research to provide innovative technologies, particularly suited to Australian conditions. Australia's road network consists of 900,000 km of paved roads worth around 300 billion dollars. About 90% of this network is constructed of compacted unbound materials with thin bituminous seals. These pavements are highly vulnerable to increasing axle loads and changes in climatic conditions. Much of the network has aged significantly and requires billions of dollars annually for rehabilitation and maintenance. Additionally, the growth of road freight is expected to double between 2000 and 2015, and the industry is demanding ever increasing axle loads to support this growth. Dr Jayantha Kodikara from the Monash Civil Engineering Department, undertakes research into insitu stabilisation of degraded unbound road pavements, an environmentally friendly technology that recycles old pavement materials and utilises industry by-products such as slag and fly ash as cementitious binders. Dr Kodikara's research includes:
For more information visit the Geomechanics Group in Civil Engineering or call Dr Kodikara on +61 3 9905 4963. On track with Monash - Monitoring rail track conditionsMonash's Institute of Railway Technology has developed a fully automated condition monitoring system for railways. The system, developed in collaboration with BHP Billiton (BHPB) Iron Ore Rail Road, monitors the health of rail operations throughout the network and collects vital information for the planning of future maintenance and operational strategies.
BHPB Iron Ore operates the longest (up to 336 cars long) and the heaviest (37.5 ton) trains in the world. This means it is vital to closely monitor the condition of the track, track deterioration rate and the effectiveness of the maintenance activities over a period of time to enable proactive maintenance. The systemThree permanently instrumented ore cars, developed by Monash's Institute of Railway Technology, are currently operating on over 600km of track. The cars record key parameters and automatically upload the data back to base for analysis after each run. The outcomesInformation collected by the cars is accurately cross-referenced to track location via an on-board global positioning system. This information is then used across a broad spectrum of the identification of track irregularities and the planning of track maintenance activities, including:
Through instrumented vehicles, the ability to identify track irregularities and plan track maintenance activities using the information collected has become a benchmark that other railway systems are striving to achieve. The futureThe success of permanently instrumented vehicles have been clearly realised by BHPB and further development programs are currently underway to expand the use of this system. For more information please visit the Institute of Railway Technology website or call Ravi Ravitharan on +61 3 9905 1986.
|
|
